Round 4 - Atlanta 300

Round 4 of the series took place at the very fast Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia.

I started off the race weekend with a very satisfying practise session, where after my 10 laps I was 4th fastest with a time of 31.542.

Qualifying went not very well for me as I qualified seenth with a time of 31.567.

In the race I found myself in the top 2 after the first of the 88 laps.

Fuel consumption was the important factor in this race. On lap 27 I was informed by my pit crew that I was halfway on fuel. Now 27 is less than half of 88 so I decided to pit with 61 laps remaining. I managed in those laps to pass a few cars and get into the lead before having to pit again on lap 81 for fuel!.

I did manage to claw my way back up the field to finish 13th.

I was now in 5th place in the overall standings 84 points behind..

I led 9 of the 88 laps which got me the 5 bonus points.

Round 3 - Sam's Town 300 Las Vegas

I was on good form and feeling confident of a good result at the very fast Las Vegas Motor Speedway when the Nationwide cars arrived on 05/04/2014 for round 3 of the series.

The 10 laps practice session went very well as I was fastest after the 10 laps with a time of 32.686.

Qualifying was slightly disappointing as I could only manage a time of 32.658 which gave me an 8th place starting position.

This race could have been  a disaster for me.

It was another fuel induced set of problems for me today.

I stopped for fuel and tyres on lap 32 and then started to fisght my way back to the front of the pack.

I was on course to achieve this when I had to stop for fuel again on lap 62. With 28 laps to go I still had a chance. I threw that chance away when the dreaded black flag came out on lap 70. For the next 20 laps I managed to fight back to 10th place.

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.617.

I'd now slipped to 5th in the championship 44 points behind.

Round 2 - Stater Bro's 300 Auto Club Raceway (California)

Round 2 of the series took place at the Auto Club Speedway, previously Fontana in sunny California.

I was fastest in practice with a time 41.962 after my 10 laps.

In qualifying I was able to reproduce my form and duly qualified in pole with times of 42.028 and 41.950.

In the race I managed to be around the front until lap 21 when I stopped for fuel. I had to stop again on lap 22 because I was caught speeding in the pit lane! I then made my way back to the front only to pit again on lap 53 for fuel because I didn't take on enough the first time!

Not to worry though I still managed to fight my way to the lead and eventually win the race.

My best lap of the race was 41.915 which was faster than I qualified!

I was 3rd in the standings, 66 points behind the leader..