Xfinity Star Hopeful of a Daytona Finish as She Highlights the Great American Race’s High Stakes

While most drivers and fans went back home disappointed after the season-opening NASCAR Xfinity Series race was postponed due to poor weather conditions, some were happy at the end of the day’s proceedings. That’s not because the race was postponed, but because the rain had held off long enough for them to run a fast enough qualifying lap to make it into the United Rentals 300. One such driver was DGM Racing’s Natalie Decker.

For Decker, the task was simple. Run a lap fast enough to lock in a place in the race. But if the rain was so heavy that even the qualifying session had to be canceled, she would not have even had a chance to make it into the race. Thankfully, that was not the case, and Natalie Decker was a jubilant woman, as the work she had put in bore fruit and the weather was kind enough to allow it.

Natalie Decker is unsure of her strategy after putting in an impressive qualifying run

After the Xfinity Series season-opener was postponed to Monday, Natalie Decker was interviewed by Toby Christie on Pit Road after she had gotten the job done. Decker revealed that she was nervous coming into the Daytona International Speedway as there was a chance the weather would ruin her chances. After things worked out, she was happy that they did in her favor.

“Coming to this race at Daytona, I was so nervous. The weather was so iffy, we knew that coming into this. If it was gonna rain out qualifying, we weren’t in the show. We needed to have the speed, and the car had the speed, so I’m really glad that we’re in the show. I feel like there were so many times I put myself in sketchy situations, and this was one of them. But it finally turned around, and it was in my favor, and I’m just really happy to be here,” Natalie Decker said.

However, qualifying and racing are two completely different things. As the race was postponed until Monday, drivers will have the chance to take some time and figure out what strategy they would use to run in the Xfinity Series opener. Natalie Decker has yet to pick a strategy for the race, but she revealed that the most important goal at a place like Daytona was to make it to the end of the race. “I have not picked my strategy yet, so either you can hang out in the back and wait for all the wrecks and you can just race up front, and hope for the best. I have not decided what to do yet, but all you can ask for at Daytona is to finish,” she added.

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Natalie Decker will be driving the #36 DGM Racing car in the Xfinity Series race, backed by sponsors like Amped Fitness and WaWa. She had some sponsor responsibilities before the qualifying session, where she had a great time, which made her feel that all the hard work was worth it, even if she did not race.

DGM Racing star reveals how fans made rain-marred race day feel worth it

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For some drivers, media and sponsor responsibilities are a menace. They can break a driver’s concentration and completely throw them off their game on race day. Natalie Decker is not one of them. The 26-year-old revealed that she enjoyed every minute of interacting with the fans in the sessions organized by her sponsors and that she met some amazing people in these interactions that made her day.

“After that day of doing all this media, and doing the meet and greet at Amped Fitness and WaWa, and seeing all those fans, I was like, if it rains out and everything’s out of our control and we can’t race, it was worth it being here with everyone I got to meet; it was just amazing. But now, it didn’t rain, we qualified in, and I couldn’t ask for a better weekend,” Natalie Decker said.

The No. 36 will be one of the cars to look out for when the race finally takes place on Monday. Natalie Decker is a bright prospect, and while she said that finishing at Daytona would be a big deal, one can rest assured that the 26-year-old will be as competitive as anyone around her to finish as high as possible and get her season off to the best possible start.

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