SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series
Dover (Del.) International Speedway | Drydene 200
Fast Facts
No. 08 SS GreenLight Racing Team:
Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)
Primary Partner(s): Bucked Up Energy | Core Development | EAT SLEEP RACE
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro
Crew Chief: Patrick Donahue
Starting Position for Drydene 200: 23rd (Event Formula)
Driver Points Position: 22nd | Owner Points Position: 27th
Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 708; competed last at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on June 28, 2020 (Start: 25th | Finish: 35th)
Last competed at Dover International Speedway on May 4, 2019 (Start: 21st | Finish: 20th)
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)
Notes of Interest:
Full of Energy: Bucked Up Energy will continue its role as the primary partner of Graf’s No. 08 Chevrolet Camaro. Dover International Speedway is the 12th race in a multi-year, multi-race deal with the former ARCA Menards Series winner.
Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all delivers long-lasting energy.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Dover International Speedway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his “Monster Mile” debut in this weekend’s doubleheader at Dover International Speedway.
Triple Duty: In addition to this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Dover International Speedway, Joe Graf Jr. will also compete in Friday afternoon’s General Tire 125 ARCA Menards Series East race for Visconti Motorsports.
Graf is utilizing his third career ARCA Menards Series East start to gain valuable track time ahead of 400 laps of Xfinity competition Saturday and Sunday.
For The Triple Time: This weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will run their penultimate doubleheader weekend at Miles’ Monster Mile. Earlier this season, Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and Kentucky Speedway both hosted doubleheader weekend for the Xfinity Series.
At Homestead, Graf Jr. finished 16th and 13th respectively, while in the Bluegrass state of Kentucky, the former ARCA Menards Series winner earned a 13th and 22nd place finish, respectively.
The final doubleheader weekend for the series occurs next month at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, the site of Graf’s best finish last season in Xfinity.
Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Speedway Nuggets: At tracks classified as speedways with a track length of 1.0-mile and greater, Graf has 11 previous NASCAR Xfinity Series starts.
He holds an average starting position of 24.2 and an average result of 20.7 and has been running at the conclusion of 10 of the 11 events.
Welcome Aboard: On Thursday, Graf Jr. announced a new partnership with the band AVOID.
Exploding out of Seattle, Wash., hotly-tipped hard rock five-piece AVOID has been rapidly making a name for themselves to their electrifying live shows and an unabashed experimental approach to music.
The result is an alchemistic audio dose of heavy hedonism; the stamp of a young act unafraid to equally embrace both their innovation and individuality.
Forming in 2017, AVOID’s debut full length ‘Alone’ was released in 2018, garnering more than 1.5 million streams to date and strong Spotify playlisting support. The record debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Pacific Chart.
Coming Soon: Joe Graf Jr. will unveil a new Bucked Up Energy paint scheme for next Friday night’s Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola. The 22-year-old will make his third Xfinity Series start at the “World Center of Racing.”
The Second Half: Despite the coronavirus pandemic which shuttered NASCAR Xfinity Series races for more than two months, the series recently reached the halfway point of their season at Kansas Speedway in late July.
19 races down, 14 races to go, Graf Jr. is ranked 22nd in the Xfinity Series championship standings and looks to improve his average finish of 23rd over the final three months of the season.
Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 80 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow every month.
Did You Know? While NASCAR Xfinity Series competition was idle during the coronavirus pandemic for two months, Joe Graf Jr. got busy.
Whether it was working out, spending time on iRacing in the Pro Series Invitational or Saturday Night Thunder, Graf recently gave an insider view on how his quarantine went and offered even a little insight on himself as a person.
Click here to watch the video.
From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Patrick Donahue is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief. He will crew chief his 173rd and 174th NASCAR Xfinity Series races on Saturday and Sunday. In his previous 172 races, he has two wins, eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes to his resume.
He has eight prior Xfinity races as crew chief at Dover with a best finish of 13th in September 2002 with Brian Vickers.
This Is 2020: Entering Dover, Graf Jr. has 22 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with four top-15 and eight top-20 finishes. After 19 races in 2020, he stands 22nd in the championship standings with 14 races remaining.
Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran David Star returns to the seat of the No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Chevrolet on Saturday.
The 52-year-old will make his seventh start of 2020 and third with SS GreenLight Racing.
Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafJr.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).
For more on SS GreenLight Racing, please like them on Facebook (SS GreenLight Racing) and follow them on Twitter (@SSGLR0708) and visit their website at SSGreenLight.com.
Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quotes:
On Daytona International Speedway Road Course: “It wasn’t the finish we were hoping for. Made some gains throughout the race but unfortunately, after going down a lap early – we never could get back on the lead lap to contend for a stronger finish.
“The last couple of road courses have been very challenging and demanding but I learned a lot but I’m excited to get back to the ovals next weekend for a doubleheader weekend at Dover.”
On Dover International Speedway Doubleheader: “I’m looking forward to the challenge of Dover this weekend. I understand it’s a very demanding race track with a lot of speed and requires a lot of finesse.
“I am thankful that the opportunity arose to drive the No. 74 Bucked Up Energy Ford for Visconti Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series East. I’m confident that we’ll not only have a strong race to contend for the win – but also give me priceless experience that will help me for the rest of the weekend in the Xfinity Series.
On New Partnership With The Band AVOID: “This is very cool. I’m excited to partner with a group like AVOID who like myself is moving up in their respective industry. Their passion and desire to be a part of NASCAR is contagious and I’m looking forward to growing this relationship with the SS GreenLight Racing team.”
Race Information:
The Drydene 200 (200 laps | 200 miles) is the 20th of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 36-car field will take the green flag shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 22, 2020, with live coverage on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
The Drydene 200 (200 laps | 200 miles) is the 21st of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2020 schedule. The 36-car field will take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. on Sun., Aug. 23, 2020, with live coverage on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
About SS Green Light Racing:
As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing has been a developmental hub for drivers looking to climb the ranks. Led by owner and former driver Bobby Dotter, the team has fielded entries in either the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.
Coming off a successful 2019 Xfinity campaign, SS GreenLight Racing looks to build further momentum with its two-car program in 2020.