SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series | Road America (Wisc.) | Henry 180 Fast Facts
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 Henry 180: 26th (Random Draw)
Driver Points Position: 21st | Owner Points Position: 26th
Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 720; competed last at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on July 4, 2020 (Start: 29th | Finish: 26th)
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)
Notes of Interest:
Full of Energy: Bucked Up Energy will continue its role as the primary partner of Graf’s No. 08 Chevrolet Camaro. Road America is the 10th 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 Road America Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in Saturday afternoon’s Henry 180 at Elkhart Lake’s Road America (Wisc.)
Turning Lefts and Rights Again: For the second time in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, Joe Graf Jr. will compete on a road course. Graf, 22, has never seen the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course before Saturday’s Henry 180.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Road Course Nuggets: At tracks classified as a road course, Graf has competed in just one NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month.
He holds an average starting position of 29.0 and an average result of 26.0 with 100 percent of the laps complete.
Early Preparation: To help Joe Graf Jr. prepare for the fundamentals of Saturday’s Henry 180, earlier this year while on the West Coast Swing, Graf Jr. and his crew chief Patrick Donahue participated in the Chris Cook Performance Driving School at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
Popular Return: The SS GreenLight Racing team bring back a popular paint scheme for Saturday afternoon’s 45-lap race. The Bucked Up Energy paint scheme is infused with a patriotic fighter aircraft as a tribute to the country’s Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776.
Coming Soon: Joe Graf Jr. is set to announce a new associate marketing partner for the remainder of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season ahead of the Xfinity Series inaugural race at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Road Course on Sat., Aug. 15, 2020.
Halfway Home: 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.
17 races down, 16 races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 21st in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 23.7 over the final three months 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 video.
From The Pit Box: Industry veteran Patrick Donahue is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief. He will crew chief his 170th NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday afternoon. In his previous 169 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.
He has three prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Road America with a best finish of 19th in August 2018 with Joey Gase.
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: “We didn’t have the finish we were looking for. Certainly, it was not because of a lack of effort of everyone on this SS GreenLight Racing team.
“We’ll regroup and get focused on Road America in a couple of weeks and hope to bounce back with a solid finish that will carry us into the opening stretch of the second half of the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.”
On Road America: “You have to approach a place like Road America with an open mind, especially for a rookie driver like me who has zero laps and my first lap on the track will be the green flag.
“It’s certainly now how I imagined my second Xfinity Series road course would go, but it’s the rules, so we’ll do the best we can.
“Staying on the track and finishing the race with the best finish possible is our primary goal.”
On No Practice Or Qualifying For Remainder Of 2020: “Not having the chance to practice or qualify is very unfortunate for our SS GreenLight Racing team. That track time was pivotal in allowing us to get us a good setup on the car for the race.
“This year, however, has been unprecedented. I’m thankful to be racing and everyone is in the same boat as us, so we’ll try to make the best of it the rest of the year.”
The Henry 180 (45 laps | 182.16 miles) is the 18th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 37-car field will take the green flag shortly after 11:00 a.m. on Sat., Aug. 8, 2020 with live coverage on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), the Motor 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 their two-car program in 2020.
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