SONOMA, Calif. – After a hellacious crash Friday (June 26) for Austin Green during practice for the Pitboss Food Maxx 250, Peterson Racing Group and the No. 87 team had to turn to Richard Childress Racing for help at Sonoma Raceway.
RCR helped provide an unusual backup car for Peterson. It was itself a bit of a mess, run all over at last week’s Naval Base Coronado course in San Diego after a pileup at Turn 1. That left Green even a bigger underdog than usual for this race.
As the team worked through the night and morning, the once heavily-damaged car that rolled off Austin Hill’s No. 21 hauler took some time for Green to get used to. So much so that the first stage of Saturday’s race more or less became the practice session that he missed out on.
Which makes it all the more impressive that Green came home 12th, the fourth top-15 finish in his last six starts with his NASCAR O’Reilly Series career hanging in the balance.
Consider that Green had to drive from the rear of the field with this car in a stripped-down, base-white paint scheme with some purple dashed on it. It looked like a jalopy but it still moved up over 10 positions during the first green-flag run of the race.
As Green navigated what became more green-flag runs through a mostly caution-free day, it was a matter of patience to wheel a car home that he had little familiarity with.
And just when it looked like Green was set for a finish near the front, his car started struggling handling-wise in the final stage. The No. 87 team had to push Green to attack the braking zones harder as the car slid back outside the top 10.
But Green persevered, and as other top-tier drivers had problems late, he brought his No. 87 car home inside the top 15.
“Different steering box, different brakes that I’m used to,” Green told Frontstretch post-race after that 12th-place result. “We had a tire come apart, [so] to come back with a Top 15, I guess I’ll take it but there’s always room to be better and grow.”
Green’s solid drive outlasted drivers in top-tier equipment like Taylor Gray and Austin Hill, whose primary car wound up finishing behind this old backup machine.
It was an impressive, bounce back performance for a young driver under pressure. Now comes the more difficult question: was it enough for Green to come back and finish the season?
Nick Sanchez was previously announced as taking over the No. 87 car at Peterson for the next couple of ovals, bringing money and experience to the table. That ultimately leaves Green in a state of limbo after starting the year full-time in this car.
“Keeping your head up, being a team player, that’s going to be key,” said Green. “I’ll be at those next three [ovals] that [Sanchez is] running and hopefully I can back in for Iowa and the remainder of the year, so we’ll see.”
As Green figures out his future, there’s one notable Cup Series driver who is singing his praises behind the scenes.
Toyota Save Mart 350 pole sitter Ty Gibbs mentioned on Saturday that he credits some of his development to working with Green on iRacing. In fact, Gibbs went out of his way to say how he makes him better.
“Austin is very talented, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in a fast car. Hopefully soon,” Gibbs said Saturday. “I feel like myself and Austin developed each other a little bit. He’s really determined and I’d love to see him in a good car. I think he’d do great things. I’d love to see him in a Gibbs car, he’s a badass.”
Green’s already got an RCR-type car checked off the list. And the end result? Not half bad.
Thomas is in his second year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon. He helps manage the 2-Headed Monster Column.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college athletics in the Bay Area, writing about the California Golden Bears and doing play by play broadcasting.
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