Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval– Road Course (2.280-Miles)
Race: Drive for the Cure 250
Date: October 9, 2021
Format: 67 Laps– 20/20/27; 152.76 Miles
No. 31 BLACK OPS by Ric Prado Chevrolet Camaro SS – Sage Karam
Start: 28
Stage 1: 12
Stage 2: 16
Finish: 25
Status: Running
Laps Completed: 68 (1 Lap of Overtime)
Laps Led: 0
Stage One Recap:
– Making his third NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start of the year Sage Karam would line up 28th on the grid for the Drive for the Cure 250 after the starting lineup was determined by the competition-based performance metrics system; fastest lap in the previous race 15 percent, driver finish from previous race 25 percent, owner points 25 percent, and driver points 35 percent.
– As the green flag dropped on the Drive for the Cure 250, Karam would get his Chevrolet Camaro SS up to speed like a seasoned stockcar veteran advancing 11 positions up to 17th on the opening lap.
– However, the first caution of the day would be displayed on Lap-2 when Karam in the No. 31 would get turned around in Turn-5, and would continue on with a complete 360. Behind the spin the No. 48 would become stuck against the wall after avoiding the dodging cars.
– Karam would restart in the 18th position for the Lap-4 restart, and would drive by two cars up to 16th by the start of Lap-5.
– The BLACK OPS by Ric Prado Chevrolet would fall back a position on Lap-6 to 17th.
– Karam would fall back an additional two positions to 19th on Lap-7 where he would remain for the next two circuits.
– Lap-10 would see Karam miss the backstretch chicane resulting in the No. 31 having to serve a penalty by coming to a complete stop before resuming again.
– Working out in favor of the No. 31 caution would be displayed prior to the finish of Lap-10 for the No. 74 who would come to a stop in the middle of the backstretch chicane with a loss of power.
– Running in the 17th position at the time of the caution Karam would remain on track, and restart in the 16th spot for the Lap-13 restart.
– As the green flag would wave restarting the Stage, Karam would drop back a position to 17th as the field entered the infield section.
– Battling hard the No. 31 would move past the No. 23 and No. 26 on Lap-15 to 15th in the running order.
– Two laps later Karam would move around the No. 07 on Lap-17 into the 14th position.
– The third caution of the day would come out on Lap-19 when the No. 15 would encounter a broken track bar and stop on track.
– With only one lap remaining in Stage-1 at the time of the caution the Stage would be completed under caution with Karam being scored in the 12th position.
Stage Two Recap:
– During the stage break Karam would be called to the pit lane by Crew Chief Arthur Haire for four new Goodyear Eagles, and a full tank of Sunoco fuel and would rejoin the field in the 14th position for the Lap-22 restart.
– With a new set of tires Karam was quickly able to move around three cars on the opening lap of the second Stage.
– Continuing to move forward Karam would drive past the No. 19 on Lap-24 into the 10th spot.
– The next lap would see Karam drive around the No. 61 inside the Top-10.
– Two laps later Karam would work his way past the No. 90 into the 8th position.
– Lap-28 would see the fourth caution flag period come over the Roval when the No. 07 would get into the backstretch chicane curbing and go airborne causing severe damage to the front end.
– The Red Flag would be displayed for 4 minutes and 48 seconds while track crews would go to work repairing the damaged curbing.
– Once repairs were completed Karam would line back up in the 9th position for the Lap-32 restart.
– Maintaining the 9th position Karam would comfortably run there for the next two circuits.
– Lap-35 would see Karam drop back into the 10th position as the No. 9 would move around the BLACK OPS by Ric Prado Chevrolet.
– Debris on the track would bring out the fifth caution on Lap-36.
– Running in the 10th position at the time of the caution Karam would come to pit-road looking to flip the stage for track position at the start of the final stage.
– As the No. 31 would come to pit road the over-the-wall crew would go to work putting on four new tires and filling the car full of Sunoco fuel.
– Karam would line back up for the Lap-38 restart in the 20th position.
– Moving around the No. 7 on Lap-39 Karam would move into the 17th spot.
– Coming to the Green-White-Checkered flag on Lap-40 signally the end of Stage-2 Karam would be able to work his way around the No. 61 on the final lap to be credited with the 16th position.
Final Stage Recap:
– Under the stage break, Karam would remain on track after coming to pit lane for service a few laps prior on Lap-38.
– The BLACK OPS by Ric Prado Chevrolet would line up in the 6th position for the Lap-42 restart.
– Karam would remain in the 6th position thru Lap-46 when he would be able to work his way around the No. 98 into 5th.
– Continuing to push it Karam would put some distance on the 6th place car by the very next lap.
– Karam would remain in the 5th position until the No. 54 would drive thru the chicane on Lap-48, and would be required to stop on track.
– The penalty for the No. 54 would work in Karam’s favor for a brief period as he would move into the 4thposition.
– By the completion of Lap-50 the No. 11 would work his way around Karam sliding him back into the 5th spot.
– Lap-52 would see the No. 18 work around Karam shuffling him back to the 6th position.
– Working his way back thru the field after serving his penalty the No. 54 would move past Karam on Lap-54 moving Karam back to 7th.
– Karam would run in the 7th position until the seventh caution of the day would be displayed on Lap-65 for the No. 44 who would lose control of his car and crash into the wall hard.
– Running in the 7th position at the time of the caution Karam would remain on track following suit to all the lead cars and would line up 6th for the first attempt at NASCAR overtime on Lap-67.
– On the restart Karam would get a bad start on the older tires allowing guys with less laps on their tires to move by slipping the No. 31 back to the 11th position coming to the final lap.
– Going thru the chicane coming to the checkered flag the No. 54 would get into the No. 92 causing both cars to spin.
– At the same time the No. 51 would put a dive bomb maneuver on the Karam inside the chicane causing Karam to spin the No. 23.
– Looking to avoid the spinning No. 23 Karam would drive to the inside of the chicane curbing.
– At the conclusion of the last corner chaos Karam would unofficially cross the finish line in the 14th position.
– However, after the reviewing of video footage by NASCAR. Officials would implement a :30 second penalty to Karam’s last lap time for not coming to a complete stop to serve his penalty before crossing the finish line. After the application of the penalty Karam would be scored in the 25th position in the finishing order.
Drive for the Cure 250 Race Recap:
– For the third straight year, #16-AJ Allmendinger found himself in victory lane at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. With his sixth win on a road course in the Xfinity Series, Allmendinger now sits atop the board in terms of all-time wins on a road course in the series.
– #22-Austin Cindric finished runner-up, with #18-Daniel Hemric placing third, despite pitting prior to the overtime finish. #11-Justin Haley and #19-Brandon Jones rounded out the top five.
– #9-Noah Gragson finished sixth, as #90-Preston Pardus, #2-Myatt Snider, #7-Justin Allgaier and #8-Sam Mayer making up the top 10.
– Hemric won both stages, earning two playoff points. He has nine stage wins on the season.
– There were six lead changes among five drivers and seven cautions for 13 yellow flag laps.
– The average speed of the race was: 74.396 mph.
– BLACK OPS by Ric Prado; Enrique Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution; his family fled their war-torn home for the hope of a better life in America. Fifty years later, the Cuban refugee retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as the CIA equivalent of a two-star general. Black Ops is the story of Ric’s legendary career that spanned two eras, the Cold War and the Age of Terrorism. Operating in the shadows, Ric and his fellow CIA officers fought a little-seen and virtually unknown war to keep USA safe from those who would do it harm.
After duty stations in Central, South America, and the Philippines, Black Ops follows Ric into the highest echelons of the CIA’s headquarters at Langley, Virginia. In late 1995, he became Deputy Chief of Station and co-founding member of the Bin Laden Task Force. Three years later, after serving as head of Korean Operations, Ric took on one of the most dangerous missions of his career: re-establish a once-abandoned CIA station inside a hostile nation long since considered a front line of the fight against Islamic terrorism. He and his team carried out covert operations and developed assets that proved pivotal in the coming War on Terror.
A harrowing memoir of life in the shadowy world of assassins, terrorists, spies and revolutionaries, Black Ops is a testament to the courage, creativity and dedication of the Agency’s Special Activities Group and its elite shadow warriors.
To learn more and preorder a copy of Ric Prado’s Black Ops, The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior, visit RicPrado.com
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Owners Point Standings:
After 29 events and the 19th race JAR has been eligible for, JAR continues to hold the 27th position in the NXS Owner Point Standings after Karam’s 25th place finish on Saturday.
Next Race:
Kaz Grala will make his second start behind the wheel of the Jordan Anderson Racing No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro SS when the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads west to Texas Motor Speedway; Saturday, October 16, 2021 for the Andy’s Frozen Custard 335. LIVE coverage will begin at 3:00 PM ET on NBC, Performance Racing Network (PRN), and SiriusXM Channel 90.
