SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series | Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 Fast Facts
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:
Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)
Primary Partner(s): Bucked Up Energy | Core Development | EAT SLEEP RACE
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro
Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue
Starting Position for Sport Clips Help A Hero 200: 28th (Event Formula)
Driver Points Position: 23rd | Owner Points Position: 29th
Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 711; competed last at Kansas Speedway on July 20, 2020 (Start: 34th | Finish: 28th)
Chassis No. 711 also ran at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in August 2019 with a 15th-place finish after also qualifying 15th.
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)
Notes of Interest:
Full of Energy: Bucked Up Energy and its sister products will continue its role as the primary partner of Graf’s No. 08 Chevrolet Camaro. Dover International Speedway is the 15th race in a multi-year, multi-race deal with the former ARCA Menards Series winner.
Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all delivers long-lasting energy.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Darlington Raceway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his second career start at the “Lady in Black” in Saturday afternoon’s race.
Earlier this year, Graf Jr. made his “Too Tough To Tame” debut where after he started 36th based on a random draw and finished on the lead lap in 19th without any practice or qualifying.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Intermediate Nuggets: At tracks greater than 1.0-mile in size, Graf has competed in 13 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He holds an average starting position of 23.8 and an average result of 20.5
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.
Throwin’ Back To 2010: SS GreenLight Racing and Joe Graf Jr. are one of many NASCAR Xfinity Series teams participating in Darlington Raceway’s annual “Throwback Weekend” at the 1.33-mile egg-shaped oval.
Graf Jr.’s No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet will relic Elliott Sadler’s No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet for JR Motorsports from the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
A span of 22 years, Sadler made 397 Xfinity Series starts from 1995 to 2019 producing 13 wins, 106 top-five and 227 top-10 finishes.
The Emporia, Va. native made 15 Xfinity starts at the “Lady in Black” winning the 2016 race for JR Motorsports.
Welcome Aboard: Earlier this week, Joe Graf Jr. announced a one-race partnership for this weekend at Darlington Raceway with Voitanos.
Voitanos, founded in 2017 is your trusted source for Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft 365 developer education.
Started by Andrew Connell, a 16-time Microsoft MVP, Voitanos has helped thousands of developers across the globe learn how to get the most out of their Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) investments.
Saturday’s one-race deal marks the company’s first foray in NASCAR.
World Center of Racing Recap: Joe Graf Jr.’s return-trip to Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway last weekend was unfortunately much like his 2020 season-opener.
Sporting a popular Bucked Up WOKE AF paint scheme, Graf Jr. was eliminated in the race after early race contact with another competitor.
Coming Soon: Joe Graf Jr. will unveil a new Bucked Up Energy paint scheme in the coming weeks as the Xfinity Series is about to approach the stretch drive of the 2020 season.
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, 22 races down, 11 races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 23rd in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 23rd over the final nine 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.
Did You Know? While NASCAR Xfinity Series competition was idle during the coronavirus pandemic for two months, Joe Graf Jr. got busy.
Whether it was working out, spending time on iRacing in the Pro Series Invitational or Saturday Night Thunder, Graf recently gave an insider view on how his quarantine went and offered even a little insight on himself as a person.
Click here to watch the video.
From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Patrick Donahue is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief. He will crew chief his 176th NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Saturday. In his previous 175 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.
He has seven prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Darlington with a best finish of 15th in August 2019 with Gray Gaulding.
This Is 2020: Entering Darlington, Graf Jr. has 25 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with four top-15 and nine top-20 finishes. After 22 races in 2020, he stands 23rd in the championship standings with 11 races remaining.
Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran David Starr returns to the seat of the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet on Friday night.
The 52-year-old will make his ninth start of 2020 and fifth with 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 Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway: “Pretty disappointed with how Daytona turned out. We had high hopes with a cool looking car and our race was over before it really started.
“Nothing we can do but to forge ahead and try to bounce back next weekend at Darlington and the rest of the season.”
On Elliott Sadler Darlington Throwback: “Our No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet looks stout for this weekend’s throwback weekend at Darlington.
“I’ve always had respect for Elliott Sadler as a race car driver and to be able to flashback to his time at JR Motorsports is really cool for me. It means a lot to me that he reached out on social media explaining how influential this paint scheme was during his career.
Hopefully, we can have another successful race at Darlington with a better finish than May.”
On Darlington Raceway Return: “Obviously excited to get back to Darlington Raceway this weekend – hoping we can have a better finish than the spring and get some momentum on our side.
“Darlington is a very technical track but I got a lot better throughout the race in May and I feel confident that if we can stay out of trouble and have some luck on our side – we should contend for a top-15 finish.”
Race Information:
The Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 (147 laps | 200.1 miles) is the 23rd of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 37-car field will take the green flag shortly after 12:00 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 5, 2020 with live coverage on NBC, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
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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