AJ Allmendinger maintained position in the top 10 prior to coming to pit road under green in the second stage. Before the green flag stops cycled through, the caution came out, scoring Allmendinger a lap down. The team took the wave around to get back on the lead lap, coming to pit road under the next caution for service. Within three laps of the restart on lap 185, Allmendinger gained nine spots to rejoin the top 15. The team battled strategy for the remainder of the race, making minor adjustments to the handling of the No. 16 to help Allmendinger with entry into the corners. The Celsius Chevy sustained minor damage in the wreck on lap 262 and went on to finish in 18th.
“Tough day overall for our No. 16 Celsius team. We had good speed in the car; I was really happy with that but we struggled a little bit on the long runs. The strategy just never played out for us; we just ended up on the wrong end of the strategy most of the time, but I’m super proud of the team. I wish we got a little bit more out of it at the end to earn a better finish, but we have a lot of things to be positive about and build on from this weekend.”
Ty Dillon and the No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet team started Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway from the 32nd position, but having shown speed in practice, entered the race with high hopes for a strong day. Focused on staying on the lead lap, Dillon finished the opening stage in 32nd. Pretty happy with the handling of the No. 10 Chevy, Dillon asked for small adjustments and restarted the second stage looking to advance his track position. Unfortunately, Dillon was caught a lap down after an untimely caution on lap 169 during green-flag pit stops, and then while battling for the lucky dog position, had contact from a competitor to the rear of the No. 10 causing Dillon to spin out on lap 203. Aimed at making the most of his day, Dillon was battling for position when he was again spun from behind late in the race on lap 270. With additional damage to the Sea Best Chevy, Dillon crossed the finish line in 35th, four laps down to the leaders.
