FORT WORTH – A quiet and conservative Ray Black Jr. accomplished his goals at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular finished 27th in his NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) debut driving the No. 15 Burnie Grill Chevrolet Camaro. And while the finish wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for his in first attempt in NASCAR’s second-highest level, the Palm Coast, Florida native was still grateful.
“I had a great time in my first XFINITY Series race,” said Black after the race. “The team did great and we really focused on running our own race. I learned a lot and can’t wait for the next opportunity for me to get in an XFINITY car. It’s a bummer we had an issue with a shock towards the end but, all in all it was a great day.”
In a joint effort between SS Green Light and Rick Ware Racing, Black Jr. practiced better than they expected, but with the track struggling to dry after hard overnight rain, qualifying was canceled, setting the field per the rule book.
Rolling off 22nd based on his fastest lap in practice, Black Jr. stayed consistent during the early stages of the event, despite battling a loose condition
And while the handling proved to be the biggest challenge for the Floridian, especially as the track’s characteristics adjusted to weather conditions, a quiet, fly under the radar approach wasn’t exactly a bad thing for the 24-year-old driver.
Black Jr., considered by many in the truck garage as a flourishing talent utilized Saturday’s race to help his approval process to continue his foray in the XFINITY Series with a hopeful attempt in next February’s season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Unlike the trucks, Black found more stability in the XFINITY Series cars, which is something he experienced first-hand during his XFINITY Series debut.
“The car handles better in traffic than the truck,” added Black. “You don’t get sucked around as much. I was three-wide a couple of times in the car and I didn’t have to worry about losing it.”
With two races remaining in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Black is fighting towards a top-10 finish in the championship standings, which earns an automatic invite to the championship banquet on Nov. 23, three days after the conclusion of the Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
Black, steering the No. 07 Scubalife.com Chevrolet Silverado for veteran owner Bobby Dotter earned his career-best finish of fifth in February at Daytona. The Floridian has finished all but two races this season, leaving him 21 points behind Spencer Gallagher for 10th overall in the standings.
Set to make his Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway debut next Friday, Black heads to Arizona with an open-mind and a suttle approach to a new track, which often has favored the likable driver this season.
“I’ve never ran Phoenix before so I’m excited to cross it off my list.” he said. You hear a lot about the dogleg and I’ve never really ran one of those before so it will be cool to try that out and see what running on of those is like. I’m really looking forward to the race and believe we can grab a top-15, if not a top-10 finish.”
As for his complete 2016 plans?
“Soon,” he quipped earlier this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
