Accident Cuts Thompson Run Short For Delaney

 

            Thompson, Conn. (July 12, 2009): A promising run was cut short for Dustin Delaney when he got involved in a lap 30 accident that forced the team to park the car for the remainder of the Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100 at Thompson International Speedway. Delaney finished the NASCAR Camping World Series East event with a frustrating 20^th place finish.

            The No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure/CarDaddy.com Chevrolet was lined up 19^th for the start of the race after Delaney posted a qualifying speed of 21.062 seconds (106.827 mph). He made it up to 16^th before the first caution flew at lap 12 when the 37 car blew an engine.

            The Mayfield, N.Y. driver was working his way through the field when, at lap 30, he got spun in turns three and four. The 31 car slid up into him with no where to go and both cars limped back to pit road with damage. The front end of the Delaney Infrastructure/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet was heavily damaged and crew chief Jamie Aube needed to assess the health of the radiator.

            “It was bound to happen I guess when you qualify back there,” said Delaney. “I was underneath him (the 50 car) a little bit and he came down just a little bit. It was just a racing deal with no one at fault. We would have been alright if the 31 hadn’t gotten into us, but he had nowhere to go either. It shoved the whole nose in and put a hole in the radiator.”

            The team pushed the car behind the wall to try and fix the hole, but with only a 100-lap race on a short 5/8^th’s mile, the team ran out of time.

            “We tried putting another radiator in, but we were so many laps down. I’m looking forward to going to Adirondack. We’ll have a lot of friends, family, and fans there since it’s our home track.”

            The series visits Adirondack International Speedway on Saturday, August 1^st.

 

Kobyluck Takes Home Top-10 Finish From Thompson

 

            Thompson, Conn. (July 12, 2009): Matt Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun Casino race team posted a sixth place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Series East’s Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100 at Thompson International Speedway Saturday night. The event marked Kobyluck’s only appearance in his home state of Connecticut this year.

            “The car didn’t change any from lap one to lap 100. We were too tight in the middle of the track the whole race,” said Kobyluck. “We got out of it what we could. On the short runs we were better than the 38 and on the long runs he was better.”

            Kobyluck started the race in third after posting a qualifying lap of 20.474 seconds (109.895 mph) in time trials. At the drop of the green, he wheeled the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet into second but got loose in the corner and fell back to fifth.

            Kobyluck maintained his fifth place position with no challenges until lap 39 when the 38 of Alan Tardiff got up to Kobyluck’s door in an intense side-by-side battle. Kobyluck held him off, but Tardiff challenged again on the following circuit and another side-by-side battle developed. Kobyluck continued to close the door on his persistent challenges and held on to the fifth spot until a restart at lap 55 when Tardiff eventually got by.

            Kobyluck gained some ground on a restart at lap 68 when he used the bottom groove to go by Tardiff and Matt DiBenedetto to take over the fifth spot once again. A long green flag run strung out the top five, and Kobyluck was able to hold off the advances of Tardiff once again.

            Caution tightened the field back up with nine laps remaining in the event. On the restart, Tardiff was able to drive by the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet and relegated Kobyluck back to sixth. On the final lap, the defending 2008 Camping World East Champion was making a challenge on Tardiff when the 74 of Jarit Johnson got into the mix. Kobyluck and Johnson were side-by-side when they made contact.

            “The 38 got free coming off of turn four and I was going under him at the same time. We both went up the track and the 74 was on the outside of me. We ended up just rubbing a little bit, but he (Johnson) ended up getting a flat out of it. It was hard racing with one lap left to go. It’s a product of short track racing.”

            Kobyluck took the checkers in sixth and holds on to a fourth place position in the point standings, 50 points out of the lead. The next event for the Mohegan Sun Race team is at Adirondack International Speedway in New York on Saturday, August 1^st.

            For more information on Matt Kobyluck, the Mohegan Sun Race team, or Mohegan Sun Casino, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.

 

Smith Grabs Second Top-10 Finish

Of The Season At Thompson

 

            Thompson, Conn. (July 12, 2009): Jonathan Smith posted his second top-10 finish of the season in the Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100 at Thompson International Speedway Saturday night. The NASCAR Camping World Series East driver rallied from a lap 64 spin to post the finish and gained some ground in the point standings. He currently sits 13^th with five races remaining to the season.

            “We had a really good car all day,” said Smith. “We were a little tight at the end of the race, but we hung on and finished in the top-10. We’re ready to go to Adirondack and go get them there.”

            Smith was confident after a solid practice session was backed up with a qualifying effort of 108.591 mph (20.720 seconds). The speed was fast enough to earn the driver of the No. 16 Fadden Racing Chevrolet a 12^th place starting position.

            Smith moved up to ninth at the drop of the green and was challenged by the 88 of Jody Lavender before the race hit lap five. Lavender moved low and challenged on the inside, which set off a side-by-side battle that lasted an entire circuit. Lavender persisted with his challenges on Smith, and eventually took over the spot on lap nine coming out of turn four. The two, however, were running nose-to-tail until caution slowed the pace at lap 12.

            The Fadden Racing entry lined up tenth for the restart at lap 18 and maintained a position in the top-12 throughout the first half of the 100-lap race. A caution tightened up the field for a lap 55 restart with Smith 11^th, but it was on lap 64, coming around turns three and four, that Smith spun.

            “I was following the 96 for a couple of laps and trying to set him up. Earlier in the race the 31 had blown up and they never really got the oil cleaned up in turn three. When I went to go by the 96 I got up there in the oil and just slid right into him. It spun both of us and somebody else. I did my best not to get hit, but it was a racing deal,” explained Smith.

            Fadden Racing crew chief Harry Norcross summoned Smith to the pits. After a quick pit stop, Smith rejoined the field at the tail end. He knew he had his work cut out for him. However, by lap 75, Smith was back up to 11^th, and in the final 20 laps he was able to pick off two more positions to finish ninth.

            “We made an adjustment and it didn’t exactly do what we wanted it to do – it actually made the car tighter for the end of the race,” said Smith. “We hung on and finished ninth so it wasn’t a bad day at all.”

            The NASCAR Camping World Series East will take a couple of weeks off before their next event at Adirondack International Speedway in New York on Saturday, August 1^st.

            For more information on Jonathan Smith or Fadden Racing, visit www.faddenracing.net.

 

Perseverance Pays Off For Moffitt With Tenth Place Finish

 

            Thompson, Conn. (July 12, 2009): Engine woes have not been a problem in the past at Andy Santerre Motorsports. But Saturday night, one small engine skip that they thought had been resolved stretched into a race-long issue for driver Brett Moffitt and the team. The teams perseverance and determination to finish the race paid off big dividends when they posted a top-10 finish in the Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100 at Thompson International Speedway.

            “We went out in the first practice and had a skip,” explained car owner Andy Santerre. “We changed the plugs, went back out, and everything was fine. After qualifying we never got to try it again. We changed the battery, we changed plug wires, and everything during the race. We just don’t know what it is. This is the first engine problem I’ve had with the spec motor.”

            Sixteen year old Moffitt set a fast time 20.665 seconds (108.880 mph) in qualifying despite spinning on his second lap. It was good enough to earn the tenth place starting position in the 100-lap race.

            “I hit those bumps coming out of turn,” Moffitt said about the spin. “It just went around on me. I didn’t hit anything we basically just lost that second lap.”

            Moffitt knew he had a good car underneath him and was confident for the race, but after the drop of the green, Moffitt was only able to maintain his position. The team opted to pit on the first caution at lap 12.

            “We were way faster than everyone through the corner, but we’d lose it all on the straights. The motor just wasn’t running right.”

            Moffitt pitted three more times before the halfway mark, but started to advance through the field following a lap 55 restart. The issue had not been resolved, but the team decided they would have to try and work through it.

            “Once we knew we couldn’t fix it we decided it was time to see how high up we could get,” said Moffitt. “We wanted to get everything we could.”

            Moffitt took the checkers with a tenth place finish on the lead lap. He is fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings with one win, four top-five, and five top-10 finishes in only seven starts.

 

    FOURTH PLACE FINISH FOR MACDONALD AT THOMPSON


     Eddie MacDonald wheeled the Grimm Construction Chevy to a fourth place
finish in the Pepsi Full Fender Frenzy 100 at Thompson International
Speedway on Saturday night. The Rowley, Mass. racer was able to maintain his
hold onto second place in the Camping World Series East championship race,
only nine points behind the leader, with four races remaining on the
schedule. Rob Grimm sits in third place in owner's points.
     MacDonald qualified fifth (20.483 sec.-109.847mph) on the fast,
high-banked 5/8th of a mile oval after posting first and fifth fastest times
in the two practice sessions. "We accomplished what we wanted to do and that
was to qualify up near the front. We would have liked to get a couple of
more spots but we are up there with a lot of good cars so now it is up to me
to get a good start and hopefully have a good run. This is a short race so
getting a good start is everything," said MacDonald.
     The NEMO-New England Mechanical Overlay Chevy wasted little time moving
to third after the green flag waved in the same car that won the same event
in 2005. MacDonald challenged the #18 for second place making the pass on a
lap 18 restart. Another caution on lap 30 set the stage for what appeared to
be the opportunity for MacDonald to take the lead. When the green flag was
shown, the #71 vaulted by the leader Steve Park in turn two for a thrilling
but brief lead then almost collected the turn four wall with MacDonald
saying, "I was going in kind of high anyway but then I hit some oil that was
there from the caution before and it turned me sideways. We stayed out of
the wall but lost a few positions. It took a while for the car to get going
again. The car was great and getting the lead was super but then that had to
happen. It really stinks because we had such a great car and that was our
chance to put us in a position to win this thing."
     Running in third for most of the remainder of the race, MacDonald
watched the #35 and the #00 battle for the lead waiting for a chance to take
the top spot saying, "Those guys were really running hard and I was ready to
go if they got into it and took each other out but both did a good job."
     Truex finally made the pass on Park and opened up a big lead with
MacDonald working on the #35 to get by for second but handling became an
issue with MacDonald saying, "The car wouldn't turn in the middle of the
corners so I could get to his bumper but I couldn't get under him enough to
make the pass. I thought I might have a shot at him on the restart (lap 96)
when I was on the inside behind the #00 but Truex didn't go on the green.
When he finally did I couldn't go with him. By that time the #18 was up
alongside Truex and I ended up stuck behind him."
     "Obviously we would have liked to get a couple of more positions but
fourth is a decent finish and we are in second in the point race so these
last four races are very important. Truex is running strong but we have had
good finishes at the remaining tracks so I am confident we will be there at
the end to challenge for the championship."
     The Camping World Series East will next tackle the half-mile oval at
Adirondack International Speedway in The Edge Hotel 150 on August 1.