SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series| Richmond (Va.) Raceway – Go Bowling 250 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 Go Bowling 250: 23rd (Event Formula)
Driver Points Position: 22nd | Owner Points Position: 27th
Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 709; competed last at Bristol Motor Speedway on June 1, 2020 (Start: 36th | Finish: 13th)
Chassis No. 709 also ran at Richmond Raceway in September 2019 with a 22nd place finish after also qualifying ninth.
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. Richmond Raceway is the 16th 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.
Lady In Black Recap: Joe Graf Jr.’s return-trip to the track Too Tough To Tame yielded a respectable result.
Despite starting 28th, Joe Graf Jr. in a throwback paint scheme to NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Elliott Sadler from the 2010 season, the 22-year-old battled the handling on his No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet to a 23rd place finish.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Richmond Raceway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his second career start at Richmond Raceway in Friday night’s race.
Last fall, Graf Jr. made his third and final Xfinity Series start of the season for Richard Childress Racing, securing a then career-best 14th place finish.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Short Track Nuggets: At tracks classified as short tracks with a track length of under 1.0-mile, Graf has just three previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts.
He holds an average starting position of 24.3 and an average result of 15.3 and has been running at the conclusion of all three events.
Joe Graf Jr. ARCA Menards Series Career Short Track Nuggets: At tracks classified as short tracks with a track length of under 1.0-mile, Graf has competed in 18 ARCA Menards Series races. He holds an average starting position of 9.8 and an average result of 8.8, including a win at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in 2018.
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.
Back To School Too: 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.
Quadruple Finale: This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will run their finale doubleheader weekend at Richmond Raceway.
Earlier this season, Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Dover International Speedway all hosted doubleheader weekends for the Xfinity Series.
At Homestead, Graf Jr. finished 16th and 13th respectively, while in the Bluegrass state of Kentucky, the former ARCA Menards Series winner earned a 13th and 22nd place finish, respectively.
Most recently at the Monster Mile in Dover, Del. he finished 18th and 21st respectively.
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, 23 races down, 10 races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 22nd in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 23rd over the final eight 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 177th and 178th NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. In his previous 176 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.
He has 10 prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Richmond with a best finish of seventh in May 2002 with Brian Vickers.
This Is 2020: Entering Richmond, Graf Jr. has 26 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with four top-15 and nine top-20 finishes. After 23 races in 2020, he stands 22nd in the championship standings with 10 races remaining.
Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran JJ Yeley returns to the seat of the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet on Friday night.
The 43-year-old will make his fifth Xfinity start of 2020 and second 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 Darlington (S.C.) Raceway: “Not a terrible day in our No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet by any means. Car came home clean. We dodged a bullet with that wreck right in front of us at the end of Stage 2 too.
“Unfortunately, we got stuck a lap down and just couldn’t catch the free pass. Overall, though an alright day for us.
“Looking forward to the doubleheader at Richmond!”
On Richmond (Va.) Raceway: “I’m looking forward to Richmond on Friday night. I feel like we really have an opportunity to have a good finish with our No. 08 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet.
“I had a really good outing last September with Richard Childress Racing and I’m hoping I can build on that experience Friday night for Bobby (Dotter), Patrick (Donahue) and have another strong finish for our SS GreenLight Racing team.”
On Richmond Doubleheader Weekend: “This is our last doubleheader weekend of the season and I’d really like to leave Richmond Raceway on Saturday afternoon with some momentum to carry us forward not only to Bristol but the rest of the 2020 Xfinity Series season.”
Race Information:
The Go Bowling 250 (250 laps | 187.5 miles) is the 24th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 37-car field will take the green flag shortly after 7:00 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 11, 2020, with live coverage on NBCSN, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
The Virginia is for Racing Lovers (250 laps | 187.5 miles) is the 25th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 37-car field will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 12, 2020, with live coverage on NBCSN, 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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