First-year XFINITY driver looking forward to familiar track at Kentucky
Brennan Poole’s car wasn't launched into the fence in the middle of the night only to get hit by another car as it came to rest, upside down, on the racing surface.
That particular incident happened to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Austin Dillon, and Dillon’s crash occurred during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, just shy of 3 a.m. Monday morning.
Poole's wreck occurred a day (and then some) earlier, in Saturday's NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona
A multi-car crash, the first of two in the final 14 laps, unfolded when driver Ryan Reed bounced off Brendan Gaughan. Twelve cars were eventually caught up, including the No. 42 Chevrolet of Poole.
By the time it was over, Poole's car had slid through a portion of the infield, shot back onto the track and struck the outside wall nose first.
"I couldn't really see what was happening in front of me," Poole, who was not injured, told NASCAR.com Wednesday. "The first thing I saw was the 18 car (of Daniel Suarez) get sideways. My spotter was telling me to get low. I moved low and I missed the first portion of the wreck and then when the 6 (of Darrell Wallace Jr.) got turned, he started to come back down the track to where I was … I had to move a little bit lower and when I jerked the car to the left … I missed the 6 by just a little bit.
"When I moved the car to the left so quickly, I got a little bit out of shape. Then I hit I think it was rumble strips for the road course — there are two big humps. I'm not sure if it was rumble strips or not, but I think it was. When I hit the first one I was already just a little bit out of shape … then I hit the second and I already had the car leaning on the left side. When it landed I was on the left-rear tire and (it) just went straight right. There was really nothing I could do at that point to save the car."
Poole, scheduled to compete in 17 races this season for the HScott Motorsports with the Chip Ganassi team this season, finished 36th.
It was a disappointing ending for the 24-year-old former ARCA winner who has had a mixed bag of results in his first year in the series.
"I feel like we had a pretty good car," he said. "I don't know if we had a car that could have won the race but we definitely had one that would have been up there if not pushing the winner then right there with everybody. That was kind of a good felling, especially for a first-year team.
"We're really trying to build this program; we’ve got all new guys … first (year) relationship with Ganassi. I really feel like we're making some gains as a first-year team to really build for the future. Obviously, you want to be able to compete for wins and championships. It just takes time. We're headed in the right direction. We've had some really good runs this year and there have been times we've struggled. I think that's just part of racing, starting something new and learning."
Poole will make his 11th start of the season, as well as the 11th of his career in the series, this weekend at Kentucky on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN). Five other races this season by the team have featured Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Larson behind the wheel.
While he is seeing most tracks for the first time, Kentucky will be something of a "homecoming" for Poole – he won the ARCA race on the 1.5-mile track last season.
His best XFINITY Series finish this year came at Las Vegas, where he finished ninth. It was the first of five finishes of 13th or better for the driver from The Woodlands, Texas.
"I think it gives you some confidence going into the weekend knowing that you know how to get around the track and you’ve had success there in the past," he said of Kentucky. "I'm really looking forward to it because it's the last time I was in another car that wasn't an XFINITY car. Kentucky is really my last memory in something else. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it relates to the XFINITY car and seeing if there is anything I can pick up from and learn.
"The XFINITY car is just a lot different. … It's really a momentum driven style race. It makes it a challenge, especially when you have guys around you that are so incredibly good at it. They really take you to school every now and then. Mostly I think it's confidence but also just having been on the track before, knowing where the bumps are, knowing what to expect (is a plus)."