NASCAR Next Driver Dylan Lupton Scores Career-Best XFINITY Finish

NASCAR Next Driver Dylan Lupton Scores Career-Best XFINITY Finish

Topics: Dylan Lupton, U.S. Cellular 250

NASCAR Next Driver Dylan Lupton Scores Career-Best XFINITY Finish

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
August 3, 2015

NASCAR XFINITY Series, 7th Annual U.S. Cellular 250 presented by New Holland
Event No. 19, Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa
Athenian Motorsports Race Report
Saturday, July 18, 2015

Saturday night’s U.S. Cellular 250 presented by New Holland will be a NASCAR XFINITY Series race that Dylan Lupton soon won’t forget.

A fast No. 25 Zaxby’s / @LuptonDylan Chevrolet Camaro allowed the Athenian Motorsports team to show their strength around the 0.875-mile short track during the two practice sessions Friday.

A botched qualifying run on race day foiled Lupton’s goal of starting his fifth career NASCAR XFINITY Series race inside the top-20.

Lined up 26th, Lupton set his focus on the event where he hoped to rally the support of his team and fans with a satisfying finish.

From the drop of the green flag, Lupton exercised patience while diligently working his way through the field. When Erik Jones, the NASCAR standout had to drop to the rear of the field for missing the driver’s meeting, Lupton allowed himself to fall into the clutches of his fellow friend as the two began their maiden climb through the field.

Patience and determination paid off for Lupton, as the Wilton, California native was able to move into the top-20 approaching the halfway mark.

Despite losing a lap to the leaders during an extended green flag run, Lupton put up a gallant effort with fellow XFINITY drivers to battle for the free pass in the event of a caution flag.

Unfortunately, while battling driver Dakoda Armstrong to return to the lead lap, contact was made sending the No. 25 Zaxby’s / @LuptonDylan Chevrolet Camaro around for a solo spin, where luckily he did not make any contact and was able to solider on.

Despite his best effort, Lupton lost a another lap all thanks to the spin, but a resilient effort from the 21-year-old driver found himself back on the lead lap and charging through from the rear of the pack to take the checkered flag 17th, his best XFINITY Series finish this season.

Ryan Blaney won the U.S. Cellular 250, followed by Regan Smith, Brian Scott, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan to round out the top-five. Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Elliott Sadler, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain comprised the remainder of the top-10.

John Wes Townley will return to the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro next Saturday, August 8 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International for the Zippo 200. The 82-lap event will be televised live on NBC Sports Network, the MRN Radio Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel 90.

DYLAN LUPTON, NO. 25 ZAXBY’S CHEVROLET CAMARO IOWA SPEEDWAY BOXSCORE:

Team: Athenian Motorsports

Starting Position: 26th

Finishing Position: 17th

Laps Completed: 260 / 260

Status: Running

Driver’s Rating: 68.7

Owners Point Standings: 22nd

POST RACE QUOTE:

“I feel like this race weekend was one of the best of the year so far. However, we faced an early deficit that hurt us all race long. We ran up on a slower car during qualifying and it caused us to qualify towards the back.

“We had the speed to run in the top-10 at Iowa Speedway, we just never had track position. Around halfway in the race, the car really started to come alive. I was able to drive up and pass drivers in the top ten, even though we were still a lap down.

Unfortunately, I got spun by another driver going into turn 1 and it caused us to lose a lap. All night long I felt like we could be around a 5th-10th place car if we could just catch a break and get back on the lead lap. I realized how you have to put the whole weekend together to get a good finish.

However, I am very optimistic for the future. We showed great speed in the race after the first pit stop and have something to now build on. I'm looking forward to the next few weekends at road courses and getting a top-10 finish that the team and I are working so hard for. Big thanks to Athenian Motorsports and the guys on this No. 25 team for the great opportunity and faith in me as a driver.”

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.

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