Date: Friday, May 17, 2019
Event: NC Education Lottery 200 Charlotte Speedway
Format: 3 Stage Format 30/62/136 Laps
Start/Finish: 7th/20th Race Winner: Kyle Busch
NC Education Lottery 200 Notes
• Cory Roper and the No. 04 Preferred Industrial Contractors, Inc. Ford F-150 team came to Charlotte Motor Speedway not knowing what to expect. This was Roper’s first time at the track and 12th start for the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
• During the practice sessions, Roper rounded out the pack of trucks 17th fastest.
• Although Roper got loose during Qualifying, he finished with an impressive 7th position to put him starting 4th row inside directly in front of race winner Kyle Busch.
• At the green flag, Roper could not get a grip on the track and his tires spun. Roper quickly fell back In the first two laps from 7th to 16th.
• Roper tried running several lines around the track but was having difficulty finding the speed and getting comfortable in the truck.
• A caution came and Roper was able to catch back up to the pack. Unfortunately, on the restart, two trucks braked hard in front of Roper causing an accordion effect and he hit the truck in front of him and suffered some nose damage. Roper came in to pit at the end of the stage and was able to tape up the front. Another set back came when the team had a penalty for a crew member coming over the wall too soon.
• Roper was determined to not let the pit penalty bring him down and he went out to make some of the best lap times of the race. Roper ended the final stage in p20.
• Kyle Busch scored the win at the Charlotte 200. Brennen Poole, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, and Matt Crafton completed the top five.