DAYTON BEACH, FL- Natalie Decker finished 18th in her No. 36 Amped Fitness DGM Racing Chevrolet presented by Wawa in the United Rentals 300 on Monday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Here’s how it all went down at the World Center Of Racing.
Decker fired off at the starting line from the 29th position. She moved up to 27th, sticking with the high line as things got rolling, and maintained through the first seven laps before the field went single-file.
Things would stay status quo until lap 22, when the race’s first caution came out when two drivers made contact. Decker was in 22nd as the carnage cleared.
She would come to pit road under caution for two rounds out of the right rear, four tires, and fuel. During the stop, there was a slight issue with the air gun, and she would have to come back down pit road to ensure the tires were secure.
Decker and the team decided it best to hang back on the restart as it came with one lap to go on the stage. As the green-white-checker flew to the end of the stage, Natalie was sitting clean in 34th.
Under the stage-end caution, Natalie moved up to 13th for the restart on lap 35. Sticking with the strategy, Decker pulled out of line and dropped back. Moments later, the next caution came out on lap 36, with seven cars getting involved on the backstretch. She was able to maneuver through and get through clean.
When the smoke cleared, Decker was in 13th place. She took the bottom lane on the restart, and the field went back green with 19 laps to go in the stage. Staying with strategy, she dropped back to 27th for the restart.
The yellow flew again on lap 44 when the battle for the lead turned sour, and as a result, would send cars spinning, causing residual from the incident, cutting just slightly across the nose of Deckers No. 36 Amped Fitness Chevrolet.
After a trip down pit road, the crew confirmed all was well with the car, and they serviced the car with four fresh tires and fuel.
As things went back green, Decker was in 28th place with 12 laps to go in the second stage. Again a yellow came out.
With four laps to go in stage two, Decker took the green in 26th, maintaining the strategy of hanging back. She would ride out the position through the end of the stage.
Decker came into the pits for four tires and fuel. During the stop, the team would suffer a penalty for going over the wall too early on the pit stop, which forced the No. 36 Amped Fitness machine to start at the tail end of the longest line. As the green flag dropped to begin the final stage, she sat in 28th.
On lap 81, Decker took the lead on green flag pit stop cycles. She would hold the lead until lap 88.
Natalie continued to ride in the front as she stretched her fuel with the No. 43 and the No. 6 in the front of the pack. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack, fourth place on the back, were in a battle 23 seconds behind them. The plan was to pit at lap 105 unless the caution came out.
On lap 96, that sought-after caution revealed itself as a car spun to infield. Her crew chief’s strategy paid off. This would allow Decker to pit under caution, where she would come down for one last can of fuel for the final run.
Decker and crew elected to come back down pit road to get topped off on fuel before the restart. She would have to serve a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes, starting on the tail end of the longest line.
Shortly after the restart, the caution would fly on the backstretch, with multiple cars involved. Decker caught a little damage and would have to come down for some tape on the nose of her No. 36 Amped Fitness Chevrolet.
After getting everything taped up, Decker was scored in 24th. The field went green with only 11 laps remaining.
With nine laps to go, the caution flew for the 9th time of the night. Decker was able to check up and avoid all the carnage, scoring in 18th position.
After cleaning up the aftermath on the backstretch, the field was set for the restart with only three laps to go. Decker would take the green in 16th place.
Things would stay clean through to the white flag being shown. Then chaos broke out, with a slew of cars involved in an incident on the backstretch coming out of turn two. The yellow flag would not show, and she was able to check up, avoid the carnage once again, and keep rolling. She crossed the start-finish line in the middle of the Daytona tri-oval and raced her way to an 18th-place finish in the United Rentals 300.
Decker’s 18th place finish marks her career-best in the Xfinity Series in just her 11th start. In addition, she became the first woman to lead an Xfinity Series race since Danica Patrick in 2013.
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About Amped Fitness®:
Founded in 2016, Amped Fitness® is a HVLP-inspired fitness brand that is redefining the fitness industry with a commitment to excellence, affordability, and inclusivity. The brand has current franchise availability in industry hotspots across the United States. For more information on Amped Fitness® and franchise opportunities, visit ampedfitness.com/franchise-opportunity or connect locally on Instagram (@ampedfitnessdaytona).
About Wawa®:
Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, PA in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products. Today, Wawa is your all day, every day stop for freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. Wawa stores are in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C. The stores offer a large fresh food service selection, including Wawa brands such as custom-prepared hoagies, freshly brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages, and an assortment of soups, sides, and snacks. Forbes.com Ranks Wawa as #29 of America’s Largest Private Companies in 2021 and #12 on Forbes 100 Halo List in 2022. For more information, visit us on www.wawa.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat at @wawa.
About DGM Racing:
Driven by pure passion and love for everything racing, DGM Racing is a family-owned and operated business headquartered in Lake Wales, FL. Since 1990, Mario Gosselin and his wife, Michelle, have worked tirelessly to elevate DGM Racing and grow the organization each year. What started as a local hobby on the weekends in Hialeah, Florida, has grown into a powerhouse organization fielding two full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series cars. Going into the 2024 season, the team has more than 200 Top-20 race finishes.