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Dylan Lupton NASCAR XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200 Race Recap

Topics:  Dylan Lupton, Lakes Region 200

Dylan Lupton NASCAR XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200 Race Recap

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
July 19, 2015

NASCAR XFINITY Series, 26th Annual Lakes Region 200
Event No. 17, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire
Athenian Motorsports Race Report
Saturday, July 18, 2015

Making his fourth career NASCAR XFINITY Series start, Dylan Lupton made his debut at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway and finished a respectable 24th in Saturday afternoon’s Lakes Region 200.

During qualifying on Saturday morning, Lupton and his Athenian Motorsports team struggled to find the grip they need to move forward from round one of knockout qualifying. Despite their best efforts, Lupton found his No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro 26th quickest overall.

Despite his deep starting position, Lupton would hold steady during the early stages of the 200 lap race. Utilizing the early cautions to their advantage, crew chief Mike Ford would try and adjust the car to Lupton’s liking.

Staying out during the race’s third caution allowed Lupton to lead the field to green following on Lap 42. Despite a gallant effort, Lupton was passed by eventual race winner Denny Hamlin shortly after the restart. While still battling a loose race car, Lupton would remain tucked up with the lead pack.

Lupton would maintain a lead lap status, until during a long green-flag run, which saw the No. 25 Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team stay out considerably longer than the rest of the field.

Within 80 laps of the finish, the Wilton, California native made his final planned pit stop of the race for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

Fighting hard for a top-20 finish near the conclusion of the race, the wicked loose No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro proved to be too much for the rookie to overcome. Lupton’s 24th place finish was his second best XFINITY Series effort in four races.

Denny Hamlin won the Lakes Region 200 followed by Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez to round out the top-five. Ty Dillon, Regan Smith, Darrell Wallace Jr., Chase Elliott and Brennan Poole comprised the remainder of the top-10.

John Wes Townley will return to the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro next Saturday, July 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Lilly Diabetes 250. The 100-lap event will be televised live on NBC, the IMS Radio Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel 90.

DYLAN LUPTON, NO. 25 ZAXBY’S CHEVROLET CAMARO NEW HAMPSHIRE SCOREBOX:

Team: Athenian Motorsports

Starting Position: 26th

Finishing Position: 24th

Laps Completed: 198 / 200

Status: Running

Driver’s Rating: 58.2

Owners Point Standings: 21st.

POST RACE QUOTE:

“This weekend was a step forward in the right direction for my learning curve in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. I wouldn’t say that I am happy with our result by any means, but I’m optimistic for the future.

“I learned quite a bit during the race. The biggest problem we had was that we were too loose in and that was our Achilles heel all weekend. I wasn’t able to carry speed through the corner and get back to the throttle like I wanted.

“A 24th place finish is not what Athenian Motorsports and myself have worked so hard to strive for. We are going to regroup this week, figure out how to make the car better and head out to Iowa (Speedway) in two weeks. I am extremely grateful to have gotten the opportunity to have raced at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel at a familiar track in Iowa. I expect our results to be quite a bit better.”

Fast Links:

Driver: Dylan Lupton on Twitter @LuptonDylan or visit LuptonRacing.com.

Team: Follow Athenian Motorsports on Twitter @AthenianMotors.

Marketing Partner: Zaxby’s: Zaxbys.com.

Sanction: NASCAR XFINITY Series: NASCAR.com.

About Zaxby’s Racing:

Zaxby’s has been a fixture in NASCAR since 2007 with driver John Wes Townley. In July 2014, Zaxby’s joined forces with Athenian Motorsports. AMS will operate out of a new, state-of-the-art, 43,000 square foot facility in Concord, N.C. in 2015. The team will carry the Zaxby’s colors as it fields full-time entries in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

About Zaxby’s:

An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers its guests prepared-at-order Chicken Fingerz, Traditional or Boneless Wings, sandwiches, Zalads and Zappetizers, along with a variety of nine sauces ranging from Wimpy and Tongue Torch to Nuclear and Insane. Childhood friends Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley hatched the Athens, Ga.-based chain in 1990 to provide a fun, relaxing atmosphere that would keep guests coming back for more. The company ranked number seven in the 2012 Top 10 Excellent Large Fast-Food Chains With 500 or More U.S. Units Quick-Track study published by Sandelman & Associates.

The chain also ranked number five in the nation for total sales and number one in the chicken segment in the 2012 Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report published by Technomic. In honor of the thousands of children the restaurant chain serves every year, Zaxby’s is a proud supporter of Make-A-Wish. The company operates more than 595 locations in 13 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dylan Lupton, driver of the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) for Athenian Motorsports. (Photo Credit: Dennis Michelson for Lupton Racing).

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