Saturday, July 30, 2022

Race 20 of 33: Pennzoil 150 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Track Specs: 2.439-mile road course / 62 laps

Race Winner: AJ Almendinger

Paludo’s finish: 24th

Owner Points position: 38t(-640)


Miguel Paludo had a solid Pennzoil 150 going in the No. 88 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet on Saturday on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but contact from behind into Turn 12 dropped him from eighth to 33rd in a single lap. The Brazilian native put his head down and rallied from 33rd to eventually finish 24th at the end of 62 laps.

Race Rundown

  • Paludo qualified his No. 88 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet in the 19thposition for the event, but a flat-spotted tire forced a change before the race and he began the event in 34th position. Over the first eight laps of the 2.439-mile course, Paludo had risen to 29th, getting the feel of his No. 88 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet.
  • As the 20-lap Stage One clicked away, Paludo climbed to 12th position as the pit cycle shook itself out. Crew chief Jason Stockert called Paludo to pit road on lap 14 for four tires and fuel, sending his driver back out in 22nd.
  • Over the remaining laps of Stage One, Paludo drove back into the top 20. Under the caution flag, Paludo told Stockert that the front end of the car was finally back to where it should have been had the team not had to replace the right front tire before the race, and that he had the front end where he wanted it for Stage Two.
  • On the first lap of green-flag racing in Stage Two, Paludo used the new tires to pick up three positions to 17th, and as various cars had problems or worked strategy, Paludo climbed to 12th on lap 25. Another mishap ahead of him put him 11th a lap later as the caution came out again.
  • When the race returned to the green flag, a nifty move in traffic put Paludo into the top 10 for the first time on the day at lap 32, and he advanced to eighth at lap 34.
  • Stockert called him to pit road three laps later for four tires and fuel and to fix damage sustained on the left front. The damage caused problems for the pit crew and the stop was much longer than planned, dropping the No. 88 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet back to 33rd when he finally got back onto the track.
  • At the end of Stage Two three laps later, Paludo was scored in 32nd place. Staying on the track while others pitted on the break, Paludo told Stockert that his handling was pretty good, and that he could put it where he needed to gain positions.
  • The restart to begin the final segment had Paludo in 14th spot and he held that until Turn 12 on the opening lap. A car behind him dived into the corner and knocked the rear end of the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro, sending Paludo into a spin and doing further body damage. The contact dropped Paludo back to 33rd position with 17 laps remaining.
  • Facing a long climb up the order, Paludo needed just four laps to move up a position and was 29th at lap 53. Over the remaining nine laps, Paludo picked off five more positions to finish the event in 24th place. 

Miguel Paludo, driver No. 88 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet team

“The BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet was fast today and we deserved a better finish than what we got. The strategy that Jason and the No. 88 team had in place was good enough for at least a top-10 and that was possible before what happened in Turn 12. I am so grateful to Rick (Brandt) and everyone at JR Motorsports for the opportunity to drive these cars, and I really wanted to get a great finish today.”

Ron LeMasters | Public Relations

JR Motorsports 

P.O. Box 330, Mooresville, NC 28115

Office: 704-799-4845

DaleJr.com | JRMracing.com

JR Motorsports Race Report