Beard Motorsports: Jesse Love Texas Race Recap – Speedway Digest

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Beard Motorsports Finish:           

● Jesse Love Jr. (Started 35th, Finished 31st / Accident, completed 217 of 267 laps)

Notes:                 

● Making just his second career start in the NASCAR Cup Series Love lined up 35th to start the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. He exercised a little self-preservation during the opening stage, noting early that the No. 62 Chevrolet was handling on the tight side.

● A handful of adjustments were made on a pit stop that took place during the first caution. After making several laps Love reported that the adjustments had made the car way too free. Trying to hang onto the car Love lost a lap to the leaders. A caution at the end of the first stage allowed Love to earn his way back onto the lead lap through the “lucky dog” rule which places the first car one-lap down back on the lead lap.

● Love once again quietly logged laps to start the second stage. Caution waved on lap 126 for a single-car accident and Love used the break in action to report that the car’s handling had improved compared to the end of the first stage. Throughout the next several laps he was advised on racing lines and made adjustments based on feedback from the team.

● As the race continued Love continued to log laps, learning the track and the car. He was scored in 28th position when another driver drove underneath him to make a pass. The move caused the No. 62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet to get loose and Love started sliding and made contact with the inside retaining wall. Unable to drive the car back to the garage he was towed to the work area where the team determined that the car would not be able to meet NASCAR requirements to return to the track.

Race Notes:        

● Joey Logano won the Würth 400 to score his 37th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Texas. His margin of victory over second-place Ross Chastain was .346 of a second.

● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 73 laps.

● Only 23 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● William Byron remains the championship leader after Texas with a 13-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Jesse Love Jr., driver of the No. 62 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet:

“I definitely feel like I learned a lot today. The difference between the Cup car and the Xfinity car here is pretty big. The car was really tight in that first stage and I felt like I just couldn’t carry any speed down the straightaway. The team kept adjusting on the car and I felt like we were going in the right direction. The pass there that caused us to wreck for some reason just disrupted the balance so much. I hate how it ended for C4 Energy but am very thankful to the Beard family for the opportunity to drive their car this weekend.”

Next Up:

Beard Motorsports will be on hiatus for the next two months before making its return to the NASCAR Cup Series at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the July 27 Brickyard 400.

Beard Motorsports PR