NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Photos by Angel Resendiz / Eternally Captured -- It was a week that didn’t quite come together the way Neal Dulin wanted on paper, but there was no question that the speed was there from start to finish during his time in the Nashville area.

The week opened at Highland Rim Speedway, where the results didn’t reflect the potential. Dulin started fourth in the first race but slipped to eighth after a few mistakes early. In the second race, he was in position to contend for second before getting taken out on a restart midway through the race. The contact left him with a wounded car, and he crossed the line in ninth. He closed out Highland Rim on a better note, qualifying sixth and racing his way to fourth with a strong run against the leaders.

If Highland Rim was a grind, the Nashville Fairgrounds showed what the No. 79 was capable of.

Dulin came out of the box fast, topping the charts in practice twice and backing it up with a second-place qualifying effort, just eight thousandths off track champion Michael Crafton. Early in the first race, he got stuck on the outside and settled into fourth before moving to third on a restart. Another caution changed everything. Caught in a chain reaction after once again being pinned to the outside, Dulin was sent to the tail and finished 14th.

From there, the weekend turned into a fight back to the front.

Starting on the pole for the next race, Dulin was moved out of the way on the opening lap, but he regrouped and drove back to a second-place finish, turning the fastest lap of the race in the process.

That effort put him right back on the pole for the final race of the weekend.

In that race, Dulin led laps and found his rhythm out front, looking like he had the car to beat. But as had been the theme of the week, contact came into play again. After getting moved from behind, he fought back to the lead before another exchange shuffled him to fifth.

He stayed with it to the end and brought the car home second, salvaging another strong finish against a deep Pro field.

It was a week of highs and lows, but one that reinforced where Dulin stands right now. The results didn’t always show it, but the pace was there, and so was the ability to race with some of the best in the country.

Dulin credited Joe Ryan Race Cars for their effort throughout the week, noting the team worked relentlessly to give him a fast car at both tracks. He also thanked INEX for the opportunity to open each driver's meeting in prayer, calling it an honor.

With Charlotte Motor Speedway's Cookout Summer Shootout competition ahead, the focus now turns to building on the speed and applying what was learned over a challenging but productive week in Nashville.