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Team Finishes Second at Tri-County Speedway
04/07/2009
Ryan Gifford continued his asphalt racing education Friday night at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, N.C. Driving the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Late Model entry for Team Dillon Racing, Gifford led a number of laps on his way to a second-place finish in the Firecracker 150.
It was another good night for the Shell-Pennzoil team. We managed to get up there and lead some laps, which was awesome.
After qualifying fifth for the 150-lap feature, the Winchester, Tenn. native charged his way into the lead around lap 20 and held onto the point position until just past the midway point of the race.
Following a caution flag, a double-file restart saw Gifford lining up on the inside of Kevin Leicht. The outside groove was Gifford's preferred line around the oval, and Leicht used that fact to his advantage, driving the high line to take over the lead.
Gifford battled for the second spot as racing progressed and, eventually, dropped to third place. A caution period with two laps remaining set the field up for a green-white-checkered flag finish. On the green flag lap, Gifford managed to regain second position and found himself running side-by-side with Leicht on the final lap.
Gifford engaged in a spirited battle for the lead, but was unable to complete the pass and crossed the finish line second.
Still, a runner-up finish in just his ninth start on an asphalt racing surface gives Gifford and his TDR crew a great deal of confidence as they head to Hickory (N.C.) Speedway next weekend.
Ryan Gifford Quote: "It was another good night for the Shell-Pennzoil team. We managed to get up there and lead some laps, which was awesome. I'm having a lot of fun running on asphalt. The Team Dillon Racing guys gave me a great car tonight. The tires got a little hot there near the end and cost us a little track position, but we got back up there and were able to compete for the win. We just came up a little bit short, but I feel good about where our team is at right now."