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Perseverance Leads Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Racing Team To Top-15 Finish At Iowa

Earns Seventh Place Finish In East Series Point Standings

            Newton, Iowa (May 18, 2009): Matt Kobyluck posted an overall 15^th place finish in the Long John Silvers 200 at Iowa Speedway Sunday evening despite battling an ill-handling racecar. The Mohegan Sun Racing’s finish in the only East/West combination race bolstered the team to third in the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings with a seventh place East Series finish.

            “The car was tight in the middle of the corner up off,” explained Kobyluck. “I couldn’t carry a lot of corner speed and that was where I was lacking.”

            The team brought a brand new, untested racecar to Iowa Speedway but thrashed to find the perfect combination for the race. Kobyluck was able to pick up 8/10^th’s of a second from his practice times when the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet hit the track for qualifying Sunday afternoon. The effort earned the team a tenth place starting position in the 200-lap race.

            “We had limited practice time to figure out what the car wanted and what was going to make it work,” Kobyluck said. “We were definitely happy with the improvement from practice to qualifying.”

            At the drop of the green, Kobyluck knew the team was in for a long day. The car wasn’t handling right, and the changes that would move it in the right direction were impossible to do on pit road. When the field came down for pit stops at lap 80, Kobyluck took on four tires and fuel, and the team made adjustments to try and free it up.

            “There was nothing we could do on pit road that would make a drastic difference,” he said. “We needed to change front springs and we couldn’t do that. We just had to live with what we had.”

            Kobyluck made the best out of the car, and rallied in the second half running as high as eighth at one point. The defending East Series Champion wheeled the car to a 15^th place finish by the time the checkers dropped, but was the seventh highest East Series driver in the final rundown. Points are awarded based on each individual team affiliation with the Camping World Series East or West.

            “We brought the car home in one piece and earned seventh place points,” Kobyluck said. “There are a lot of positives that came out of this race. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my crew, who worked really hard this weekend. They certainly put in a hard-fought effort.”

            The 2009 season thusfar has yielded three top-10 finishes in three starts. The series returns to action on Saturday, May 30^th at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. Kobyluck finished fifth in last year’s event at the 4/10^th of a mile short track.

 EIGHTEENTH PLACE FINISH FOR EDDIE MACDONALD AT IOWA

     After overcoming early mechanical problems, Eddie MacDonald battled
back to make a run but met with more bad luck in the Camping World East/West
combination race at Iowa Speedway. The Long John Silvers' 200 drew the top
drivers from the East and West series plus eventual winner Kyle Busch.
     During Saturday's practice, the crew spotted an oil leak near the oil
pan. Despite efforts to fix it, the crew was forced to change the powerplant
after the Sunday morning practice. A broken bolt proved to be the culprit
and according to crew chief Rollie LaChance it was not easy to spot saying,
"As soon as we took the engine out I could see where it was leaking. With
the oil lines in front of it, it was impossible to find with the engine in
the car."
     The Grimm Racing Chevy had to start tail in the 37-car field due to the
engine change but missed the opportunity to at least shake down the engine
for the two-lap qualifying by one minute. The #71, sponsored by NEMO New
England Mechanical Overlay, were forced to start the race without a single
lap on the engine. A true testament to Rollie and the crew, the car and
engine performed flawlessly.
     Ten laps into the feature, MacDonald had already moved up ten positions
and continued the march to the front with him saying after the race, "The
car was just perfect, I could drive it anywhere but it was really fast on
the outside. I could pass a lot of cars out there because it had a lot of
grip and power coming off the corners. It was great getting into the turns.
It was fun to drive."
     By lap 30 MacDonald was in 17th and after a lap 38-caution, the Rowley,
Mass. veteran had the car in the 11th spot. On the 70th circuit, the car
rode in ninth and was moving to the front when two cars in front wrecked on
lap 72 collecting MacDonald in the process.
     "I was happy the way it was going. The car was running really well but
two cars got into it in front of me and slid down the track. I went high to
miss them but somebody drilled me in the back sending me into the wall
 hard." The right front fender was completely destroyed and after multiple
trips to the pits, the car returned to the race in the 19th position and on
the lead lap.
     A caution on lap 117 allowed MacDonald to pit for right side tires and
fuel. At that time the car was pushing very bad and a bent section in the
front end was discovered after the race. Despite the problems, Eddie Mac
drove to 14th by lap 136. As the laps continued to wind down the car became
very tight. A new set of left side tires were put on during a lap
177-caution making it a lot better to maintain the 18th position to the
checkered flag.
     After the race LaChance knew what could have been had it not been for
the wreck saying, " We had such a fast race car it could have easily
finished in the top five. When Eddie stayed up in the outside groove the car
was like a rocket."
     MacDonald was quick to add, "I can't thank Rollie and the crew for all
the hard work they did yesterday and today. The car was fast and I think we
had something for them today but, unfortunately, we didn't get the chance.
We'll now focus on our next race in two weeks at South Boston. I also want
to thank our sponsor NEMO New England Mechanical Overlay and car owner Rob
Grimm for making this all possible."
     The Iowa race will be televised on Speed Channel on May 28th at 3:00
p.m.

Early Accident Proves Costly For Fadden Racing At Iowa

            Newton, Iowa (May 19, 2009): Fadden Racing’s Jonathan Smith was involved in an early race accident that resulted in a 30^th place finish in the Long John Silver’s 200 at Iowa Speedway Sunday evening. The team was forced to pit during green flag conditions after they discovered the opening for the radiator had been blocked by the damage.

            “The nose got knocked down and because the opening to the radiator was blocked the car started to overheat,” explained crew chief Harry Norcross. “We didn’t discover the issue until we had gone back to green.”

             The weekend started on a high note when Smith, who was the first car to take to the track after a brief rain shower, turned a lap of 24.060 seconds (130.923 mph) in qualifying for a 16^th place starting position.

            “We gained a tenth of a second from practice times so we were really confident heading into this race,” said team owner and two time NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion Mike Olsen.

            Smith allowed the field to get singled out in the early laps, but was advancing through the field when he tangled with the No. 27 car at lap 29.

            “I was in a pack of about eight cars when everybody just checked up,” Smith explained. “The hood was a little tore up and the grill was knocked down, but we thought we were good.”

            When the field went back to green flag conditions at lap 38, Smith radioed in that the car was running too hot. They had no other choice but to come down pit road where they lost three laps. Smith went back out, and was running speeds as fast as the top-15, but few cautions allowed him to be in a position to regain any of the lost ground.

            “We had a good car, but fortunes were not on our side today,” Smith said. “We’ll get it next time.”