TALLADEGA, Ala. – Opting to utilize a more aggressive strategy in Saturday’s MoneyLion 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway paid off for Gray Gaulding and his SS Greenlight Racing team with a career-best second-place finish.
Gaulding qualified strong in the season-opener at Daytona, but a conservative approach in the 300-miler in February worked against the Colonial Heights, Va. native and left him with a sour finish.
With a strong No. 08 Panini Chevrolet Camaro, he qualified eighth and quickly let the field know he would be a force to reckon with. Throughout Stage 1, Gaulding hovered safely inside the top-10 but managed to draft inside the top-five at the end of the 25-lap stage to earn valuable championship points.
The second stage took a different approach – flashing back to the single-file choo-choo line of Daytona – Gaulding finished outside the top-10 but informed crew chief Patrick Donahue he still had a fast race car.
Throughout Stage 3, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series winner sliced and diced his way back through the field and when the last caution waved on Lap 110, the 21-year-old sat fifth with eyes on his first career NASCAR National Series victory.
On the restart and with help from behind, Gaulding made his move but with an abrasive blocking from Tyler Reddick and second-place runner Chase Briscoe, Gaulding couldn’t steal the lead.
With momentum on his side, Gaulding was able to clear Briscoe for second but came up 0.127 seconds short. It was his best effort in 16 series starts.
Gaulding said he timed his final move “perfect” but just came up a little short.
“Man, I timed it perfect,” said Gaulding. I was kind of a lone ranger out there. I think I just had to earn a lot of people’s respect. “I left it all out on the table. I did as much as I could to get beside (Reddick).
“When (Briscoe) came up, he kind of blocked my run and it was so, so close. I can’t say enough about Panini, my family, my friends and the race fans. Every single lap I get in this car, I drive my heart out and today it almost worked out. A lot of hard work.”
Gaulding’s accomplishment was also a career-best for car owner Bobby Dotter – whose previous best in the Xfinity Series was a pair of fifth-place runs with Dotter in 1995 and Andy Lally at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2017.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
