Delaney Aims For Top-Five At NHMS

 

            Mayfield, N.Y. (September 12, 2009): Despite a month-long break for the NASCAR Camping World Series East, Dustin Delaney, driver of the No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet, has been busy behind the wheel focusing on his limited ARCA RE/MAX Series effort. The 19-year-old driver is hoping that seat time will give him an edge up on his competitors when they get back to action September 18^th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Delaney’s last start at the 1.058-mile oval produced a frustrating 17^th place finish, and the team wants nothing more than to redeem themselves with a top-five.

            “We went out to Kansas and tested there,” explained Delaney. “So we definitely haven’t been vacationing. I’d really like to get my first top-10 at New Hampshire so I’m hoping the extra seat time will keep our momentum going. We get better every time we go there, and I don’t want this time to be any different.”

            Delaney was a solid contender in the top-five back in June, but late-race contact derailed his effort and the No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet took the checkers in 17^th place. It was a frustrating end to what had been a solid day for the team, but they are determined to look ahead and not focus on the rearview mirror.

            “We ran better than 17^th in June and I know when we go back we’ll have a good enough car to run in the top-five again,” said Delaney. “I think qualifying will be extremely important. We need to start up front and stay up front.”

            Delaney has a total of three starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a pair of 11^th place finishes marking his career best at the track. The sophomore year driver is currently seventh in the standings – 118 points behind Brett Moffitt. With only two races remaining in the season, Delaney is placing a lot of weight on the two superspeedway races.

            “Every finish is important in a short schedule,” said Delaney. “But these next two races are just that much more important to us as a team. We really like New Hampshire and Dover and we naturally want to do well at them. At the same time, this is our last chance to move up the point ladder. We could have a really big day and get a little closer to the top-five or we could have a really bad day and slide back. We’re aiming for the former!”

            The Heluva Good! Fall 125 takes the green flag on Friday, September 18^th at 5 p.m. eastern time. For more information on Dustin Delaney, visit www.dustindelaney.com.

 

Jonathan Smith Enthusiastic About NHMS Return

 

            North Haverhill, N.H. (September 12, 2009): Fadden Racing’s Jonathan Smith is pretty confident heading into the Heluva Good Fall 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Despite a 21^st place finish there back in June, Smith is certain the Fadden Racing-owned No. 16 Chevrolet can be a contender among the top-five when the series returns there on September 18^th.

            “My strong points at NHMS are my team: they are the ones who make the best car and do the great pit stops to get me up to the front. All I have to do is drive,” Smith said. “We had a strong car the last time we were there, and I know they’ll give me another one when we go back.”

            In June, Smith worked his way through the field to get up to third before late-race contact sent him into the wall and ended his day prematurely. It was a disappointing end to a promising day for the 23-year-old Drive for Diversity driver.

            With the series in the final stretch of the season, Smith is hoping that a top-10 finish will catapult him into the top-10 in points.

            “I believe every race is just as important as the last, or next, but these last two races are very important for me, and the team,” Smith said. “We are just outside the top ten in points, and two solid finishes will put us where we need to be to wrap up the season in the top ten. Patience and saving the equipment on the car is what you need to be there in the end, so that will be a key part of our strategy.”

            Smith, who’s goals include competing at NASCAR’s highest levels, also feels that the Camping World East Series race at New Hampshire allows for a special opportunity to showcase yourself as a driver to the Sprint Cup Series car owners.

            “I love racing at NHMS. It brings a whole new element when you are racing on the same weekend as the Cup guys, not really more pressure, but a different atmosphere,” he said. “We want to showcase this team to sponsors and the Cup teams and we can do that when you’re racing on the same weekend as these guys. Everyone just seems to take a little more notice.”

            The Heluva Good Fall 125 takes the green flag at 5 p.m. eastern time on Friday, September 18^th. For more information on Jonathan Smith or Fadden Racing, visit www.faddenracing.net.

 

 

Kobyluck Has Clear Goal For New Hampshire

 

            Waterford, Conn. (September 12, 2009): Matt Kobyluck leaves no room for wondering what he and his Mohegan Sun Racing team want for the NASCAR Camping World Series East event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 18th. The 2008 defending series Champion is going with the distinct goal of winning the race.

            “We want to win,” said Kobyluck. “We have everything to gain in the points, while the leaders right now have everything to lose. We want to get back in victory lane this year and New Hampshire would be a great place to do that.”

            Kobyluck is currently tied with Steve Park for fourth place in the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings. Kobyluck has posted two top-five and six top-10 finishes in nine starts this season. Only two races remain to attempt to end a winless streak that started after his victory in the Toyota All-Star Showdown back in January.

            The Mohegan Sun Race team will face some stiff competition, however. Ryan Truex, Eddie MacDonald, and several others will try and make Kobyluck’s goal hard to obtain, but the Uncasville, Conn. native feels they can rise to the challenge.

            “We’ve had a pretty decent car there in the last couple of years so we just have to stay out of trouble and be there at the end,” said Kobyluck. “Ryan has been good everywhere he’s gone this year and Eddie has been consistently good at New Hampshire so they will definitely be contenders at this race. A lot of it will come down to qualifying. It’s so important there to start up front, and we’ll have a strong focus on our qualifying effort.”

            Tackling New Hampshire Motor Speedway would be one of the biggest accomplishments of Kobyluck’s career. It is one of a select few tracks that the 39-year-old driver has yet to win on.

            “We’ve won at a lot of places, but winning at New Hampshire would just be incredible. All my wins have meant a lot to me, but we’ve worked really hard at New Hampshire and we’ve struggled there in the past. I think pulling off a victory would be a memorable moment for both me and the crew.”

            The Heluva Good Fall 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway takes the green flag at 5 p.m. eastern time on Friday, September 18^th. For more information on Matt Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Casino, or the Mohegan Sun Race team, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.

 

Tardiff Looks To Strengthen Points Position At NHMS

 

            Lyman, ME (September 12, 2009): Alan Tardiff likes his chances for a top-five when the NASCAR Camping World Series East hits the track this week for the Heluva Good! Fall 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Lyman, ME-native has shown he can be a contender at the fast and flat 1.058-mile track, and isn’t planning on settling for anything less than a podium finish this weekend.

            Tardiff’s record doesn’t necessarily speak for itself at NHMS. In this event a year ago, the 24-year-old driver ran as high as second when he ran out of fuel and went a lap down when he needed to pit under green flag conditions. In June, he finished the race in seventh place despite not having any brakes. Nevertheless, Tardiff, who drives the No. 38 Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Springs Chevrolet, will be out to make an impression.

            “I lost my brakes about 40 laps into it,” Tardiff explained. “The pads had crystallized and there was no friction left in the braking system. I couldn’t drive into the corner and I had to change my driving style to get that top-10. Overall it was a good day, but I think we could have been more competitive if we wouldn’t have had to compensate for the brakes.”

            Tardiff heads into NHMS with the goal of staying in the top-10 in points. He’s currently eighth in the standings – only 32 markers behind seventh place driver Dustin Delaney – with two races remaining. He knows a solid finish could bolster his place in the rankings.

            “I love racing at (NHMS) and I love having the opportunity to race there with a series like the Camping World East,” he said. “We’re going there to win, obviously, but the reality is that (Ryan) Truex and (Brett) Moffitt are going to be fast there. Our main goal is to stay in the top-10 in points. To do that, we’re going to have to qualify well. New Hampshire is such a hard place to pass that track position is just as important there as it is at any short track race that we go to. You give up a little bit in qualifying to set the car up for the long run, but with the adjustability that (NASCAR) allows we are trying to strike a balance with the set-up that maximizes a short, fast run like qualifying and the long run of the race event.”

            Tardiff’s average start is 21^st, but with the help of New England native and Camping World Series veteran Bud Desrocher as his crew chief, Tardiff dramatically improved on his qualifying program and started the June race in eighth. They will be aiming for a top-10 starting position this week as well.

            “I’ve qualified in the top-10 just about everywhere we have gone this year,” said Tardiff. “I’ve been lucky to have the support of people like Buddy Desrocher and even Jerry Babb, who helped us out in the beginning of the season. Our program has come a long way and I’d really like to bring home a couple of good finishes for the guys and for my sponsors.”

            The Heluva Good! Fall 125 takes the green flag at 5 p.m. eastern time on Friday, September 18^th.

 

MACDONALD CONFIDENT FOR SUCCESS AT NHMS

 

 

     Eddie MacDonald will try to defend his NASCAR Camping World East Series title at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this Friday while hoping to taste victory in the first-ever Act Invitational race at the track on Saturday. MacDonald piloted the Grimm Construction Chevy to both wins last year at NHMS and qualified for the ACT Invitational after winning the famed Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway this season.

      The team is currently in second place in the East Series race with two races remaining on the schedule but MacDonald feels solid runs are the only things on his mind saying, “We are not counting spots where we have to finish or Truex has to run. We are going there to try to win. All we can do is run the best we can and see what happens. We know we can contend for the win on Friday. We had a chance to win the June race but it didn’t happen.”

     MacDonald started on the outside pole in the June race at Loudon but slipped back to finish sixth saying, “The car was really fast, just like it was last year. We could’ve finished better in the June race there this year but our pit strategy was a little off. We are confident for the upcoming race because we have the same car, same set-up and we can make any adjustments needed and hope for the best. Rollie and the crew have really given me fast cars this year. Our Adirondack finish didn’t really show how fast the car was and that was our worst finish in a while. The last four or five races, the cars have really been fast and I expect the same at Loudon.”

     The team has been well-supported by its sponsors with MacDonald saying, “Things have been great for us this year with Rob Grimm as the owner and with sponsors like A&B Vending, HMS Motorsports of Danvers, R.B. Fries, Waymart Building Center, Hanover Place, and NEMO. We have a new sponsor that I am very excited to have with us. Daymark Solutions from Littleton, Mass. has never sponsored a NASCAR team before so we are really pleased to have them aboard and hope to give them something to remember with a win.”

     New England Mechanical Overlay, NEMO, in Pembroke, N.H. has been a consistent sponsor for the #71 race team and MacDonald appreciates everything saying, “NEMO has been our tremendous supporter and their logo will be on the hood of the East car and on the hood and rear quarter panel on the Late Model for the ACT race. Becky and Ron Bennett have been there for us for years and continue to do anything we ask of them. It is people like this that allow us to compete at such a high level. Besides being sponsors, they are great friends.”

     The team is very excited to compete in the first-ever ACT race at NHMS and MacDonald says of the event, “I am really looking forward to this race. These ACT guys are a lot of fun to race with. It is a totally different driving style around the track. We had a great day of testing a few weeks ago and just as we thought, you can drive in the corners a lot deeper and get on it a lot sooner coming out of the turns. Even though the tires are not as wide at the East tires, they held up pretty good. There is some good competition and any one of a handful of guys could win it.”

     Preparing the two cars for Loudon and the Dover car, MacDonald knows the crew has been working overtime and appreciates the effort saying, “ I couldn’t count the numbers of hours Rollie and the guys have put in at the shop but I know it is a huge amount. Here they are, a volunteer crew, and they put in so much time, I can never thank them enough. I know one way to thank them and that would be to win both races, one each day. It would sure make all their hard work pay off.”