Joe Graf Jr. Steakhouse Elite 200 Darlington Raceway May Event Preview

SS GreenLight Racing | NASCAR Xfinity Series

Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | Steakhouse Elite 200

Fast Facts

No. 07 SS GreenLight Racing Team:

Driver: Joe Graf Jr. (@JoeGrafJr)

Primary Partner(s): Bucked Up Energy

Manufacturer: Chevrolet Camaro

Crew Chief: Mike Tyska

Steakhouse Elite 200 Starting Position: 30th (Based on event formula)

Driver Points Position: 23rd | Owner Points Position: 29th

Chassis Intel: SSGLR Chassis No. 708; competed last at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway on March 20, 2021 (Start: 24th | Finish: 29th)

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines (ECR)

Notes of Interest:

Full of Energy: Bucked Up Energy and its sister products will continue their role as the primary partner of Graf’s No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend. Darlington is the fifth race of 2021 but is the 27th race overall in a multi-year, multi-race deal with the former ARCA Menards Series winner.

Bucked Up is the everyman (or woman) energy drink. We don’t care about the color of your collar; whether blue or white, we all require energy to power our days. We want something that tastes like success, enhances mood and focus, and most of all delivers long-lasting energy.

Great Scott!: On Wednesday, Joe Graf Jr. and his SS GreenLight Racing unveiled their Darlington Raceway NASCAR throwback paint scheme with a tribute to the 1986 blockbuster film “Back to the Future.”

Graf’s No. 07 Bucked Up Chevrolet has been transformed to look similar to the DMC DeLorean utilized during the film starring Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox.

Graf has acquired a retro Back to the Future outfit that Fox portrayed his role as Marty McFly Jr. that he’ll adorn before climbing into race car Saturday afternoon.

Look At Those Shoes! As part of his wardrobe for this weekend at Darlington, Graf Jr. will pull a popular item from his personal shoe collection. He’ll sport the NIKE Dunk SB Low Marty McFly shoes that he obtained last October.

This weekend will mark the first time Graf has worn the shoes since the purchase. Over the last seven months, the specific brand has increased in popularity as well as value with an estimated worth of nearly $800.00 in new condition.

Cast Your Vote!: The vote is on for the best NASCAR Xfinity Series Throwback paint scheme of the 2021 season.

Between now and 12:00 p.m., you can vote Joe Graf Jr.’s “Back to the Future” throwback as your favorite scheme by casting your vote here.

Saving You Some Money: As summer approaches, Joe Graf Jr.’s partner Z Grills wants to help the NASCAR community save money – but also enjoy the perfect barbecue.

On the heels of their second race partnership of the season last month at Talladega Superspeedway, Z Grills Racing (ZGrillsRacing.com) is offering a 10 percent discount off your TOTAL purchase, using the code JoeGraf07 at checkout.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Darlington Raceway Starts: Joe Graf Jr. will make his third career start at the “Lady in Black” in Saturday afternoon’s race.

Last year, Graf Jr. impressed in the spring race climbing from his 36th place starting position to earn a lead lap 19th place finish without practice or qualifying.

In the fall, he finished as respectable 23rd after starting 28th in a throwback paint scheme to retired Xfinity Series driver Elliott Sadler.

Joe Graf Jr. Xfinity Series Career Intermediate Nuggets: At tracks greater than 1.0-mile in size, Graf has competed in 22 NASCAR Xfinity Series races. He holds an average starting position of 23.5 and an average result of 22.6.

Racing For That Degree Too: While preparing for Saturday’s Steakhouse Elite 200 at Darlington, Joe Graf Jr. has also been busy hitting the books studying for finals in pursuit of a degree in business, media and sports management from New York University (NYU). He is expected to graduate in 2022.

Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway | Ag-Pro 300 Race Recap: In the series’ most recent race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Graf contended for a top-10 finish but a flat tire late in the race relegated the SS GreenLight Racing team with a disappointing 33rd place finish.

Put Me In Coach: In an effort to strengthen his physique, Joe Graf Jr. began working with new trainer and former NASCAR Cup Series Josh Wise during the offseason.

In addition to Wise, Graf has also been working with former NASCAR driver and open wheel driver Scott Speed on being more discipline behind the wheel of his No. 07 Bucked Up Energy Chevrolet Camaro.

Sneaker Mania: Along with the adrenaline of Motorsports competition, Joe Graf Jr. also has a vogue for hype sneakers. In his current collection, he owns and wears at least 80 limited edition sneakers – and his collection continues to grow every month.

From the Pit Box: Industry veteran Mike Tyska is Joe Graf Jr.’s crew chief.

He will crew chief his ninth NASCAR Xfinity Series race as crew chief on Saturday afternoon.

Tyska joined SS GreenLight Racing in January after honing his skills in all three of NASCAR’s national divisions and working for teams like Germain Racing, GMS Racing and Rick Ware Racing.

Tyska was a part of Todd Bodine’s 2006 championship season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Germain Racing.

Hello From The Other Side: Graf Jr. has a teammate at SS GreenLight Racing. Veteran JJ Yeley will drive the No. 17 WORKPRO Chevrolet Camaro on Saturday afternoon.

Yeley is set to make his 339th career NASCAR Xfinity Series start and 11th at the famed 1.366 mile speedway. His best Xfinity track finish occurred in the 2006 Diamond Hill Plywood 200 where he finished ninth after starting 35th driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Joe Graf Jr. visit JoeGrafRacing.com, like him on Facebook (Joe Graf Jr.), follow him on Twitter (@JoeGrafJr) and Instagram (@joegrafjr).

For more on SS GreenLight Racing, please like them on Facebook (SS GreenLight Racing) and follow them on Twitter (@SSGLR0717) and visit their website at SSGreenLight.com.

Joe Graf Jr. Pre-Race Quotes:

On Darlington Raceway: “I am optimistic about Darlington Raceway this weekend. Last spring, I think we impressed a lot of people with a top-20 finish from the back. I know we can do that again; we just need some help in the luck department.

“I like how aggressive you need to be to tackle Darlington and I hope that will play into our hands-on Saturday afternoon. We have a great-looking throwback car and I’m determined to put it near the front.”

On Throwback Scheme: “Who doesn’t love the movie Back to the Future? Our team worked hard on the concept and I think we did a great job executing our throwback scheme. The car looks great, and we have attracted a lot of attention with it, I just hope we can have a strong finish on Saturday to top it all off.”

On 2021 Season: “The last few races have been tough, but we will bounce back. As a team, we know what we are capable of. We started off the year strong and we are determined to do everything in our power to get back to that consistency and look ahead with positivity.”

Race Information:

The Steakhouse Elite 200 (147 laps | 200.1 miles) is the ninth of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2021 schedule. The 40-car field will take the green flag on Sat., May 8, 2021, shortly after 1:00 p.m. ET with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90.

About SS Green Light Racing:  

As one of the most tenured teams in all of NASCAR, SS GreenLight Racing led by team owner and former driver Bobby Dotter has been a mainstay in the sport fielding entries in either the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series or the Xfinity Series competition since 2001.

SS GreenLight Racing will continue with a two-car program in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021.

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