Timothy McDonnell dropped from 4th to 19th position in his Nashville Duel. His last chance qualifier started with the #22 on the outside front row. The car was running perfectly, leading a race-high 19 laps in route to a possible victory and a $500,000 grand prize. Nobody expected what would happen next. The team with the second fewest engine failures since 2019 in 400-500 mile events went ka-put. Timothy was riding in second behind leader William "Tex" Perry entering turn-1 when his Volkswagen motor obliterated. He would get hit by Ken Joynt and spin to a stop, as the entire field flew by in astonishment. "We couldn't get the car right in the first race. That's what cost us." said crew chief Kenzou Yamada. This team comes in with the most dominant stretch in their entire tenure, earning seven straight top-10's and five straight top-3's, including three points-race victories and an All-Star Race win. At Nashville, they will sit at home for the first time. McDonnell will miss his first race since his rookie campaign in 2009. They are currently 281 points ahead of 11th in the standings. The recent hot-stretch will prove to be a necessary boon.