FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG

RACE RESULTS 6th: Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet 21st: Conor Daly, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet NEXT RACE: Texas Motor Speedway, March 20 (NBC, 12:30 p.m. ET)

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET

CONOR DALY, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet, Finished 21st: “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but honestly we had some of our best race pace we’ve had recently. We set the fastest lap of the race, so that’s a huge positive for our program. Strategy didn’t quite go our way today and we also need to qualify better. Overall, we had a lot of positives today that our result doesn’t show.”

RACE RESULTS: START: 20th FINISH: 21st STATUS: Running LAPS COMPLETED: 100/100

• OF NOTE: Conor Daly’s 2022 season began from the 20th starting position after he struggled with grip in yesterday’s qualifications.
• Daly began the race on a set of Firestone’s black Firehawks, allowing him to gain multiple positions as cars who started on red had to pit early. He ran as high as 11th before he made his first stop.
• Because he started the race on black tires, he had to complete a stint on reds in the middle of the race. He was able to set the fastest overall lap of the race on Lap 53.
• After his final pit stop on Lap 69, Daly re-entered the field in the 20th position, where he would ultimately finish the 100-lap race.

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet, Finished 6th: “I am pretty happy with the result! We really struggled with the reds, the balance went the exact opposite of what we thought it was going to do. We were a little surprised, but we made the best of the situation and finished P6. I saved a lot of fuel at the end, so that was good for the environment. Good start to the season! It’s good to be back in the Top 10 and back to the pace we had last year. I’m ready for Texas!”

RACE RESULTS: START: 4th FINISH: 6th STATUS: Running LAPS COMPLETED: 100/100 LAPS LED: 13

• OF NOTE:
• Rinus VeeKay started 4th in today’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after making his first Firestone Fast 6 appearance yesterday.
• He began the race on a set of red Firestone Firehawk tires. As the lack of grip became unmanageable, he had to pit earlier than anticipated. However, a lengthy yellow flag moved him back in to the front half of the field.
• VeeKay cycled into the lead of the race on Lap 49 and paced the field for 13 laps. He relinquished the lead on Lap 63 as he made his final pit stop.
• The 21-year-old was tasked with hitting a difficult fuel number to make it to the end without another stop. He was successful and brought the No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet home in 6th.