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.
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To start the 2024 season, Kyle Weatherman has an average finish of 23.5. However, at Dover Motor Speedway, he brought it home with a season best of P8.
This weekend, Weatherman headed into Charlotte Motor Speedway with a heavy heart. His mother-in-law passed away earlier in the week after a battle with breast cancer.
With his heart on the sleeve of his firesuit, he jumped behind the wheel and laid down a qualifying lap that would have him line up P27. This was following an issue with the tailpipes which team owner and crew chief, Mario Gosselin, helped fix. Unfortunately, unapproved adjustments sent the No. 91 team to the rear for the start of the race.
Stage 1
After a thank you to the team, sponsors, and family, Weatherman said, “Let’s have some fun today!” And with that, the field set off for 200 laps in their backyard.
As teams came out of Turn 2, there were numerous three-wide battles throughout the field and by Lap 3, Weatherman found himself in P32, up from P38. Within three more laps, he hit P30 – having gained eight spots since the green flag.
Ten laps in, he was sitting P26 and making quick work of the drivers around him. Seven laps later, the field had stretched out a bit.
Sitting P25, Weatherman radioed in that he needed more front turn. With 17 to go, lap times started to drop off, but things remained quiet on track.
However, two laps later, Riley Herbst went for a spin after contact with AJ Allmendinger and brought out the caution. Most of field took to pit road and the No. 91 team followed suit for fuel, tires, and adjustments.
But, even with the split strategy, Weatherman returned to the track and lined up P24 with nine to go in Stage 1. Drivers immediately went three- and four-wide. In the chaos, he moved up to P20 and that’s where he finished the stage.
Stage 2
As soon as the caution waved, there was a great deal of discussion as to whether or not to pit. At the last second, the team opted to stay out. Gosselin’s thought was, “We have a fast car. There were times you were as fast as the first and second place cars.”
Weatherman started Stage 2 in P16. On Lap 55, he had fallen to P20 and had a four-wide view in his rearview mirror. Despite having lost ground, spotter Tab Boyd encouraged Weatherman, “You’re doing exactly what you need to.”
The goal for Stage 2 was to just hang on. As he lost two more spots, Boyd said, “Later in the race, when we have those fresher tires, we’ll be thankful.”
With 18 to go, Parker Kligerman went for a spin just ahead of Weatherman. The caution came out and he asked for “a little more front turn.”
Gosselin noted what his driver needed but said, “We’re staying out this time!” Even when “several” came to the pits, Weatherman was instructed to stay on track. This allowed the No. 91 to restart P8 with 11 to go in the stage.
In the subsequent laps, those with fresher tires worked their way around Weatherman, but Boyd said, “I like what you’re doing! Keep that momentum up.”
The green-white-checkered finally waved and Weatherman sat P18.
Stage 3
Finally, Weatherman was able to come in for much needed tires. After being assessed with a speeding penalty, Gosselin called his driver back to pit road to double check the lug nuts. He returned to the track in P34 with 98 to go and both eyes forward, ready to work his way through the field for the second time in the race.
Ten laps later, the caution waved when Kyle Sieg went for a spin. Weatherman was scored P29. He restarted P24 on Lap 114 and the chaos which had ensued in every restart continued.
Weatherman quietly resumed the the work at hand, and within 17 laps, he had gained three spots as he worked through a mostly single-file field.
With 63 to go, Weatherman was in a turn-by-turn battle with Leland Honeyman, Jr. for P20. After a lap, he secured the position and set sail.
As Weatherman took P17 and 57 to go, he noted the track was changing a bit. At that same time, green flag pit stops began. Gosselin let his driver advance to P4 before bringing him in for fuel and tires with strict reminders to not speed.
Weatherman was scored P21 awaiting the drivers to cycle through. Meanwhile, he was racing Josh Williams for the lucky dog. With 41 to go, he had gained two more spots and was still pushing hard to gain more.
Charlotte Cautions Compound
Before that could happen, the sixth caution came out as Ryan Ellis went for a spin with 32 to go.
Gosselin noted, “I feel like we gotta take the wave here.”
Lining up for the Lap 175 restart in P18, Boyd said, “Okay man. You are racing…all of it. It’s all out front.”
It was absolute chaos through Turns 1 and 2, and drivers were still banging coming out of Turn 4. As they came across the stripe, Justin Allgaier got tangled with Ty Gibbs and hit hard against the outside wall.
Under caution, Weatherman came to the pits for the fresh tires they had been hanging on to, a splash of fuel, and some hydration for the driver.
The next restart came with 18 laps to go and Weatherman found himself in P15, in the middle of a three-wide situation.
Weatherman gained a spot and another caution came out as Cole Custer and Austin Hill got into each other and tangled on track.
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/cQhApTrEbO
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) May 25, 2024
Another restart saw Weatherman in P13, this time with 12 to go. Boyd noted, “Let’s keep our eyes peeled. They’re probably still going bonkers.”
He gained two spots on the opening lap and was staring down a top-10 finish. With nine to go, he was battling Noah Gragson for the top 10. Unfortunately, some squirrelly moves set him back to P12.
With five to go, he moved up to P11 and back to working on Gragson. It was a back-and-forth battle in the closing two laps.
Ultimately, the checkered flag waved with Weatherman in P11.
With zero dejection in his voice, he said, “That was fun, boys! Barbara Ann, that was for you! You were with me all day – a lot of adversity, a lot of fight, just like you!”
Sponsor Shoutout + Driver & Team Socials
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to MyRadar Weather who played a huge part of the weekend for Kyle and the No. 91 team.
Be sure to give Kyle Weatherman (Facebook, Instagram, X) and DGM Racing (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
