Goess Finishes 13th New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Handling Woes Keep Greenville Toyota Team Out of the Top 10

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Craig Goess, Jr. drove his No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota to a 13th place finish in this past weekend's NASCAR Camping World East Series race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  After being delayed a day for inclement weather, the green flag waved for the Heluva Good! ® Fall 125 on Saturday morning.  Goess struggled with the handling of his machine throughout the race, but was able to stay out of trouble and ride to the finish, claiming the 13th position.

Goess practiced his No. 2 Toyota Camry on Thursday and was listed as 19th on the speed sheet.  Goess qualified around the mile oval at 30.550 secs., picking up over a half a second from the one and only practice session.  Goess' time placed the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota in the 12th starting position.

From the start of the 125 lap event, Goess knew something was upsetting the car's handling.  He quickly slid backwards in the running order and was in the 17th position when the first caution flag waved.  Under the second caution, Goess brought his No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota down pit road to the attention of his Eddie Sharp Racing team.  The team adjusted on the Camry and sent Goess on his way hoping the adjustments would cure the ailment.

Unfortunately, the handling was still suffering and Goess slipped backwards even more.  Goess fell one lap down to the leaders on lap 75 while running in 24th position.  Thanks to accidents and attrition, Goess and his No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota were able to move up considerably in the rundown.  As the checkered flag waved, Goess was running in 13th place.

“We were definitely lucky to get 13th,” commented Goess.  “The car wasn't getting along with the track.  I was doing everything I could, but it just wasn't enough.  I was decent in qualifying, but in race trim, it just was off.  We came in two different times to adjust on the car, but whatever the problem was, there wasn't enough time to fix it during a pit stop.  It was too far off to be a quick fix.  We just didn't have it going for the flat track, but I'm looking forward to heading to Dover this week and running on a track with some more banking.”

Goess and his Eddie Sharp Racing team have a mere four days to turn around their No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota before returning to action at “The Monster Mile.”  The NASCAR Camping World East Series now heads to Dover International Speedway to compete in the Sunoco 150 on Friday afternoon.