A team decision by Rick Ware Racing replaced NUR ALI in No.20 Chevrolet with his teammate, TIMMY HILL, who was slated to drive No.15. Hill will be replaced by CARL LONG, who was one of two drivers who failed to make the grid. Long had practiced in the car and it ran fine.
Ali, who brought sponsorship, was understandably disappointed, but was looking at the whole picture.
This would have been Ali’s second NNS start. He recently ran Kansas Speedway recently, but was denied running the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway and had hoped to run the season’s finale race at Homestead Motors Speedway. ‘
Ali’s racing background includes Team Pakistan for the now defunct A!GP Series. He’s also raced Southwest Formula Mazda Southwest Series and ARCA Remax Series.
NASCAR does not have a percentage rule, as do other series such as Formula One or IndyCar. In those series, a driver’s lap must be within 107 or 110 percent of the pole position in order to run the race. Occasionally exceptions are made for extenuating circumstances.
BTW -by Lap 35, Hill had moved up to twenty-fifth place, and on Lap 92, he was running twenty-third, one lap down.
Meanwhile, back at the front, JOEY LOGANO/No.18 Toyota was leading, and KYLE BUSCH/No.54 Toyota was swearing on the radio. So what else is new.
