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Lamar Finishes 12th at Nashville: Burney Lamar and the No. 77 Dollar General Stores crew faced an uphill battle at Nashville
(Tenn.) Superspeedway on Saturday night after brake problems plagued them from the start of the Federated Auto Parts 300 Busch
Series race. A strong qualifying effort put Lamar eighth on the starting grid. Lamar dropped a few positions early in the
race. Patience and solid driving allowed Lamar to work his way back into the top-10 with just over 80 laps remaining. He dropped
a couple of positions in the closing laps, finishing 12th. Lamar moved up one position in points to 12th.
Lamar arrived
into Nashville, Tenn. early to participate in the NASCAR media advance. Along with Busch Series teams being in town to race
at Nashville Superspeedway; the Country Music Award (CMA) festivities kicked off on Wednesday afternoon. Lamar had the opportunity
to join the festivities in a parade through downtown Nashville with country music artists.
Participating in the CMA
festivities, Lamar had the opportunity to be a guest on more than 25 national radio stations that were broadcasting live from
Nashville, Tenn., along with driving a FastTrack car around Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway for country music artists, and
local athletes.
After a two day whirlwind of media obligations, Lamar was ready to get his race weekend started with
a one-day show on Saturday for the Federated Auto Parts 300. Lamar would get a slow start in the first practice, but eventually
rounded out the final practice in 17th. The No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet would pick up the pace and qualify eighth
for the event.
Lamar started the race in the fourth row. Within the first two laps of green flag racing, Lamar had
charged his Monte Carlo SS to the fifth position before the caution flag flew due to an on-track incident.
Within the
first 10 laps of the 300-mile event, Lamar was running in the top-five. Lamar reported to his Dollar General Stores crew that
his Chevy was loose off and he was experiencing brake problems. To protect his brakes, Lamar was forced to let off the throttle
early getting into the corners to help salvage his brakes for the end of the race.
Continuing to have brake problems,
Lamar still maintained a top-15 running position. On lap 34 the caution flag flew and Lamar brought his No. 77 Dollar General
Stores Chevrolet down pit road for four tires, an air pressure adjustment on the right rear tire and fuel. Crew chief, Gene
Nead instructed his rookie driver to dial all the front brake into the car, helping apply more pressure to the front brakes.
Lamar
sustained a top-18 running position until lap 98 when the caution flag flew over the field. The Dollar General Stores Chevy
rolled down pit road for four tires and fuel; no adjustments were made on the No. 77 car. As Lamar slid the car into the pit
stall, the crew discovered that the right front tire was flat on the Dollar General Stores Chevrolet. Returning to the track
in 19th-place, despite battling brake problems, Lamar raced to a 15th-place position when the caution flag flew once again
on lap 125. Gene Nead called Lamar to pit road once again on lap 127 for four tires and fuel and Lamar returned to the track
in 13th.
Pumping the brakes helped maintain brake fluid pressure through the race, and Lamar raced to a top-10 running
position with 75 laps remaining. A caution condition came over the track on lap 172 and Lamar brought his car down for the
last pit stop of the night, for four tires and fuel. Finishing out the 300-mile event with hardly any brake pressure, Lamar
raced his Dollar General Stores Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish.
Lamar will make his debut at Kentucky Speedway on
June 17th for the Meijer 300 presented by Oreo Busch Series event. The Meijer 300 presented by Oreo can be seen live on FX
at 7:30 p.m. ET, MRN will also carry the live radio broadcast.
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