By Noah Poser, Staff Writer
Thomas Annunziata arrived in the Windy City this weekend looking to make newer, happier memories, after all he had to show for a trip here last year was an unexpected DNQ resulting in a premature end to his first NASCAR Chicago experience.
In achieving a career-best 17th-place finish driving for Cope Family Racing, consider it ‘mission accomplished’ for the 20-year-old who was making just his 12th Xfinity Series start.
Sure enough, Annunziata took to social media after the race to break down what he considered to be a mostly positive performance for him and his team.
“What a great day for us,” Annunziata said. “Ran top 10 all day and was as high as sixth in Stage 2. Unfortunately, we restarted eighth in Stage 3 and got dumped into the tire barriers, but still came back to finish strong. Thank you to Cope Family Racing and the rest of my crew for such a competitive car.”
Annunziata qualified 20th, but had to drop to the rear due to unapproved adjustments between qualifying and the race, meaning he basically had to start shotgun on the field.
After making a bit of headway in the opening laps, it didn’t take long for other drivers to start becoming more impatient as they made their way through the field, which Annunziata found out in less than ideal fashion when he was bumped into the wall by Connor Zilisch within the first five laps.
Things would quickly turn around from there for the driver from New Jersey, however, as he was able to capture quality track position thanks to pit strategy playing out in the team’s favor.
The team decided to flip the first stage and pit before the stage ended, putting him inside the top 10 to start the second stage. Annunziata was able to hold position throughout the course of the run, finishing the second stage in 10th and scoring one stage point.
He continued to run inside the top 10 until Lap 34, when eventual race winner Shane van Gisbergen made a daring three-wide move entering the corner, resulting in Annunziata’s No. 70 Chevrolet finding itself buried in the tire barrier with a fair bit of damage and without a rear bumper, bringing out a caution.
In the final 15 laps, Annunziata would drive what was left of his wounded race car from outside the top 30 all the way back up to 17th in an effort to maximize the day.
The ability to take what he had out of the car after the wreck and simply do the best he can with it as the driver behind the wheel, as opposed to trying to push the car past its limits and risk further damage, represents a matured approach from when he first entered the sport.
It’s something he discussed in further detail Saturday morning before the race.
“My expectations when I first started (in the Xfinity Series) was probably just to finish the races,” Annunziata said. “Now it’s top 15s, top 20s, and bringing home good points for our race team and helping to try and fund our team so we can continue to build faster race cars.
“The expectation now is to deliver.”
And he did just that Saturday in bringing home his second top 20 finish of the season and the fifth such finish of the season for Cope Family Racing as a whole. With Annunziata and Leland Honeyman splitting time behind the wheel, the No. 70 currently sits 31st in Xfinity Series owner points after 18 races.
The team will be looking to improve its standing when it takes to the track this upcoming weekend at Sonoma, where another road racing ace in Will Rodgers will be the one handling driving duties in what will be his first start of the 2025 season.