UPDATE: 3:24 PM ET: After presenting the No. 78 car to the grid, the team has pushed their machine back to the garage area. Miller was unable to get the car to crank.
It’s been a rough day for the No. 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage. In qualifying for today’s Zippo 200, it appeared that Vinnie Miller’s motor expired. As he was trying to limp the car back to pit road, oil slicked his tires and sent him spinning head-first into the guard rail.
Qualifying was halted early as the No. 78 hits the wall. pic.twitter.com/Sb4bR7Vm9Y
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 3, 2019
The crash obliterated the front-end of the Pit Viper sunglasses machine. With limited time before the race it became a question of whether the team could get the car repaired in time to make it into the race. It appears, after two hours of thrashing, they have indeed gotten their car running again.
After a shade over 2 hours of nonstop work, the @TeamBJMcLeod @PitViperShades #78 of @VinnieMiller_ is running! pic.twitter.com/4iMkqEDYqf
— Toasty (@Matt_Toasty) August 3, 2019
The No. 78 team isn’t expected to contend for the win today, but the fact that they will race at all has to feel like a victory for this team. Hard work pays off.