Moffitt Convincingly Tackles Dover’s Monster Mile

Scores Season Ending Victory For ASM Motorsports

 

            Dover, DE (September 26, 2009): Brett Moffitt used lapped traffic to take the lead for the fourth and final time in the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway Friday evening and convincingly score his second win of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East season. Moffitt, behind the wheel of the No. 44 Red Line Oil Chevrolet, took the checkers two-and-a-half seconds over Ryan Gifford. The finish catapulted Moffitt and Andy Santerre Motorsports into third in the final point standings.

            “The Red Line Oil car was just really good,” said Moffitt. “This is amazing with all these Cup guys here. This track is always talked about as that crazy place so it’s really cool to win here.”

            Moffitt started the race from the fourth position after posting a qualifying lap of 23.569 seconds (152.743 mph) earlier in the day. At the drop of the green, Moffitt was on a tear. He dropped to the bottom groove and easily drove into third before challenging Eddie MacDonald for second. After passing him on lap three, Moffitt set his sights on then-leader Matt DiBenedetto, who had already pulled away by nearly half a straightaway. Moffitt closed in to five carlengths on the leader when the caution flew at lap 13.

            When racing resumed at lap 16, Moffitt blew by DiBenedetto to take the lead. Caution flew immediately for a blown engine further back in the field, but Moffitt was able to repeat his earlier performance on the restart at lap 18. Moffitt continued to lead until a restart at lap 18 saw DiBenedetto take the lead.

            Moffitt stayed glued to DiBenedetto’s bumper over the next several laps, and made a challenge on lap 39 for the position. Lapped traffic forced Moffitt to back out of it, but on lap 40, Moffitt repeated the challenge and took the lead for the second time.

            A caution at lap 47 saw some cars opt to pit, but Moffitt elected to keep the No. 44 Red Line Oil Chevrolet out on track. They went back to green flag racing at lap 51 with Moffitt and DiBenedetto side by side heading into turn one. Coming out of turn two, Moffitt comfortably took the lead and remained there for the next 30 laps. Moffitt gave up the lead on lap 82 to come in for fuel and tires.

            Moffitt took the green at lap 86 in sixth place. A caution period slowed his progress, but Moffitt was up to fourth for the restart at lap 97. The 17-year-old driver showed a lot of maturity as he patiently waited for things to settle up front before really making the push back to the front. By lap 110 Moffitt was in second place and chasing then-leader Ryan Gifford down. Lapped traffic worked to Moffitt’s advantage and he was able to take the lead for the final time on lap 116.

            “I was catching him and the car was a little bit too tight. We caught those lapped cars and I used them. Ryan was able to hang with me for a little while, but as soon as we got into clean air I was able to go. My car was awesome,” he said.

            Only six cars remained on the lead lap when Moffitt took the checkers.

            The Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway marked the final race for Andy Santerre Motorsports, who sold off the team to the 909 Group last week. The race also marked the last time car owner Andy Santerre and driver Brett Moffitt would work together.

            “This is our last race together unless we go to the Showdown. I really wanted Brett to win here. The kid has a bright future and I’m glad we could be a part of it,” said car owner Andy Santerre. “I wish him the best of luck. He and his Dad are great people and we’ve had a good relationship this year. I’m moving on to different things and I wish them the best. To end the ASM era here at Dover with a win is pretty awesome.”

 

 

Green Flag Pit Stop Relegates Smith To 16^th Place Finish At Dover

 

            Dover, DE (September 26, 2009): Jonathan Smith thought he had a flat tire on the No. 16 Fadden Racing Chevrolet during the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway, and pitted during green flag conditions to correct the problem. The car was tight and Smith went down four laps while the crew worked on resolving the issue. Smith was never able to recover and finished the season-ending NASCAR Camping World Series East race in 16^th place.

            “You can’t pit during green flag laps at Dover,” said Smith. “We just missed the setup. We came in because it felt like a flat tire, but that’s not what it was. Something is up with the car. We’ll have to bring it back, look at it, and find out what went wrong.”

            Smith and the Fadden Racing crew ran in the top-20 during both practice sessions on Thursday, but turned it around with a qualifying effort of 24.031 seconds (149.806 mph) to earn an eighth place starting position.

            “After qualifying we thought we were going to have something good,” said Smith. “Who knows what happened. Something happened though right at the start of the race that killed us.”

            On the initial green, Smith dropped back to 11^th, but continued to slide back as the laps ticked off. When caution flew at lap 47, Smith was running 16^th and followed the leaders down pit road for an adjustment.

            Smith resumed the race at lap 51 in the tenth position, but by lap 65 he had dropped back to 15^th and was out there just holding on. At the halfway mark, the team made the decision to bring him in to change what they thought was a flat tire.

            Smith returned to the track four laps down and in the 22^nd position. He had a lot of ground to cover with 86 laps already in the books. Smith still battled the handling on the car, but was able to make his way up to 16^th before the checkers dropped.

            “We had a lot of misfortunes in the year, but that’s what you get in racing sometimes,” said Smith about his season. “It was a good year, and I’m really hoping to find some sponsors so I can come back again with these guys next year and build on what we’ve done this year.”

            Smith closed out the season 11^th in the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings. For more information on Jonathan Smith or Fadden Racing, visit www.faddenracing.net.

 

 

Disappointing Finish Can’t Overshadow

Solid Season For Kobyluck

 

            Dover, DE (September 26, 2009): Matt Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun race team had hoped to end the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East season with a bang – a win in the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway. However, a mid-race accident brought those hopes crashing down when Kobyluck was forced to pit road to repair the right side damage he incurred in the incident. He finished the race with a 15^th place finish.

            “It was just one of those days where it didn’t matter where you were on the track it wasn’t the right spot,” said Kobyluck. “At the end of the day, everyone worked hard on pit road to try and make the best out of it that we could and that’s all we could do at that point.”

            Kobyluck was fastest in practice on Thursday afternoon and backed it up with a qualifying effort of 24.041 seconds (149.744 mph) to earn a ninth place starting position. Kobyluck moved up to eighth before things took a dramatic turn for the worse.

            On lap 18, the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet was running behind the No. 37 of Alex Kennedy when his tire blew.

            “His whole tire came off and hit my nose and busted a one foot square right in the front of the car. We were fighting that right from the get-go,” said Kobyluck. “We had to pit a number of times to patch it.”

            Kobyluck was able to maintain his position in the top-10 despite having to pit to repair the hole. However, on lap 90, a wreck set into motion the events that would relegate Kobyluck to his 15^th place finish.

            “I was right behind the 71 and the 18 had just got along side me coming out of turn three. When the 9 car wrecked, 71 checked up. When he checked up, I had to check up so I didn’t run into the back of him, and the 18 had come down the hill and sideswiped me and collected me. The whole right side of the car was damaged,” explained Kobyluck.

            Kobyluck headed straight for the pits where the Mohegan Sun crew quickly went to work. He returned to the race in 11^th place, but had to return to the pits where he went four laps down. He took the checkers in 15^th place, unable to make back any of those laps.

            The finish dropped Kobyluck back to sixth in the final point standings with a season-ending total of three top-five and seven top-10 finishes.

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

 

Delaney Battles Ill-Handling Car At Dover; Finishes 12^th

 

            Dover, DE (September 26, 2009): Dustin Delaney was hoping to end the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East season on a high note, but an ill-handling No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure/CarDaddy.com Chevrolet dictated otherwise in the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway Friday night. Delaney finished the race in the 12^th position after starting 19^th.

            “We have some work to do – both myself and the team – to get running better at this track,” said Delaney. “We struggled all weekend. The car was just off. There were a lot of things that were against us, and it was just not the way we wanted to end the year. We’ll go to Kansas and try to get a top-10 out there in the ARCA race.”

            Delaney moved up from 20^th on the speed charts in Thursday’s practice session to 11^th in the second session, and believed things were moving in the right direction. His lap of 24.479 seconds (147.065 mph) in qualifying, however, was not what the team was hoping for.

            At the drop of the green, Delaney was able to gain two spots right away, but was only able to maintain his position in 17^th before caution came out. Delaney was in the first group to pit at lap 47. The team made some adjustments before returning the No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet to the race in the 15^th spot. The adjustments didn’t help, and Delaney remained a fixture in the top-20.

            “It was on and off. It would be good and then it would be tight to loose and then loose off and tight in,” explained Delaney. “The more the race went on the better the car was. It happened that way, but we missed out on the lucky dog every time so that didn’t help very much.”

            A long green flag run in the latter stages of the race saw Delaney move up from 17^th to 12^th before the checkers dropped. It was a long day for the Mayfield, N.Y. native, who lost a lap to the leader before the checkers dropped. Only seven cars finished the race on the lead lap.

            “We really wanted to gain some ground in the point standings today, but unfortunately, it wasn’t our day for that,” said Delaney. “We had to work with what we had and a 12^th place finish was all that we had for today.”

            Delaney closed out the season eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings. For more information on Dustin Delaney or Delaney Motorsports, visit www.dustindelaney.com.

 

 

Tardiff Closes Season With Top-Five Finish At Dover

 

            Dover, DE (September 27, 2009): Alan Tardiff struggled with a flu bug at Dover International Speedway over the last couple of days, but was able to overcome it long enough to post a fifth place finish in the Sunoco 150 on Friday evening. Tardiff drove the No. 38 Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Springs Chevrolet to the top-five from a 16^th place starting position.

            “I don’t know if I have a flu bug or something,” said Tardiff. “I got up today and I still had a headache, but I had to put everything together and just work it out. We had a fast racecar today. We raced in second place for a long while, but the 44 car was stellar and no one was touching him. We came in took fuel and tires, and the car got really loose. Our goal was to come here and get a top-five and we accomplished that so I’m really happy.”

            The Sunoco 150 marked Tardiff’s track debut at Dover so patience was the name of the game until the first caution came out. Tardiff was running 14^th for the restart at lap 16 and made it up to 10^th before caution slowed his pace once again. He remained in the top-10 until lap 48 when a majority of the leaders headed for pit road. Tardiff elected to stay out and gain track position.

            “We wanted to put ourselves off sequence,” explained Tardiff. “To be off sequence later in the run would give us fresher tires and more fuel in the car later in the run. It turned out to be beneficial for us. My guys did a really, really good job this weekend just as they have been all year.”

            Tardiff restarted the race on the outside second row and moved up to third at the drop of the green. On lap 60, Tardiff went to the bottom of early leader Matt DiBenedetto and passed him for second. Moffit, however, had already stretched out a 2.2 second lead over the Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Springs Chevrolet. Tardiff worked on closing up the distance when caution appeared at lap 80.

            The yellow flag conditions gave Tardiff the opportunity he needed to come down pit road for fuel and tires. He returned to the track in eighth for the restart at lap 86. Tardiff gained two spots on the initial drop, but experienced a loose condition in the Bestway Disposal Chevrolet that hadn’t existed before.

            Caution tightened the field up once again at lap 97 with Tardiff maintaining his position over the next 15 laps. He was able to move up to fifth by passing Ryan Truex on lap 116.

            The race went green for the remainder of the distance and Tardiff was able to close out the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East with a fifth place finish. It was his third top-five and eighth top-10 of the season. Tardiff earned a seventh place position in the final point standings.

            “I didn’t have high expectations coming to this racetrack since I had never been here before. A top-five is a win. I was running second and I was smiling ear to ear,” Tardiff said.