Roulette Recap follows a randomly selected driver throughout a race to break down their efforts. There is no telling ahead of time how the race will go. The driver could face calamity on the opening lap or start from the rear and win the race. With that, may the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.
Ag-Pro 300
The NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers had zero practice time ahead of the Ag-Pro 300. Their Friday afternoon included technical inspection and then orders to strap in and lay down the fastest lap possible.
For DGM Racing driver, Josh Bilicki, that meant a P36 effort. But long-time fans of the sport know this placement does not mean much once the green flag waves.
Before taking to the track, Bilicki thanked his team and sponsor, saying, “Let’s have a good day. Let’s make it to Stage 3 and be there at the end.”
Stage 1
With the impending inclement weather, pre-race pace laps were shortened and drivers were on their way.
The two lanes immediately went three-wide within the first lap and Bilicki found himself in a veritable hornets’ nest early on. However, he gained a spot amid the door-to-door racing.
Through the first seven laps, he maintained P32. He did lose three spots when he worked to get away from a squirrelly competitor and the move did not go in his favor. Nonetheless, he kept his eyes forward as the Xfinity train continued to make laps.
The next seven laps remained quiet on track with minimal shuffling, and the two lanes remained.
With 11 to go in the stage, Bilicki noted some “dartyness” he was experiencing early on was gone, but he was still “a little free.”
“No change out back,” was on repeat from spotter Jeff Gotelaer as the laps ticked by. And with three to go in the opening stage, Bilicki sat P34 with encouragement from Gotelaer.
As drivers took two to go, the two lanes split to three and a good deal of shuffling was taking place at the front of the field.
The plan to “hang back” paid off as Justin Allgaier went for a hard hit and spin. This brought out the caution and ended the stage with Bilicki in P32.
He radioed in with an update for his team. “Ride quality is pretty rough. I feel every bump. Still free and darty.”
Crew chief Bryan Berry brought his driver in for fuel, tires, and a round of adjustments to make the No. 92 handle a bit better.
Unfortunately, Bilicki missed his pit stall and was forced to come back down pit road a second time. Then he was assessed with a penalty for a Blend Line Violation.
Stage 2
To start Stage 2, Bilicki lined up P36 for a short, 19-lap stage. He held his ground as drivers took it from two-wide to three.
With 12 to go, Ryan Sieg had secured the lead for the time being and the racing was tight in his mirror.
Bilicki radioed in stating the car was much better. “I don’t think we need another change. I’ll let you know when the tires start falling off.”
Surprisingly, despite the close racing, the race stayed green. Bilicki gained a spot with three to go when Jeffrey Earnhardt took to pit road.
On the final lap of the stage, there was a good deal of shuffling at the front of the field, but everyone brought it to the green-white-checkered clean.
Scored P35, Bilicki noted, “It’s a little edgy in the tri-oval and entry to (Turn) 3.” He added, “Unusual race so far, honestly. Right?”
Berry agreed and opted to pit the second time by to not only avoid potential chaos, but also be a lap better on fuel than the majority of the field. Additionally, he was hoping they would be able to make up some positions with a fuel-only stop later in Stage 3.
Bilicki also stated he was ready to try to latch onto the tail end of the main pack and Berry agreed.
Stage 3
After another round of adjustments, Bilicki sat P32 for the start of the final stage with 58 laps to go.
The race immediately went three-wide throughout the field, ratcheting up the intensity.
Despite sitting P35, Gotelaer informed Bilicki, “Your line definitely has more energy.”
On Lap 65, the caution waved as Brandon Jones wrecked from the front of the field. AJ Allmendinger, Jeremy Clements, Kyle Weatherman, Ryan Truex, Leland Honeyman, Jr., Parker Kligerman, Ryan Sieg, and Sheldon Creed were among those caught in the crossfire.
Bilicki stated there a chance he ran over something in the melee. With that, Berry made the decision to pit and change tires just to be safe.
The DGM Racing driver returned to track in P17 with 41 laps remaining. Berry agreed they probably were not done wrecking and encouraged his driver to “get around the right people.”
At the green, Bilicki gained two spots and had a windshield full of four-wide racing. Before much ground could be made, debris was littering the track, bringing out the fourth caution of the day.
Prior to the next restart, which would see Bilicki sitting P14, he and Berry discussed whether they wanted to stay in that position or drop back to avoid ensuing chaos.
They opted to keep their spot and restarted with 35 to go. Coming down the backstretch, Bilicki sat bottom of three in a three-wide pack. Over the next two laps, he moved to middle of three, then top. Additionally, there was a great deal of shuffling at the front of the field.
He was running the top lane, sitting P22, as things settled down with 29 to go. Four laps later, there was more moving and shaking at the front of the field, but Bilicki maintained his mid-pack position.
With 16 to go, the action picked back up at the front with lead changes nearly every turn. Three laps later, Gotelaer noted raindrops were beginning to fall. Bilicki was sitting P24 as the field sat mostly in a single file line.
With seven to go, Bilicki radioed in, “I just picked up a really bad vibration.” Almost immediately, he radioed in again, “I have a tire down.” He came to the pits from P23 for fresh tires and returned to track P31, down a lap. However, if a caution came out, he was sitting in the Lucky Dog position, and with four to go, the odds were good.
As a three-wide pack came to the white, cars went spinning everywhere. With that, Bilicki returned to the lead lap for NASCAR Overtime. Before taking the green, Berry called Bilicki to pit road for a splash of fuel as many drivers were running out.
As soon as the green flag was in the air, the caution waved again. Bilicki was scored P11 and said, “This took a 180 real quick!”
Drivers lined up, with Bilicki in P8, for the second Overtime restart with numerous underdogs in the Top 10 vying for their first NXS win.
Gotelaer reminded his driver to take a deep breath and said he’d done a good job all day.
Bilicki gained a spot on the restart but lost two spots coming to the white flag. As cars went through the infield grass and massive shuffling took place, Bilicki brought it home P16.
Berry said, “That’s all we can do. We didn’t have any help. We can’t do anything without help.”
Bilicki responded, “It sucks to be disappointed with P16, but with three to go, I thought it’d be way worse.”
Despite the finish, there was quite a bit of encouragement and thankfulness on the No. 92 radio.
Click here for a full Ag-Pro 300 recap.
Sponsor Shoutout + Driver & Team Socials
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Insurance King who played a huge part of the weekend for Josh and the No. 92 team.
Be sure to give Josh (Facebook, Instagram, X)  and DGM Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
