ROANOKE, VA :: One of the surprises to come out of Sunday’s MDCU 300 at Martinsville Speedway was the top-10 performance by Kyle Dudley. Dudley’s performance surpassed even his own expectations.
Dudley’s main goal entering the weekend was the make the field for the MDCU 300, something the three-time Franklin County Speedway track champion had never accomplished before Sunday. Dudley and the Dudley-Joyce Racing team clicked off fast laps in open testing but, in qualifying, the car didn’t respond well to new tires, the team over adjusted and Dudley’s race weekend started off with a challenge.
“The car was pretty good,” Dudley said. “We missed up qualifying and way over-adjusted. I knew we had a pretty good car. It was good and consistent. I just couldn’t run blistering fast lap times like the others could on stickers. After we run some, I was pretty decent.”
Dudley’s 57th place qualifying effort forced him to start in 19th in his respective heat race. While was confident with the car, he was expecting to have to race his way in through the last chance qualifier. That was until a lap one accident took out several contenders. At that point, the stars started to align for the Roanoke, Virginia driver.
“You can’t ever feel too comfortable because so much crazy stuff happens but I knew we were in good position and where we needed to be,” Dudley stated. “I wasn’t really planning on making it through the heat race. I was expecting to have to run the LCQ race but things just kind of worked out. We had a fast enough car to make the race. I just needed some luck. It worked out for sure for once this year.”
Dudley’s main focus was on making the race. He never set expectations for where he would finish.
“I went in to this thing just focused on making it,” Dudley remarked. “I didn’t really think about where I would finish in the race. I thought about what I’d do if I made the race but never had any expectations and never thought about where I’d finish.”
As the race played out, Dudley avoided trouble, exercised patience and methodically worked his way through the field. His strategy was to save the car until the final 50 laps – which is what he did. He went a lap down but was able to get his lap back and then raced with 2014 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion Anthony Anders for position prior to the mandatory competition caution that came out with 10 laps to go. While that caution was a disadvantage for race leaders Peyton Sellers and Mike Darne, it was an advantage for Kyle Dudley.
“Until we got to 50 to go, I was just cruising and trying to keep it in one piece,” Dudley explained. “Then, with 50 to go, we’d race. Me and Anders raced pretty hard. We just wanted to keep pace. I knew when we got the 10 to go caution, it would get wild. I was in good position. I was being real cautious because we’ve all been there, seen it and knows what happens. Luckily, I was in the right place in the right time and a couple real good cars got knocked out and I went through there and it worked out for me. It was crazy. There was some luck involved in that, I won’t say it wasn’t.”
Entering the race, Dudley had more confidence than in the past by virtue of his wins at both Franklin County Speedway and Orange County Speedway during the 2014 season. Despite that, he’s still surprised by his performance.
“It’s hard to believe we went up against 80 of the best teams around and got a top-10,” Dudley commented. “It’s hard to believe, especially considering our record. We never made the thing before. To come out with a top 10 is unbelievable and I could never be happier.”
