Revolution Racing’s four NASCAR K&N Pro Series East teams headed to South Boston (Va.) Speedway this weekend for another round of short-track racing in the South Boston 150. Ryan Gifford was the highest finishing Revolution driver, piloting his No. 2 Distribution One Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish.
Gifford’s teammates Sergio Pena, Darrell Wallace Jr., and Mackena Bell finished 14th, 20th and 23rd, respectively.
“We had a fast car all day in practice and (Crew Chief) Lee McCall made some good calls to get this car dialed in for the race,” said Gifford. “We fought hard all day and I’m glad we were able to get Distribution One another top-five finish.”
Gifford, who finished second in last year’s event at South Boston Speedway, paced the field in final practice before qualifying seventh in the No. 2 Distribution One Chevrolet. Once the race got underway, Gifford was able to keep his car up front for the long haul, settling into fifth for most of the race. With 50 to go, Gifford found himself battling for third and hung on for his second consecutive fourth-place finish.
Pena rebounded after last weekend’s early race wreck at Greenville Pickens Speedway to finish 14th at South Boston. He qualified 10th in the No. 4 Chevrolet and ran solidly in the top 10 for most of the race.
“I’m proud of all the hard work everyone at Revolution Racing put into getting this car ready to race this weekend,” said Pena. “The car felt really good all day and was capable of running up front. We just weren’t able to capitalize on it today.”
Wallace qualified third in the No. 6 Chevrolet, but started 25th after a post-qualifying repair was made to the car. He worked his way through the field and into the top 15 by the half-way mark. By lap 109, Wallace found himself inside the top-10 with a car that could contend for the lead. Wallace’s charge to the front ended abruptly when he cut a tire battling for fifth with just six laps to go. He was forced to pit to repair the car and finished 20th, four laps down to the leaders.
“It was a tough way to end a great run,” said Wallace. “The No. 6 Chevrolet was hooked up. I thought we were going to have something for them there at the end and at least come away with a top five. Unfortunately it didn’t end up that way.”
Bell struggled to find speed on fresh rubber in practice but picked up nearly a half-second in qualifying to start the race inside the top 10. She ran solidly in the top 10 for most of the race before slipping to mid-pack two-thirds of the way through the race. Still faster than several of the cars in front of her, Bell was poised to break back into the top 15 when contact from the No. 39 of Dustin Delaney sent her No. 8 Chevrolet spinning hard into the inside frontstretch wall, ending her night with 30 laps to go in the race. She was credited with a 23rd-place finish.
“It was a hard hit, probably one of the hardest I’ve ever had, and it’s a shame we had to tear up a good race car battling for a spot in the top 20,” said Bell. “I was learning a lot out there and I think we could have picked up some spots and come away with a solid finish. Now we’ll go back to the shop, regroup and get ready for Iowa.”
The race broadcast from South Boston Speedway will air Thursday, April 15 at 6 p.m. ET on SPEED.
Revolution Racing will return to the track May 23 when NASCAR K&N Pro Series East meets West at Iowa Speedway (Newton, Iowa).
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