Theriault Rallies To Finish 6th In PASS Easter Bunny 150 At Hickory
PASS South Series: Austin Theriault- Hickory Motor Speedway Race Report
HICKORY, N.C. – Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, Maine, overcame an early handling issue to finish sixth in the PASS South Series Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, N.C., on Saturday, March 30. After posting the fastest overall practice time from Saturday’s sessions and qualifying fourth for the 30-car field in the Brad Keselowski Racing No. 29 Checkered Flag Foundation Ford Fusion, Theriault started ninth after the redraw of the Top-10 qualifiers. He was happy with the car during the first green-flag run, but an issue with the air pressure in the right side tires forced the car into an ill-handling condition. The PASS South Series points leader heading into the weekend, Theriault rode around in the Top-10 for most of the night and used a couple of late caution flags to gain track position and salvage another good outing.
WHO: Austin Theriault, Fort Kent, Maine
TEAM: Brad Keselowski Racing No. 29 Checkered Flag Foundation Ford Fusion
CREW CHIEF: Gary Crooks, Mooresville, N.C.
WHAT: PASS South Series Easter Bunny 150
WHERE: Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, N.C. (.363-mile oval)
STARTED: 9th
FINISHED: 6th
NEXT RACE: April 6, Southern Series Nashville 125, Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville, Tenn. (.596-mile banked oval)
AUSTIN, YOU HAD A GOOD CAR ALL WEEKEND. HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP YOUR RACE?
The car had been fast all weekend. Once again, took a pretty good piece to the race track. We really just tried making small adjustments on the car to get a little better.
We put a little less effort into qualifying – we weren’t going to be chasing the stopwatch. We figured we’d have a good qualifying run, so we spent a lot of time working on race trim. Qualifying is important, but starting inside the Top-10, anyone could have a shot at it. For the first 10-15 laps, up until the first caution, I was really encouraged. The car had a lot of speed in it.
WHAT HAPPENED UNDER THAT FIRST CAUTION PERIOD?
I think we had something happen. It’s looking like two right side bleeders stuck during the caution. Those are pieces on the car that you love them when they work, but when they fail, you’ve got to deal with the consquences. There’s not a whole lot you can do about it at that point.
DID THE LATE CAUTION PERIODS PLAY INTO YOUR FAVOR?
Well, a couple of things happened there at the end, and it workd in our favor. We did a decent job getting a Top-10 out of it.
We made the best of it, which is what you’ve got to do with it in these type of scenarios. It’s kind of like coming out of Watermelon (Capital Speedway in January) – half of me is discouraged by the outcome knowing we’re definitely capable of more, but the other half of me is encouraged because we know what happened. The right side (tire pressures) came in substantially lower than they should have (after the race).
Going into Nashville next week, we still feel pretty good. We know we had a really good car again, and we know that what happened is out of our control.
Sources: Travis Barrett/Austin Theriault PR