Kobyluck Rallies To Seventh Place Finish At Lee

 

            Lee, N.H. (July 31, 2010): Matt Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun Casino race team had their work cut out for them in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 125 at Lee USA Speedway Friday night. After bottoming out in qualifying, the team knew they were going have to pit early and come up through from the back of the pack. Despite more than a handful of wrecks, Kobyluck was able to stay out of trouble and take home an impressive seventh place finish without a scratch on the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet.

            "The car is in one piece, and I don't think there's one other car if you walk down this pit area that's clean. We don't have any bangs, no dents, no tore-up stuff," said Kobyluck. "The car was really good right up through to the end. When the temperature got cooler we lost a little forward bite, and we had to hold on for what we could get."

            Kobyluck was sixth fastest in the first practice session of the day and played around with some changes in second practice that affected his qualifying effort. The No. 40 Mohegan sun Casino Chevrolet bottomed out during his two lap time trial and the team was left with a 17th place starting position.

            "We made a last minute change right before the end of practice and we didn't get a chance to get back out on the track to try it," explained Kobyluck. "The left front spring we changed had a little bit more travel to it than we anticipated. The car bottomed out real bad during qualifying."

            Kobyluck knew he wasn't going to be able to pit to get the car raised up until the first caution flag on a tight 3/8th's mile like Lee USA Speedway. So for the first 35 laps all Kobyluck could do was maintain a position in the top twenty.

            Kobyluck was 20th when the race resumed at lap 38, but it was evident right away that the changes on the pit stop helped. By lap 50, he was 13th and by lap 60, he was running seventh. Kobyluck made it up as high as fifth before the lap 100 mark but began to taper off as the laps ticked off.

            "The cooler it got the free'r I got," said Kobyluck. "Overall, a seventh place finish after coming from a 17th place starting position - you've got to be happy with that. The guys gave a 110 percent effort today and you can't ask for more. We're happy."

            The K&N Pro Series East 125 from Lee USA Speedway will air on SPEED this Thursday, August 5 at 6 p.m. ET.

            Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun Casino race team return to action on Saturday, August 28 with the K&N Pro Series East at Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia. For more information on Matt Kobyluck or the Mohegan Sun Casino, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.

 

DJ Shaw Derailed From Potential Podium Finish At Lee

 

            Lee, N.H. (July 31, 2010): DJ Shaw was well on his way to a top-three finish at Lee USA Speedway in Friday night's NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 125. But a spin on lap 89 took the 20-year-old driver out of contention and the JLM Precision race team had to settle with a 12th place finish.

            "I got wrecked," said a dejected Shaw. "We probably had the second place car. It was a bad day for me. I hadn't even started going yet. I felt like I could have passed Eddie (MacDonald) at any time on a long run, and if Ryan (Truex) had been patient he probably would have won that race."

            Shaw started the race from the fifth position after a strong qualifying effort earlier in the day. The qualifying run was on par with Shaw's goals for the event.

            "I was hoping for a top-five because I thought we had a good car for the long run, and that would set us up pretty good."

            Shaw maintained his position in the top-five for the first 50 laps of the race, but really started to come up through following a lap 53 restart. Shaw movedinto second for a restart on lap 60 and immediately began challenging MacDonald on the inside.

            "I was just riding and Eddie was really, really stopping in the middle to hold the lead there. Ryan was equally as good as me or probably a little better."

            Crossing the start/finish line to begin lap 89, MacDonald, Shaw and Truex were nose-to-tail. Coming around turn two, Truex got into Shaw and the No. 60 JLM Precision Chevrolet went right around. The incident relegated Shaw back to the 20th position for the restart at lap 93.

            "He wasn't patient. It was frustrating because it doesn't fix my day that he (Truex) is sorry," said Shaw.

            Shaw was just as strong coming from the back. He made his way up to 12th, but ran out of time to break back into the top-10 before the checkers fell.

            The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 125 will air on SPEED on Thursday, August 5 at 6 p.m. ET. Shaw and the JLM Precision race team return to action on Saturday, August 28 at Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia.

 

 

Late Race Wreck Results In 22nd Place Finish For Albarracin

 

            Lee, N.H. (July 31, 2010): Fadden Racing had clear goals for development driver Julian Albarracin at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Lee USA Speedway Friday night: finish on the lead lap. And they were in line with achieving that objective until 10 laps before the race conclusion when Albarracin got collected in a multi-car pile-up that ended his day with a 22nd place finish.

            "Julian was running on the lead lap and, for his circle track debut, was right where we wanted him to be. He was building a comfort level in the car. This is only his second race in the K&N Pro Series and we weren't expecting a podium finish. We had goals - just finish on the lead lap. Unfortunately, some things are just out of our control," said car owner Mike Olsen.

            Albarracin, who has run at Lee USA Speedway in a Late Model over the last several weeks in preparation for the K&N Pro Series East 125, started the race from the 24th position. The No. 54 Fadden Racing entry went a lap down to the torrid pace of the leaders in the first 50 laps, but earned the free pass for the lap 53 restart and returned to the lead lap.

            Albarracin reported to his crew that the No. 54 was running a little tight so crew chief Harry Norcross brought the 16-year-old driver onto pit road during the caution period at lap 89.

            "We made some adjustments to the car to try and free it up and we knew that Julian could, at the very least, maintain in the top-15 if not move up into the top-12," said Norcross.

            Albarracin was running 15th for the restart at lap 114 when he got collected in an accident the following lap in turn two.

            "We just came around the corner and there was nothing I could do," he said.

            The damage to the No. 54 Fadden Racing Chevrolet was extensive and Albarracin could not continue in the race. He finished the day with a 22nd place finish.

            The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 125 will air on SPEED Thursday, August 5 at 6 pm ET.