by Jay | Sep 26, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England
DOVER, Del. — A pair of rookies took center stage Friday at Dover International Speedway: Brett Moffitt came away with the Sunoco 150 checkered flag and Ryan Truex earned the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East championship.
Truex, a 17-year-old development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished eighth on Friday but it was the performance throughout the 11-race season that put him in the championship Winner’s Circle following the Sunoco 150. Truex finished his first season in NASCAR’s top development series with three wins and eight top 10s.
The main championship contender for Truex – Eddie MacDonald – finished one position behind Truex in the race and wound up 34 points out of the championship (1,719 – 1,685).
Jody Lavender was the third driver to enter the day with a mathematical chance at the championship, 102 points back of Truex. His race ended with a 17th-place finish, seven laps down.
Friday’s season finale was dominated on the track by Moffitt, also 17. The Grimes, Iowa, native led four different times for 85 laps and crossed the line two and a half seconds ahead of Ryan Gifford for the Sunoco 150 victory. The second win of the year placed him third in the season standings.
Following Richard Childress Racing development driver Gifford across the line at Dover was Corey LaJoie, David Mayhew, and Alan Tardiff. Steve Park, Ryan Duff, Truex, MacDonald and Jarit Johnson rounded out the top 10.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto set the track qualifying record earlier in the day and led three different times for 31 laps, but a mid-race accident left him two laps down in 11th.
With the 2009 season complete, the next racing event on the schedule for NASCAR Camping World Series teams will be the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29-30 in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Truex and the rest of the NASCAR touring series champions will be honored at the Touring Series Gala in Concord, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 14.
by Jay | Sep 21, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Loudon, NH (September 20, 2009): Despite a vibration in the No. 38 Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Spring Chevrolet, Alan Tardiff was able to rally to a seventh place finish in Friday night’s Heluva Good Fall 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a NASCAR Camping World Series East event, and put together a lucky seven combination that tightened up his point race heading into the series’ finale at Dover next weekend.
Tardiff’s finish marked his seventh top-10 finish of the season and moved him up to seventh in the point standings, just seven points out of sixth place.
“It’s a mirror finish of June: we had a seventh place in both races. We’re pretty happy with it,” said Tardiff.
Tardiff started nineteenth after posting a qualifying speed of 122.762 mph Thursday afternoon, and moved up to 15th at the drop of the green where he remained until pitting at lap 15. He returned to the track to take the green at lap 18 in the top-20.
Tardiff picked up a vibration early in the race, but worked through it and continued to soldier on.
“The car had a lot of grip up on top and it was really comfortable. We picked off quite a few cars pretty quick. The car picked up a major vibration – again. We had one the last time we were here and the brake pads crystallized on us. This time, I don’t know what happened, but I breathed on the brake pedal and it was just shaking the whole car around going around the corners,” he said.
A caution flew at lap 30 with Tardiff in the 14th position for the restart. In less than 10 laps, Tardiff had wheeled the No. 38 Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Spring Chevrolet up to ninth before the caution slowed the pace once again. Pit stops allowed Tardiff to gain two spots under the yellow and the team would restart the race from the seventh position.
The Lyman, Maine native maintained the seventh place position despite developing a throttle-loose condition in the latter stages of the race. He dropped back to tenth by lap 70. When the race went green at lap 92, Tardiff had dropped all the way back to 12th. He gained two more spots before caution came out yet again.
NASCAR shortened the race to 100 laps after rain delayed the start by 40 minutes, and decided to shorten it up to 99 laps because of darkness. The final restart came at lap 97 where Tardiff rallied in a two-lap dash to the checkers to cross the line in seventh place.
“I just held on to it. It got wild at the end, but I was able to gain a few spots,” said Tardiff. “It was hard to make a run going down the straightaway with the car getting throttle loose, but we just held on to it. It was a good points day for us and good effort by everybody on this team. We’ll take it and move on to Dover.”
The Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Spring Chevrolet and driver Alan Tardiff will return to action on Friday, September 25th for the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway. The event marks the season finale for the NASCAR Camping World Series East 2009 season.
by Jay | Sep 21, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Loudon, NH (September 20, 2009): Brett Moffitt was quiet and unassuming following the Heluva Good! Fall 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Friday evening, but his smile said it all.
Moffitt drove the No. 44 Brettmoffitt.com Chevrolet to a convincing runner-up finish in the second to last NASCAR Camping World Series East race of the 2009 season, and heads into the finale at Dover International Speedway fifth in the point standings.
“The 71 had a good car. We were a little bit better, and I think if that last caution hadn’t come out we would have won,” Moffitt said. “We had a really good car today so I have to thank all the guys on the crew and at ASM for that. We came in (to pit) before most people so that put us pretty far back in the field. We just had to stay out of trouble coming up through. Those last few laps were pretty wild from my vantage point so I’m sure it was a good show for the fans.”
Rain delayed the start of the race, and forced NASCAR to cut back on its scheduled distance due to time constraints, but Moffitt was strong right out of the box. Moffitt moved up from his third starting position to second and remained there until lap 15 when he pitted for fuel.
Moffitt lined up tenth for the restart at lap 18 and quickly moved through the field. He reached eighth by lap 22 and was challenging Derek Ramstrom for fourth by the 29th circuit. A caution slowed his pace and gave him an opportunity to come back down pit road for an adjustment.
Moffitt lined up ninth for the restart at lap 35, but the Grimes, Iowa-native didn’t have any chance to advance when caution slowed the pace of the event once again. He lined up ninth for the restart at lap 46. Moffitt had the chance to advance once again and moved up to sixth by lap 63, and was back in the top-five by lap 70.
The racing got intense around lap 85 when the leaders were three wide heading into the corners – fighting for every bit of real estate. On lap 86, Moffitt used the battles to his advantage and moved up to third just before the caution came out.
The drivers paced one more caution period when NASCAR announced that the final restart would be the only chance at a green-white-checker finish. They would have to shorten the race again to 99 laps because of the darkness that was descending over the track. Moffitt could not stop eventual race-winner Eddie MacDonald from taking the lead and settled for a second place finish at the checkers.
“We’re definitely happy with this finish,” said Moffitt. “We would have liked to win tonight, but Eddie (MacDonald) has been running really well lately so we can’t be too down about finishing second to him.”
Moffitt heads to Dover International Speedway for the Sunoco 150, the series season-ending finale, on Friday, September 25th.
by Jay | Sep 21, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Loudon, NH (September 20, 2009): It seemed that Matt Kobyluck would author another successful chapter in his career Friday night at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after leading the most laps in the Heluva Good Fall 125, but late-race cautions rewrote the story and left the Uncasville, Connecticut-native with an alternate ending. Kobyluck lost the lead to Kevin Swindell on a late-race caution and was relegated to a fourth place finish when the race was shortened to 99 laps for darkness.
“If we would have had some green flag racing there I would have gotten the positions back,” said Kobyluck, driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet. “We had the best car we’ve ever had here and we had the best car out of everybody so to not come home with the win was very disappointing. I can’t take away that we led a whole bunch of laps and I’m very proud of the guys and what we brought here this weekend. We’ve been working hard all season, and we finally figured some things out.”
The Mohegan Sun race team set the fastest practice times on Thursday afternoon and backed it up with a qualifying effort of 125.587 mph to earn a fifth place starting position. He jumped up to fourth at the drop of the green and remained there until pitting at lap 15 for fuel.
Kobyluck re-entered the race in the eighth position for the restart at lap 18 and was pressuring Derek Ramstrom for the third spot by the 22nd circuit. Kobyluck took the position at lap 24, but the leaders had pulled away by nearly four seconds.
An accident at lap 30 tightened the field up with Kobyluck on the outside of David Mayhew for the restart at lap 35. At the drop of the green, the duo battled it out side-by-side through turns one and two. Mayhew got the advantage going down the straightaway, but Kobyluck would reel him in again heading into the corners. A caution slowed the pace at 43.
Mayhew came down on pit road during the caution to fuel up while Kobyluck took over the lead. Kevin Swindell would take the green on the outside of the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet at lap 46, but it was all Kobyluck when the green dropped.
A long green flag run developed, which was optimal conditions for Kobyluck’s set-up. Despite only a carlength separating each of the top-three cars, the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet was never in danger of losing the lead.
At lap 71 NASCAR threw the caution once again. It was not what the team wanted to see.
“On the restarts I needed a half-a-lap or three-quarters of a lap to get heat back in the tires so that I had good grip. My car was much free’r than everybody else’s and they were much tighter. They were able to get going much better on the restarts and as soon as I could drive a lap, I could drive away from everybody,” explained Kobyluck. “The cautions were the last thing I wanted to see.”
Kobyluck and Swindell were side-by-side through turns one and two on the restart, but an accident right behind them brought the caution out again. On the second attempt, Swindell was able to get by the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet as Kobyluck fell back to fifth. Because of the darkness that fell upon the track, NASCAR decided to shorten the race to 99 laps after they had already shortened it to 100 laps earlier for rain.
“We played the cards we were dealt and made the best of it,” said Kobyluck.
And that meant gaining one more position on the final two-lap run before taking the checkers. The top-five finish was enough to solidify the fourth place point position as the series heads into the season-ending race at Dover International Speedway next week.
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 15, 2009 | NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, New Hampshire, NHMS
Harrisburg, N.C. (September 12, 2009): After competing in both the NASCAR Camping World Series West race at Iowa and the IMCA Super Nationals this weekend, Brett Moffitt is ready to shift his focus back to the series point lead in the NASCAR Camping World Series East. Moffitt is currently sixth in the point standings – 147 points behind current leader Ryan Truex – as Andy Santerre Motorsports heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Heluva Good Fall 125.
“There are only two races left so if we run strong here at New Hampshire we still have a shot. We’re 147 back from Ryan, but we’re only 97 points out of second. A good finish at NHMS can really shake things up a bit,” said Moffitt, who drives the No. 44 Andy Santerre Motorsports Chevrolet’s.
Moffitt will be looking for redemption of sorts when they return to New Hampshire. In June, Moffitt was running third when his tire blew and sent him into the wall in turn four. The team had to park the car for the day after running only 39 laps.
“We ran down the leaders and we were looking to pass them when he blew the tire,” said car owner Andy Santerre. “We were a little too aggressive on the setup. We were trying to run a radial tire setup on a bias ply tire, and at Loudon you have to be careful on how much camber you run or it’ll overheat the sidewall. When we went to that West race a week ago we learned a lot about the tires and what they will take and what they won’t. If we can get a happy medium where we get close on speed but not overdo it on the set up we’ll be good.”
With Dover following the week after, Santerre has decided to be conservative and bring their short track car to New Hampshire. They didn’t want to take the chance of wrecking their superspeedway car with the last race on the line.
But conservative doesn’t mean giving up being competitive.
Moffitt is confident heading into this week’s event and doesn’t feel threatened by the challenge he faces to finish the season off in the top-three. His one win, four top-five, and seven top-10 finishes speak for themselves.
“There’s a lot of pressure on people right now to go out there and perform because it’s the last two races, but we put that pressure on ourselves every week,” said Moffitt. “We’re going there to win just like we do in May and in July and in September. The pressure is really all on Ryan (Truex) because the point lead is his to lose.”
The NASCAR Camping World Series East arrives at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 17th for practice and qualifying and will take the green flag for the Heluva Good! Fall 125 on Friday, September 18th at 5 p.m. eastern time.
For more information on Brett Moffitt or Andy Santerre Motorsports, visit www.brettmoffitt.com or www.andysanterremotorsports.com.
