Goess Has Solid 22nd-Place Result at NHMS

Rain Washes Out Qualifying, But Team Keeps Trucking Along

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Craig Goess, Jr. entered the NASCAR Camping World East Series event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27th with high hopes.  Goess tested his #2 Greenville Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing well at NHMS several weeks earlier, but a late-test incident forced the ESR team to regroup for the race.  The field was set by points, so Goess kicked off from the 17th spot, but finished 22nd in the 125-lap race.

Goess and the team looked forward to returning to NHMS but rain showers all day on Thursday prevented the series from getting on the track for their scheduled practice.  On Friday, the 36 teams were able to practice for an hour and a half. In that session, Goess was 29th on the sheet.  The starting grid was set by points because of the inclement weather. That put the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota in the 17th starting position.

“I was definitely looking forward to getting some track time on Thursday,” said Goess.  “Instead, we sat around all day and watched it rain.  Friday was rush, rush, having to practice in such a short amount of time and trying to figure things out on the car, but we were in the same boat as everyone else.  As far as our starting spot, I don't think I would've qualified much better.  Our times we were running in practice showed no advantage had we actually qualified.”

The skies opened up once again during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying which preceded the NASCAR Camping World East Series main event.  Another delay in the action forced the Heluva Good ® 125 to begin an hour and a half after schedule.

The No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota with Goess behind the wheel took to the “Magic Mile” after what had already been a long weekend, and it seemed just to get longer.  Constant chassis adjustments were made from the middle of the race on with nothing quite working.  Goess managed to stay out of trouble though in the closing laps and finish in 22nd position.

“We definitely didn't finish where we wanted to,” states Goess.  “It was my first race with my new crew chief, Johnny Allen. He did a great job and I think we're going to work well together.  We'll keep getting better. We just need some nice consistency. If the team can keep working together, we'll be able to gel and produce some good finishes.”

Goess' next race is July 12 at Thompson Speedway.  Before heading there, Goess and Team ESR plan to do some testing.  “We're going to do some testing before Connecticut.  We need to see if we can get things on its way and get the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota running upfront consistently.”