SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series | Texas Motor Speedway | O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Fast Facts
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:
Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)
Primary Partner(s): BassReaper Bait Co. | Bucked Up Energy | EAT SLEEP RACE
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro
Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue
Starting Position for O’Reilly Auto Parts 300: 28th (Event Formula)
Driver Points Position: 23rd | Owner Points Position: 29th
Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 708; competed last at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on September 18, 2020 (Start: 23rd | Finish: 27th)
Chassis No. 708 also competed at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2019 (Start: 22nd | Finish: 13th).
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)
Notes of Interest:
Reelin’ in the Competition: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Joe Graf Jr. and SS GreenLight Racing welcome a new partner to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, BassReaper Bait Co.
Born in 2019 from a family driven by professional fishing, BassReaper Bait Co. is a manufacturer of high quality soft plastic bass fishing lures and bass fishing tackle.
Whether you are a professional angler or new to the sport of fishing, BassReaper Bait Co. has fishing tackle to get the job done.
Their soft plastics are proudly made in the United States of America.
Kansas Speedway Recap: After a solid top-15 finish at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL, Joe Graf Jr. and the SS GreenLight Racing team carried momentum to Kansas Speedway. While running competitively inside the top-20, Graf Jr. experienced a gear failure which resulted in an early exit from the Kansas Lottery 300 and a disappointing 32nd place finish.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Texas Motor Speedway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his second career start at Texas Motor Speedway in Saturday afternoon’s race.
In July, Graf Jr. made his track debut where he started 25th and steadily moved forward to earn a respectable 21st place finish.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Intermediate Nuggets: At tracks greater than 1.0-mile in size, Graf has competed in 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He holds an average starting position of 24.0 and an average result of 21.8.
Joe Graf Jr. ARCA Menards Series Career Intermediate Nuggets: At tracks greater than 1.0-mile in size, Graf has competed in eight ARCA Menards Series races. He holds an average starting position of 11.8 and an average result of 12.9.
Say Whaaat?: For at least the next month, Joe Graf Jr. and partner Bucked Up Energy are allowing one lucky fan the opportunity to win a year’s supply of Bucked Up Energy or over $1,000 in cash!
Winner’s choice!
Plus, the more you promote the contest yourself, the more entries you receive!
To view contest rules and enter, click here.
Vote For Me: Voting is open for the 2020 edition of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver.
Approved voters are allowed to vote for their favorite NASCAR Xfinity Series driver at least one time per day for the next two months through Mon., Nov. 9, 2020.
To cast your vote for Joe Graf Jr. visit, nascar.com/xfinitymostpopulardriver.
TikTok, TikTok: Continuing to increase his social media presence, Joe Graf Jr. recently joined TikTok. Search “Joe Graf Jr.” and follow the NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie for a glimpse of his entertaining life on and off the track.
School Back In Session: While juggling a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule with SS GreenLight Racing, college life has resumed for Joe Graf Jr.
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Graf Jr. has resorted to online classes at the University of New York, where he is pursuing a degree in business, media and sports management.
The Second Half: Despite the coronavirus pandemic which shuttered NASCAR Xfinity Series races for more than two months, the series recently reached the halfway point of their season at Kansas Speedway in late July.
Now, 30 races down, three races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 23rd in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 24th over the final three weeks of the season.
Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 80 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow every month.
From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Patrick Donahue is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief. He will crew chief his 184th NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Saturday. In his previous 183 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.
He has nine prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Texas Motor Speedway with a best finish of 13th twice in March 1999 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon and in Nov. 2019 with Gray Gaulding.
This Is 2020: Entering Texas, Graf Jr. has 33 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with five top-15 and 11 top-20 finishes. After 30 races in 2020, he stands 23rd in the championship standings with three races remaining.
Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. NASCAR veteran David Starr drives the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet Camaro. The 52-year-old will make his 11th Xfinity start of 2020 on Saturday and seventh for SS GreenLight Racing.
Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafJr.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).
For more on SS GreenLight Racing, please like them on Facebook (SS GreenLight Racing) and follow them on Twitter (@SSGLR0708) and visit their website at SSGreenLight.com.
Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quotes:
On Kansas Speedway: “This one stings a little. We had a really good No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet and were just hovering inside the top-20 and then we had a gear failure.
“I’m bummed because I really think we would have been able to escape Kansas with a top-15 or better. We’ll get regrouped and try again for Texas.”
On Texas Motor Speedway Return: “I’m excited to debut a new partner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race with BassReaper Bait Co., the car looks great.
“I’m encouraged by our speed last weekend at Kansas Speedway even if we didn’t have the finish we were looking for. Texas Motor Speedway is a tough intermediate track, but I learned a lot in July and we ended up with a decent finish.
“This weekend, I hope we’re able to finish what we started at Kansas and get ourselves a top-15 or better.”
Race Information:
The O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 (200 laps | 300 miles) is the 31st of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 36-car field will take the green flag shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 24, 2020, with live coverage on NBCSN, the Performance Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Central).
About SS Green Light Racing:
As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing has been a developmental hub for drivers looking to climb the ranks. Led by owner and former driver Bobby Dotter, the team has fielded entries in either the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.
Coming off a successful 2019 Xfinity campaign, SS GreenLight Racing looks to build further momentum with its two-car program in 2020.
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