SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series |Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway | Ag-Pro 300 Fast Facts
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:
Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)
Primary Partner(s): Bucked Up WOKE AF | Core Development | EAT SLEEP RACE
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro
Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue
Starting Position for Ag-Pro 300: 27th (Event Formula)
Driver Points Position: 22nd | Owner Points Position: 28th
Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 702; competed last at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on August 28, 2020 (Start: 21st | Finish: 37th)
Chassis No. 702 is known for its performance at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2019 with a second-place outing after an eighth-place starting position.
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. Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway is the 19th 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.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Recap: Joe Graf Jr.’s return to Sin City didn’t involve a jackpot, but the rookie continued to gain experience in his second trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Graf Jr. struggled with a loose race for a majority of the Alsco 300 and despite great adjustments by crew chief Patrick Donahue, Graf’s had a hiccup on pit road during a green flag stop which took the team out of contention for a top-20 finish.
For the third consecutive race, Graf settled for a 27th place finish.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Talladega Superspeedway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his second NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 2.66-mile superspeedway on Saturday and looks to improve on his 34th finish from June’s Unhinged 300, where he was a victim in a late-race accident.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Superspeedway Nuggets: In four NASCAR Xfinity Series Superspeedway races, he holds an average starting position of 14th and an average result of 32nd with a best finish of 23rd at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July 2019.
Joe Graf Jr. ARCA Menards Series Career Superspeedway Nuggets: In three career ARCA superspeedway track races, Graf Jr. has two top-10 finishes. He has been running at the finish of all three races. He holds an average starting position of 15.3 and an average result of 11th with three (3) laps led.
In 2018, Graf Jr. was involved in the closest finish in ARCA Menards Series history at Talladega Superspeedway in a photo finish.
The margin was so narrow in the 69-year history of the series, it was a statistical dead heat, the margin of victory on the computerized scoring monitors showing 0.000 seconds. Only a video replay and the photo finish camera were able to determine Graf finished second by a matter of millimeters.
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.
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, 27 races down, six 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 six 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 181st NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Friday night. In his previous 179 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.
He has four Xfinity races as crew chief at Talladega with a best finish of second in 2019 with Gray Gaulding.
This Is 2020: Entering Talladega, Graf Jr. has 30 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with four top-15 and 10 top-20 finishes. After 27 races in 2020, he stands 22nd in the championship standings with six races remaining.
Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran Gray Gaulding returns to the seat of the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet on Friday night.
The 22-year-old will make his fifth Xfinity start of 2020, all 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 Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway: “Well, it wasn’t the night we were looking for at Las Vegas. We were making some gains about halfway through the race, but then we had a hiccup on pit road and could never recover. A bummer for our SS GreenLight Racing team.
“We have six races left in 2020 and we are determined to make the most of them!”
On Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Return: “We’ve had zero luck on the superspeedways this year. We have proven that SS GreenLight Racing brings fast cars to these types of tracks, but if you are not around for the finish, none of that matters.
“We’re excited to have Bucked Up WOKE AF back on the car this weekend and hope we walk away from Talladega with a strong finish that will propel us forward for the final stretch of five races.”
Race Information:
The Ag-Pro 300 (113 laps | 300.58 miles) is the 28th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 37-car field will take the green flag shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 3, 2020, with live coverage on 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 its two-car program in 2020.
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