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.
Mission 200
Thomas Annunziata took to Watkins Glen International for his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start. In practice, he sat P34 but qualified P30 and earned a spot in the Mission 200.
Team owner, Joey Gase jumped on the radio before the green flag and said, “Let people by if they’re racing you too hard. Race clean and be there at the end.”
Stage 1
In the opening lap, Annunziata worked his way to P24 and was told to “get in a rhythm.” He maintained this spot between Matt DiBenedetto and Shane Van Gisbergen.
Over the next few laps, the Joey Gase Motorsports driver fell to P30 to lock in and learn. Encouragement was heard throughout each lap from spotters who were stationed throughout the course.
As Annunziata took six to go in the opening stage, he was informed that, despite sitting P30, he was running top 20 lap times.
As drivers neared the end of the stage, many of the leaders took to the pits. This strategy allowed Annunziata to jump to P23. Which is where he finished the opening stage.
Stage 2
Under caution, Annunziata noted his car wasn’t running “too bad,” but his brakes were getting soft. He came to his team for fresh tires, fuel, some tape on the nose, and to reattach his helmet hose.
However, before he could restart, he was assessed with a speeding penalty and forced to start at the rear of the field.
Then, as he was catching up with the field, Annunziata radioed in, “My car shut down.” As crew chief Mike Hillman worked to assist him over the radio, Annunziata was able to get it re-fired.
His spotters and Gase encouraged him with, “Deep breath. Log your laps. We’ll catch back up in Stage 3.”
Immediately, Annunziata was logging top-20 lap times and was working to catch up to the field.
On Lap 29, he was told, “That was a top-10 lap time! Keep that in the memory bank for later.”
As Annunziata continued to log laps, he had the speed, he just didn’t have the needed track position.
Ultimately, Annunziata finished a chaotic Stage 2 in P27.
Stage 3
However, before Annunziata could come in for his scheduled stop, he radioed in that he was not feeling well. His hoses were only blowing hot air on him and he stated he was feeling “really dehydrated.”
In a scary turn of events, he was quickly begging for an IV and an ambulance.
The No. 35 team worked to get Gase in a firesuit and to the car to replace Annunziata.
Driver Swap
As Gase got in the car to finish the race for the team, despite being multiple laps down, a caution was waved for a stuck Justin Allgaier. Once the action resumed, Gase was running P37 with a new goal to simply finish out the day.
Then, to add insult to injury, Gase could hear his crew, however, they could not hear him.
With 12 to go, Gase was running P35, but then Hillman called his driver in for a pit stop on the next lap. Seven laps later, the caution waved as DiBenedetto stalled on track with a mechanical issue.
Once the race resumed, it was a green-white-checkered situation with Gase in P35. However, the No. 35 team looked to capitalize as much as possible as many drivers were short on fuel.
The caution was immediately out as drivers missed the first turn and chaos ensued. After fluid was leaked all over the track, the race was red-flagged.
After a 22-minute delay, drivers re-fired their engines and attempted to once again finish the Mission 200.
The Bus Stop brought more carnage, another caution, and another Overtime restart.
Once the racing resumed, the final two laps brought more wrecks throughout the course.
Once all was said and done, Gase brought home the No. 35 in P29 – salvaging a frustrating and scary day for the team.
Sponsor Shout Out + Driver & Team Socials
NASCAR fans know sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shout-out to NFPA who played a huge part of the weekend for Thomas Annunziata and the No. 35 team.
Be sure to give Thomas Annunziata (Facebook, Instagram, X) and Joey Gase Motorsports (Facebook, Instagram, X) a follow to keep up with the latest news from the driver and team.
