Goess Finds Thompson Tricky

Finishes 24th at a New Track to Him

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Craig Goess, Jr. had high hopes entering this past weekend's NASCAR Camping World East Series race at Thompson International Speedway (CT). However, those hopes were dashed shortly after Goess took the green flag in his No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota.  Goess struggled with handling issues and wound up finishing in 24th position at the conclusion of the Pepsi Full Frenzy 100.

“The car was not quite right,” said Goess.  “We had tested earlier in the week and had a good baseline for what we thought we needed.  Unfortunately, not much related set-up wise from Kenly (Southern National Raceway Park) to Thompson.  We ended up changing a lot in the first practice session to get it to where we thought it should be.”

Goess qualified the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota in the 15th starting spot.  From the drop of the green flag, Goess realized it was going to be a long night because the car was not to his liking.  Goess relayed the information to new crew chief Johnny Allen, who then conveyed to his Team ESR teammates the changes that were to be made during the next caution.

Unfortunately for Goess, that first opportunity to pit to make the changes would be caused by him spinning into the outside wall in turn three on lap 33.  Goess went down one lap to the leaders during the incident, which caused left rear damage to the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota.  The caution quickly came back out following the restart allowing Goess to get his lap back and return to the pack of leaders. 

However, the conclusion of the 100-lap race couldn't come soon enough for Goess, after a series of spins and incidents with other competitors, and an overall ill-handling machine.

“I knew it was going to be a long night as soon I completed my first lap,” Goess states.  “The track changed so much from practice to race time.  All we can do is put this race behind us and move on to Nashville this coming weekend.”

Goess and his Eddie Sharp Racing teammates will head to the Music City Motorplex in Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Strutmasters.com 150 Saturday evening.

The #2 got a few battle scars at Thompson.

(Jamie Williams Photo)