Emotions ran high for Kyle Krisiloff after being involved in two incidents that lead to a 42nd-place finish in the Samıs Town 250 Saturday at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Krisiloff took the green flag from 28th, eager to get the race underway after running in the top-10 during Fridayıs practice sessions. On lap two troubles began for the Lilly/Walgreens team. Krisiloff radioed that his water bottle had come loose and was sliding beneath his feet. Krisiloff was forced to come down pit road during the first caution on lap nine to have the water bottle removed. This stop also gave the crew a chance to top-off fuel and check right front fender damage Krisiloff sustained while struggling with the loose water bottle. The Lilly/Walgreens crew sent Krisiloff back out, restarting lap 15 in 42nd.
Two laps later, Krisiloff collided with another car in turn two, bringing out the second caution of the race. The contact resulted in severe damage to the right side of the No. 14 machine. After multiple trips down pit road to cut-away sheet metal and repair the battered Lilly/Walgreens car, Krisiloff restarted lap 20 in 41st.
Lap 46 brought the caution out once more and would be the end of the night for the Lilly/Walgreens team. Krisiloff was involved in an incident with another competitor and was unable to finish the race as a result of on-track actions. He finished the day in 42nd.
³After the water bottle thing happened, I probably should have been more patient,² Krisiloff said. ³These tracks are so small. When you start in the back like that, the leaders are right behind you. I really wanted to stay in front of them. We had a great car yesterday. In practice, we were really good in long runs and we could have had a top-15 car. I didnıt want to give it up because of a water bottle coming loose. I was probably just a little overzealous out there. That is short track racing, but this was a tough one to swallow.
"The reason I was driving hard was because of the problem we had and how we had to go back [to pit road],² said Krisiloff, frustrated. ³At the beginning of the race the second groove was definitely slower, and when you get up there, you have to get down. It wasnıt any worse than Bristol with cautions. I think a lot of people who normally donıt run really well, even like us, had a good shot at running good today because the Cup guys werenıt here. Everyone wanted to do their best and sometimes that just spells disaster.²
With three races left to run in the Busch Series, Krisiloff sits 18th in overall driver points and third in the rookie standings. Krisiloff and the Lilly/Walgreens team return to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for the OıReilly Challenge.
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