by Jay | Sep 20, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
LOUDON, N.H. — Kyle Busch didn’t have the fastest truck on Saturday, and he had barely enough fuel to make it to the finish line.
Photos Link
Neither circumstance prevented him from winning his third straight start in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series and his fifth race of the season. Busch took the checkered flag in the Heluva Good! 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as points leader and runner-up Ron Hornaday Jr. and his team owner and third-place finisher, Kevin Harvick, battled for position behind him.
Harvick believed Hornaday’s failure to move over in favor of Harvick’s faster truck in the closing laps — which Harvick attributed to lack of communication between crew chiefs and spotters — cost Kevin Harvick Inc. the victory.
Busch took on four seconds’ worth of fuel during a splash-and-go on Lap 172 of 200 and got back on track ahead of Hornaday, whose stop on Lap 170 had lasted almost twice as long. A debris caution on Lap 189 helped Busch conserve enough gas to get to the end of the race. His fuel cell hit “empty” as he approached victory lane.
“They told me we were going to be about five (laps) short (after the final stop),” said Busch, who finished .560 seconds ahead of Hornaday. “I was like, ‘You’re kidding me! We just stopped and filled this thing.’ It barely made it. It ran out coming into victory lane there.”
Matt Crafton finished fourth, followed by series rookie Johnny Sauter. Stacy Compton, Brian Scott, Mike Skinner, Colin Braun and Rick Crawford completed the top 10.
Harvick expressed his displeasure after the race.
“The communication between the spotter and the crew chief wasn’t relayed to the driver very clear,” Harvick said. “I felt like one of the two trucks should have won the race. I felt like we were a little bit better truck, but you can’t put yourself in position to do something underneath him (Hornaday) that would be detrimental to his championship chase.
“It’s just some things internally that we probably need to work on there. Second and third today is still a good day, a good day for (Hornaday) in the championship race, but I feel like we didn’t do what we needed to do.”
Hornaday, who extended his lead in the series standings to 217 points over Crafton, said he wasn’t aware of the problem until after the checkered flag.
“It was a good day — until after the race,” he said. “He (Harvick) got up to me three or four times and I backed off. He ran underneath me. I don’t know if he was getting loose or whatever underneath me. I had older tires. I didn’t have fresher tires. But I’ll take second. …
“I’m going to talk to him right now. I don’t know what I done wrong.”
Note: The victory was Busch’s 14th in 65 truck series starts.
by Jay | Sep 20, 2009 | ACT, Canada, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
LOUDON, NH – Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, MA won the Inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. MacDonald came from the 19th starting position and took the lead on lap 36 from young Brandon Watson from Stayner, ON. Watson hung with MacDonald, not more than a car length away and eventually took the lead again on the lap 41 restart. MacDonald would eventually take the lead again for good.
“It was awesome to win the first ACT race here. I’m sure there will be more but winning the first one is special. There were still a lot of fans in the grandstands from after the truck race,” said MacDonald who scored his second win of the weekend after taking the East Series race at NHMS on Friday.
After MacDonald took the lead for the last time the battle of the race became for second. Nick Sweet of Barre, VT and Joey Laquerre from Montpelier, VT caught Watson for second. The three ran under a blanket for the final 7 laps with Sweet getting the advantage and Watson fell back to third after Laquerre momentarily lost the handle. Watson then had to hold off Patrick Laperle from St-Denis, QC for third at the line by a bumper. Laperle had to settle for fourth followed by John Donahue of Graniteville, VT taking fifth. Laquerre held on for sixth followed by Brad Leighton, Brian Hoar, Bruce Thomas, and Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. came home tenth.
Joey Doiron of Berwick, ME got the initial jump on lap one and led by three car lengths over pole sitter Bruce Thomas of Groton, CT by the time they were in turn 2. Doiron then pulled out to a comfortable lead for the first 20 laps before the handling on his car appeared to fade. Thomas was right there to take over followed closely by Ontario’s Brandon Watson. Watson and Thomas battled through lap traffic as the field remained under green for the first 31 laps. That ended when Eric Chase spun in turn two. Watson took the lead on the restart until MacDonald took over the lead after coming from his 19th starting position.
The Inaugural ACT Invitational at New Hampshire was completed in 38 minutes and 32 seconds with only 2 cautions. The lead was swapped five times among four drivers.
The Série ACT Castrol drivers will be back in action tomorrow at St-Eustache Speedway in St-Eustache, QC for a 300 lap to cap off their season. The American Canadian Late Model Tour will finish off their season at Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday, October 11. Next Sunday, September 27 most of these drivers will show up for the 47th Annual Chittenden Milk Bowl at Thunder Road International Speedbowl.
Inaugural ACT Invitational
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Pos Car # Driver Hometown
1 17MA Eddie MacDonald Rowley, MA
2 88VT Nick Sweet Barre, VT
3 9ON Brandon Watson Stayner, ON
4 91QC Patrick Laperle St-Denis, QC
5 26VT John Donahue Graniteville, VT
6 15VT Joey Laquerre East Montpelier, VT
7 55NH Brad Leighton Center Harbor, NH
8 37VT Brian Hoar Williston, VT
9 35CT Bruce Thomas Groton, CT
10 97NH Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. Hudson, NH
11 11RI Ryan Vanasse Warwick, RI
12 48QC Karl Allard St-Felicien, QC
13 71ON Dan McHattie Cavan, ON
14 94ME Shawn Martin Turner, ME
15 21QC Jean-François Déry Quebec, QC
16 89VT Scott Payea Milton, VT
17 11VT Jean-Paul Cyr Milton, VT
18 14ON Sean Kennedy Dunrobin, ON
19 55VT Brent Dragon Milton, VT
20 02NH Randy Potter Groveton, NH
21 40VT Eric Chase Burlington, VT
22 80QC Donald Theetge Boischatel, QC
23 44VT David Pembroke Montpelier, VT
24 18VT Jamie Fisher Shelburne, VT
25 14VT Phil Scott Montpelier, VT
26 27MA Wayne Helliwell Jr. Dracut, MA
27 6VT Cris Michaud Northfield, VT
28 51ME Ricky Rolfe Albany Twnshp, ME
29 83VT Stacy Cahoon St. Johnsbury, VT
30 8NH Guy Caron Lempster, NH
31 73ME #Joe Doiron Berwick, ME
32 03ME Travis Adams Canton, ME
33 10NH Ben Rowe Turner, ME
34 60NH TJ Watson Cundys Harbor, ME
35 7ME Glen Luce Turner, ME
36 47CT Tim Jordan Plainfield, CT
by Jay | Sep 19, 2009 | ACT, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
1. Bruce Thomas, Jr.
2. Joey Doiron
3. Brandon Watson
4. Timmy Jordan
5. Joey Laquerre
6. Randy Potter
7. Shawn Martin
8. Nick Sweet
9. Sean Kennedy
10. Ryan Vanasse
11. Jean-Francois Dery
12. Karl Allard
13. Donald Theetge
14. Brian Hoar
15. Ben Rowe
16. Dave Pembroke
17. Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
18. Patrick Laperle
19. Eddie MacDonald
20. Brent Dragon
21. John Donahue
22. Brad Leighton
23. Scott Payea
24. Phil Scott
25. Jean-Paul Cyr
26. Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
27. Dan McHattie
28. Glen Luce
29. Stacy Cahoon
30. Travis Adams
31. Guy Caron
32. T.J. Watson
33. Eric Chase
34. Jamie Fisher
35. Ricky Rolfe
36. Cris Michaud
by Jay | Sep 18, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
MacDonald Back In Victory Lane
Third win in last four races at Loudon
Jason Cunningham, NASCAR
September 18, 2009 – 6:25pm
LOUDON, N.H. – Eddie MacDonald closed the gap on NASCAR Camping World Series East points leader Ryan Truex Friday night at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a win in the Heluva Good! Fall 125.
MacDonald beat Kevin Swindell to the line on a Lap 92 restart and kept the lead when Swindell faltered on a Lap 97 green-white-checker restart to win the rain-delayed and darkness-shortened race in Loudon.
MacDonald, driver of the No. 71 NEMO/Daymark Chevrolet from Rowley, Mass., entered Friday trailing Truex by 50 points in the season standings. By virtue of winning the race and leading a lap, MacDonald was able to gain 20 points on Truex – who finished third – with just one race remaining to decide the championship.
MacDonald also earned a secure spot in the postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be run Jan. 30, 2010 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Brett Moffitt wound up second Friday and was followed across the line by Truex, Matt Kobyluck, and Jesus Hernandez. Kobyluck led a race-high 38 laps but lost the lead to Swindell on the Lap 82 restart.
The rest of the top 10 finishers were Jody Lavender, Alan Tardiff, Steve Park, Max Gresham and Swindell.
The race was originally scheduled for 125 laps, but the start was delayed by 40 minutes due to rain and the race was shortened to 99 laps by darkness.
The finale of the 2009 season and the crowning of a champion will take place on Friday, Sept. 25 with the Sunoco 150 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
by Jay | Sep 18, 2009 | ACT, NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Waterbury, VT – This weekend’s American Canadian Tour (ACT) Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) will seem like a homecoming of sorts to several of the drivers who race with the ACT. Former NASCAR driver Brian Hoar from Williston, VT is a past NHMS Track Champion. Hoar is currently leading the 2009 ACT Championship point battle and looking for his 6th overall ACT title. Brad Leighton is the most prolific winner in NHMS history, with eight (8) wins to his credit. Part-time ACT racer Eddie MacDonald from Rowley, MA won both Camping World East events held at the Speedway in 2008. MacDonald is in a point race with Ryan Truex for the NASCAR Camping World East title and will be entering both races at New Hampshire this weekend.
When asked how he felt about heading to the Invitational, former King of the Road title holder and recent winner of the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road, Dave Pembroke, of Montpelier, VT said, “I am a little concerned that those guys will try and pay me back!”
Pembroke won the 200-lap event a couple of weeks ago. He not only won the event, but he led all 200 laps and nearly put the entire field of 30 starters down a lap in the process. The race went 181 green flag laps before the one and only caution on lap 182. This was accomplished on what is regarded as one of the toughest quarter mile racetracks in America. “Seriously, I am really excited about going back to New Hampshire. I don’t have any great expectations, I am just happy to get the invitation to compete at that beautiful place. I kind of wish I was in Phil’s car instead of my own. (Pembroke took part in a two-day Goodyear tire test in April in the car of Montpelier, Vt’s Senator Phil Scott. On the second day of testing Scott was called back to the Senate for a critical vote and asked Pembroke to substitute for him). It certainly performed better at Loudon than mine did when we were testing in August, but we have worked since Labor Day to get it ready, so we will hope for the best”, concluded Pembroke.
The home track advantage might be somewhat neutralized when the draw for starting spots is concluded around 12:30 on Saturday, September 19th following the drivers meeting. “We have been working on a handicap system that reflects what is good about short track racing. We won’t have an opportunity to qualify by heats or time trials, due to some time constraints, so we have created a fair system to try and give our teams a good racing experience, and also to give our fans the best show possible”, said Nick Bigelow, the ACT Chief Handicapper. The system that has been created for the first ACT Invitational will have all thirty-six teams draw for positions, but the draw has been broken into three parts, and the final line-up will reflect what officials believe will be both competitive and safe for the race teams.
The inaugural ACT Invitational will be comprised of teams from all 6 New England states and the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Vermont will send the largest contingent of teams with 12, followed by Maine with 7 entrants, and then Quebec and New Hampshire with 4 each.
The $65,000 ACT Invitational will be part of the biggest one day of racing in New England. The ACT race will follow the popular NASCAR Whelen Modified Series 100 and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 200. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling NHMS or by visiting their site at www.nhms.com. Post time at NHMS on Saturday, September 19th is 1:00pm. The ACT Invitational is scheduled to post at 5:30pm.
by Jay | Sep 18, 2009 | NASCAR, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
In the face of bitter disappointment, one might be able to take comfort in the old saying, “For every problem there is an opportunity.”
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), is certainly disappointed since he now faces the next 10-race stretch of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule without being part of the 12-driver Chase for the Championship. Even tougher to take was that he and the M&M’s team missed the Chase by a mere eight points, despite a flawless night on-track and on pit road that led to a solid fifth-place run in last Saturday night’s 26th race of the season at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
But, for his part, Busch has decided that despite facing the problem of not making the Chase, even with four wins to his credit, there are three key opportunities that lie ahead before the checkered flag waves at the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It all starts with Sunday’s Sylvania 300 Sprint Cup event at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
With the pressure of the Chase now off, Busch and crew chief Steve Addington will first focus on something former teammate Tony Stewart and current No. 20 team crew chief Greg Zipadelli accomplished after they just missed the Chase in 2006. Stewart and the No. 20 team brought home three wins to go along with five top-five finishes over the final 10 races.
Secondly, Busch and Company will do their part to provide as much information as possible to help teammate Denny Hamlin, crew chief Mike Ford, and the entire No. 11 team in their bid for the championship. That’s what good teammates do.
Finally, the Las Vegas native will hope to not only glean as much information as possible for his compatriots on the No. 11 squad, but also learn more about NASCAR’s current-generation car in order to refocus on their bid for a championship in 2010.
While his chance for a championship has ended for 2009, it doesn’t mean Busch won’t be focused on something he loves to do more than anything else: winning, and keeping the colors primary backer M&M’s in victory lane, where he feels they belong.
So it’s quite clear to everyone on the No. 18 team, this problem has certainly brought along opportunities that lie ahead, starting with this weekend in New Hampshire.
KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:
What is your plan for the final 10 races?
“To go out and win some more races. M&M’s and all the guys on this team deserve that kind of effort no matter what. We just need to work on the consistency. We picked up at some tracks that we needed to, and we faltered at some tracks that we thought we were good at. It just wasn’t our year and it wasn’t meant to be, for some reason. I was put in this predicament for a reason, and one of these days I’ll figure out why. You’ve just got to focus on learning from everything that happens and try to turn it into a positive.”
Do you think your teammate Denny Hamlin could be a threat to win the Chase, and what will you do to help?
“I hope so. Along with us hopefully winning some races, all of the focus is going on the 11, and I’ll do my best to help Denny out and bring Joe Gibbs Racing a championship. Hopefully, I can do my part on the racetrack, as well as on just giving the best advice from my car and helping those guys. So you know, I think Denny has got a lot going forward. He’s going to have a big momentum boost this week, where he goes and runs so well at Loudon, and next week at Dover, he does well, too. They have got it going on if they can keep the parts together but, unfortunately, we didn’t last year. But if they do, they will be fine.”
How frustrating is it to come just eight points from making the Chase?
“It’s very, very frustrating. I’m heartbroken, but we’ll take this and go the rest of the year and try to win some more races and get M&M’s and Interstate Batteries to victory lane. There were a lot of situations this year that I screwed up, that we got put into bad spots, had a couple days that we were bad on pit road, others where we just couldn’t hit the setup right. It’s just a conglomeration of things that put us in this predicament. It’s not just one thing. It’s not those last two weeks. It’s the previous 26 altogether. Unfortunately, some of those weeks were worse than others.”
How comfortable are you now on flat tracks?
“It’s the Cup side that I’ve had some issues with on the flat tracks. The Nationwide side of it, we are fine. In the past, with Hendrick, I was fine on the flat stuff, too. But, for some reason, it’s just with these Gibbs cars, I don’t have the feel for it. I’m not sure why or what it is. We kind of went to New Hampshire in June with my own setup and it seemed to pay off a little bit for us, rather than trying a Denny (Hamlin) setup. Denny always runs well on the flat tracks, but his driving style is so much different than mine. I can’t run the same. Denny ran really well there in the past, so I’m hoping we have a car that is as good as his. We tried something different at Phoenix earlier this year and again in New Hampshire during the summer and that seemed to fit my driving style better. I’m looking forward to New Hampshire because we ran well there in the spring – I think we finished in seventh. I’m looking forward to trying to change last year’s results there for both races and be better this year in both races.”
What’s different about New Hampshire that you enjoy, as opposed to other flat tracks like Phoenix?
“New Hampshire is a fun track for me, as a driver, even though it was a tough year there last year. It’s flat like Phoenix and Milwaukee, but it’s a little bit tricky. In order to do well there, you need a car that works on all the different kinds of asphalt the tracks seem to be putting down. You need a car that has a lot of side bite in the rear and front grip to turn easier. At New Hampshire, it seems like I’ve always been loose into the corner and tight in the center, which is hard to fix sometimes. I think the team that can fix that the best will have the best car.”
