Top: Smith, Morrissette, Latinger Flop: Kash, JRM, Carson Racing
Driver Reactions
Casey Lester: Solid day for us as we can come to expect. Lapped traffic was a headache, but I know that's standard for shorties [short tracks]. Clyde's scaring me a bit, but I've been so happy watching him perform so well knowing how far he had fallen a few years ago.
Bjorn Brewer: Saw a gap and went for it! *laughs* Nah, it wasn't a great day at the office, but I had fun in my first AERS run here. Gotta thank all my guys for the work they put in to figure out what the hell was going on with it. Just couldn't find the speed at all.
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Subject: Re: 2018 AERS Race 11 - Bristol (Hardee's 250) Wed Jun 13, 2018 10:01 am
Spoiler:
Carter nabs 2nd; Deefer frustrated; News from Bristol
It was a much tamer Hardee’s 250 this go-around at the Bristol Motor Speedway. After last year’s wild finish and overall destruction, this race seemed as if a joyride in comparison. There were two yellows, despite several incidents happening on track, and both yellows came at inopportune times for most everyone on the racetrack.
After winning his first race with JN Motorsports here in 2015, Mikael Carter returned with a swagger unmatched through the garage area, and he backed it all up with another top-5 here, finishing 2nd.
“We have it figured out here and I think that’s what makes us so good here [at Bristol]. Just having the confidence we have to get it done not only here but everywhere I think goes a long way. It was nice to run up front but that damn 83 is a rocket ship right now. We will take a 2nd any day of the year, but we have to shut down that Juicy Fruit dude.”
Carter now has a 53 point lead in the standings over Caine Dwyer, who placed 3rd in his ally Chevrolet.
Dwyer said, “It’s nice when you don’t have a good car and are just staying out of trouble to look up after the race and see you finished 3rd. I’m just happy to get out of here unscathed, we weren’t great today but we made it work and that’s something I’ve echoed through this whole first half here. We have the team to get this thing done, and we prove it each and every race. It’s a lot of fun and I thank everyone here at Scawles for this amazing opportunity. [I am the] Luckiest guy in the garage.”
Meanwhile, there’s a guy in the garage area who looked like he would be the eventual champion early on in the 2018 campaign, and if you guessed Tyler Deefer you’d be right. He’s put together a string of awful runs marred by back luck the past couple of races. Deefer has slipped dramatically in the standings after being quite dominant early on. Time is running out for the veteran to make a title push, and his team is feeling the pressure.
“I mean, you look at tonight and we had a nice handling racecar. We were just kind of waiting for the end of the race and kind of just staying out of the way waiting to really turn things on. Then some jackasses in front of us get together and we’re caught up in it. Just piss poor luck and just an overall lack of talent in this series this year is contributing to this fall. It’s a shame, really, that teams like ours have to deal with their bull crap. I find it amazing how they’re in this series, but it really seems like we’re just a target at this point. When was the last time an ACS car was in a wreck? Or heaven forbid a JN car gets taken out? Just mesmerizing to me. I can’t figure it out right now.”