White goes racing at The Glen
Courtesy Derek White
Although it had been cold and rainy in Watkins Glen, New York, in the days prior to NASCAR’s stop at the historic road course, it was a great day to go racing on Saturday for Derek White in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the level just below the Cup Series.
White drove the #53 Chevrolet for Joey Gase Motorsports in the Mission 200 at The Glen, making his first start in the series since 2016. Qualifying was rained out on Friday, which meant starting positions were determined by owner’s points - that put White 31st to start Saturday’s race.
It was a clean race for White, although he was not able to match his most recent strong finish in the ARCA Menards Series at Talladega. He ultimately took home 32nd place, finishing three laps down.
“These kids are really fast. They’re young guys, and they have been in the O’Reilly Series for a while, so they’re used to these cars. This is the first time since 2016 that I raced in this series. So it’s really tough to keep up the pace, but I managed to finish the race with only three laps down,” said White.
Two of those laps came from avoidable incidents: White lost a lap serving a penalty for speeding on pit road while trying to avoid a loose tire and lost another from a badly timed pit stop.
He had also only turned in one lap of practice, on rain tires, before the team decided to not risk an accident and wait until Saturday’s race.
White said he is eyeing the races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in August for his next start, although discussions are ongoing.
