POST-RACE REPORT: COTA

Austin, Texas (March 29, 2023) - Coming off of the team’s career-best finish at Atlanta last weekend, G2G Racing was looking for a strong outing at the 21-turn, Circuit of the Americas.

In practice, Dale Quarterley took to the track, recording a fast lap of 87.860mph in his No. 46 Van Dyk Recycling/Motul Tundra TRD Pro. This placed him 28th on the speed charts. Therefore, the team was optimistic about making the 36-truck field.

Next, in qualifying, because of NASCAR’s road course qualifying procedure, he was placed in the first group to hit the track. He was able to lay down a lap of 87.293mph, placing him 17th out of his group.

As the next group went out, the team began to worry if they were going to be locked into the race. Patiently waiting, the team watched the session closely to see if they would make the field. As it came to a close, it was confirmed that Quarterley’s speed was fast enough to put him in the field for the next day’s XPEL 225.

On race day, as the team was warming up the truck, they felt optimistic about how the truck would perform. After Quarterley strapped in and fired up the truck, he came across the radio saying, “Let's have some fun, guys."

Promptly, crew chief Tim Sliva came across the radio, jokingly saying, “Don't raise too much hell, Dale."

A laugh was exchanged as both team and driver settled in for the start of the race.

On the first lap, Quarterley rocketed out of the gates, picking up six positions within the first half lap around the road course. His progress was slowed by a quick caution flag, but as the race resumed a few laps later, he began to march his way forward again. This time, he vaulted to the 21st position, picking up a total of twelve spots in six laps!

This has been a positive trend for the second-year team, as the team improves their program.

As the race continued, Quarterley was navigating the field, breaking into the Top-20, until NASCAR determined he had “cut the course” and had to do a pass through pit road. This eliminated his position inside the Top-20, falling all the way to 31st, almost half a lap down to the leaders. Then, the team got a stroke of luck as a caution had come out after some of the main pack of cars collided and spun on the course. This caught him back up to the main field.

Playing strategy, Tim Sliva made the call to stay out to gain back his track position. This put him in 21st for the restart.

After the restart, he quickly navigated his way inside the Top-20, running comfortably in 18th.
Once again playing strategy, Quarterly brought his Toyota Tundra TRD Pro down pit road for his only pit stop of the day.

After returning to the track, a caution flag came out, which vaulted him to the 11th position, just outside the Top-10!

On the restart, he settled into 14th in the running order before an error on his part put a huge damper on his race. While attempting to move into 12th through the esses, he was bumped by a truck, sending him into the off limits area of the course, incurring a cutting the course penalty again.

Unfortunately, he had to come in and serve the penalty, putting him in 28th. This is where he stayed until the conclusion of the race.

After a strong outing, the team will stay in the Lonestar State as they prepare for the SpeedyCash.com 250 at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. You can catch the action live on Fox Sports 1, or tune in on NASCAR SiriusXM, Channel 90.

Photo Credit: Nick Hrehor, Photographer