Watkins Glen

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Race 22 of 33 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series

Location: Watkins Glen International - 2.45 Mile
Road Course

Format: 82 laps - 200.9 miles

Kaz Grala’s Finish: 5th

Watkins Glen, N. Y. - The beautiful rolling hills of Upstate New York played host to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at Watkins Glen International. The Big Machine Racing Ruedebusch.com and Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, driven by Kaz Grala, rolled out for practice early Saturday morning running 6th fastest after just 8 laps with a lap time of 1:12.65 seconds. Grala could be heard on the radio telling Crew Chief, Patrick Donahue, he was very happy with the car but wanted it a little tighter.

After a few minor adjustments by the crew, it was time for qualifying. Kaz participated in Group B of qualifying and managed to get a few good laps in - although, his lap time of 71.956 seconds was not enough to score in the top-5 of the group and move to the final round of qualifying. The No. 48 Ruedebusch.com Chevrolet was set to take the green flag from the 14th position for the start of the race.

It didn’t take long for Kaz to make his way up through the field. By lap 5 of the 82 lap race, Grala had already gained 6 spots sitting comfortably in the top-10 at 8th place. With 8 cautions making up 23 laps of the day, Kaz managed to keep the 48 Chevrolet clean with the exception of small damage to the left-front. By the end of Stage 1, Kaz was up to 3rd before pitting at the stage break. With clean fast stops all day, the team managed to spend most of the race in the top-10. After 2 hours and 35 minutes, the checkered flag was out - Kaz Grala ended the day with his best finish with Big Machine Racing in 5th Place.

Results:
Practice: 6th Fastest
Qualifying: 14th
Stage 1: 3rd
Stage 2: 8th
Final: 5th