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 13th 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 12th 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 11th, 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 11th, 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 1st.
For more information on Jonathan Smith or Fadden Racing, visit www.faddenracing.net.
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 1st.
For more information on Matt Kobyluck, the Mohegan Sun Race team, or Mohegan Sun Casino, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.
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 20th place finish.
The No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure/CarDaddy.com Chevrolet was lined up 19th for the start of the race after Delaney posted a qualifying speed of 21.062 seconds (106.827 mph). He made it up to 16th 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 5/8th’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 1st.
Points
Pos Driver Name Points
1 Jody Lavender 901
2 Eddie MacDonald 883
3 Ryan Truex * 872
4 Matt Kobyluck 857
5 Brett Moffitt * 846
6 Steve Park 784
7 Dustin Delaney 772
8 Alex Kennedy * 746
9 Alan Tardiff * 704
10 Ryan Duff 699
11 Jason Patison 696
12 Matt DiBenedetto 674
13 Jonathan Smith 673
14 John Salemi 636
15 Patrick Long 613
16 Matt Kurzejewski * 536
17 Dakoda Armstrong * 512
18 Jesus Hernandez 500
19 Ryan Gifford 442
20 Kristin Bumbera * 424
Accident Robs Smith Of Solid Run At NHMS
Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009): Jonathan Smith used strategy and patience to make his way up to third in the NASCAR Camping World Series East Heluva Good! Summer 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Friday night, but mid-race contact with Ryan Gifford brought his solid run to a screeching halt when he spun on the backstretch and hit the wall. The driver of the No. 16 Fadden Racing Chevrolet finished a disappointing 21st place.
“Coming out of turn two we were sitting third and the 29 just got underneath me and wrecked me. I couldn’t hold onto it, hit the inside wall and just trashed the car. I just had to hold on for the rest of the race,” said Smith. “The right front got smacked in and the right rear got smacked up. The car was really free after that and there was not much we could do about it but hang on.”
Smith started the race in 20th and was running 11th following a round of pit stops at lap 39. The team had adjusted on the car during the fuel stop and Smith was confident that he could progress through the field.
“We missed the set up at the start of the race, but we got it back when we came in for the pit stop. The guys made the car pretty good with a couple of adjustments,” he said.
A second caution period saw the leaders come back down pit road at lap 65 for a fresh set of tires, but Smith and his Fadden Racing crew opted to stay out and gain track position. It was a decision he said was easily made. When racing resumed at lap 68, Smith was in the third position.
The trouble started at the drop of the green. Smith protected his third place position through turn one, but exiting the second corner, everything fell apart when the 29 got into the back of Smith. The No. 60 spun across the backstretch and hit the barrier on the inside of the track. The damage was extensive and Smith headed right for pit road.
The team changed tires, pulled the sheet metal out and returned to the race. Smith went a lap down before the race conclusion and had to settle with a 21st place finish.
“We have a great team, great cars, and great runs. We just have bad luck. We’ll be there. We’re always up front, but stuff just happens to us. We’re looking for that racing luck,” Smith said.
Up next for Smith and the NASCAR Camping World Series East is Thompson International Speedway in Connecticut on July 11th.
Disappointing Season Debut For Olsen
Disappointing Season Debut For Olsen
Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009): Two-time NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion Mike Olsen made his season debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Friday night behind the wheel of the No. 61 KDD Auto Parts Chevrolet, but a missed set up made for a frustrating and long day for the car owner of Fadden Racing. Olsen finished the Heluva Good! Summer 125 with a 13th place finish.
“I do this to have fun, and it wasn’t a lot of fun out there today,” said Olsen. “The car was tight early and it wasn’t coming into it. I was just kind of riding and we weren’t that good.”
Olsen started the race in the 21st starting position after a qualifying effort of 31.462 seconds (121.060 mph). The team was still optimistic, however, for a solid run.
“We weren’t really worried about our starting position,” said Olsen. “We set the car up for the long run and hoped that it would come to us as the race went on. Unfortunately, it didn’t.”
The No. 61 KDD Auto Parts Chevrolet was tight right from the green flag, and Olsen struggled to gain position. A long green flag run didn’t help matters, and Olsen found himself a lap down before the first caution flag flew at lap 39. He had just gone the lap down when the caution dropped and was awarded his lap back through the beneficiary rule.
“We caught a break there,” said Olsen. “We came down pit road for fuel and an adjustment, which helped a little bit.”
Olsen came back down pit road for tires following a caution period just past the halfway mark, and was assessed a penalty by NASCAR for a blend line violation.
The team continued to persevere and rallied to a 13th place finish before the checkers dropped. Still, with only limited appearances on the schedule, he had hoped for a better finish.
“I don’t want to come here and look in the mirror and see only three cars behind me,” said Olsen. “I come here to be competitive. I come here to try and win the race. We got off our strategy early today and we were off.”
Top-10 Finish For Delaney Derailed By Late Race Contact
Top-10 Finish For Delaney Derailed By Late Race Contact
Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009): Dustin Delaney was a solid fixture in the top-10 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Heluva Good! Summer 125 Friday night, but late race contact with Patrick Long ended his solid run and relegated the driver to a disappointing 17th place finish. The event marked the halfway mark for the NASCAR Camping World Series East with Delaney currently seventh in the championship point standings.
“We were a top-five car today,” said a dejected Delaney following the race. “He (Patrick Long) is not in it for the points, and he said he wanted to get his point across to me. It’s very frustrating to have a good run come to an end like that.”
Delaney started the race from the 11th position and maintained his position in the early going of the event. The first caution flew at lap 39 with Delaney following the leaders down pit road for fuel. He returned to the track in ninth for the restart.
Delaney maintained his position in the top-10 before pitting one more time for tires at lap 65. The No. 39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet was lined up in 15th following the pit stop and was ready to turn up the heat. With half the race in the books, Delaney was ready to make his presence known in the front.
The young Mayfield, N.Y. driver gained three spots before caution was out once again two laps later. This time he would take the green from 12th and advance to ninth before caution slowed the pace once again.
Following the lap 81 restart, Delaney got involved in a battle with Long for a top-ten position. The two made contact and the No. 39 Chevrolet was relegated deep in the field.
“I got into him and I let him go and let him get his position back,” explained Delaney. “I let his momentum go, I waited a lap, and I got back underneath him. Then he just drove me right down the frontstretch. We were almost into the wall but I let off. When he came across he just knocked the toe way in.”
Delaney could only hang on for the remainder of the race and salvage a 17th place finish – certainly not indicative of his performance throughout the day.
“We’ve had a really good season this year,” said Delaney. “We’ve been improving week in and week out and we had hoped to continue that here at New Hampshire. We ran better than 17th today and my crew deserved a better finish then this.”
Late Race Tangle Relegates Kobyluck To 11th Place Finish
Late Race Tangle Relegates Kobyluck To 11th Place Finish
Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009): Matt Kobyluck was poised for a podium finish in Friday night’s Heluva Good! Summer 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but a late race restart at lap 110 proved costly for the driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet and the team ended the night with an eleventh place finish. The trouble happened in a battle with Steve Park that resulted in contact on the backstretch.
“The 9 car spun his tires and he didn’t go on that restart. I had to slow up for that and a bunch of cars went by me. We came out of turn two and the 35 came up in front of me. The 29 went to go under the 35 and got in the back of him, which got Park out into the fence. That’s when I got into the back of him,” explained Kobyluck.
Kobyluck started the Camping World Series East race from the seventh position and became a factor in the top four as early as lap 20. He got shuffled back to eighth in lapped traffic before the first caution of the night flew at lap 39.
Kobyluck followed the leaders onto pit road for fuel and returned to the track in fifth place for the restart at lap 46. Eventual race winner Matt DiBenedetto went by Kobyluck for fifth on the restart, but Kobyluck reclaimed his place in the top-five in a battle with Alan Tardiff just two laps later.
Kobyluck pitted for fresh tires at lap 65 and restarted the race at lap 68 in the eighth position. In just a single lap, Kobyluck gained three positions but caution would quickly slow his progress on lap 69.
The race resumed at lap 73 with Kobyluck in fifth with an intense battle to settle the top-five at the drop of the green. Kobyluck battled with Ryan Truex, but soon found himself in a tight door-to-door battle with Ryan Gifford. At lap 77, when the caution came out, Kobyluck had advanced to fourth.
On the restart, Kobyluck found himself in a three wide battle with Ryan Truex and Steve Park. Kobyluck emerged the third place driver and was closing in on the second place car of Kevin Swindell. At lap 100, Kobyluck was challenged again by Truex and was relegated to the fourth spot before caution came out at lap 105.
Following the contact with Steve Park, Kobyluck dropped back to 18th and was forced to pit on the next caution at lap 115.
“I did a bunch of right front damage to the car and the tire was rubbing so bad it would have blew out the tire and wrecked the car,” said Kobyluck. “We got what we could get after that.”
Kobyluck rallied in the closing laps of the race to finish 11th.
Leighton Finishes 18th At NHMS
Leighton Finishes 18th At NHMS
Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009): Brad Leighton has won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway more than any other driver in the NASCAR Camping World Series East, but during Friday evenings Heluva Good! Summer 125, Leighton experienced something he never has at the 1.058-mile oval – a struggle with the set up in the No. 55 Irving Oil Chevrolet. Leighton finished the day with an 18th place finish.
“We missed it. It’s the first time in a while and it’s humbling. We thought we had a better car than that. I didn’t know if we had a car to win, but there was nothing there. I had to hang on and keep it in one piece,” he said. “We were just trying to showcase Irving. We’ve always done well here for them at the speedway with all the exposure the place gets, but it just didn’t work out today.”
Leighton’s season debut in the NASCAR Camping World Series East kicked off with a qualifying effort of 122.813 mph (31.013 seconds) to earn a starting position in row seven. At the drop of the green, Leighton dropped back to 19th and realized that an adjustment would have to be made. A long green flag run that lasted the first 39 laps of the race threatened to put the four-time track champion a lap down.
“We were pretty close there,” admitted Leighton. “We really needed that caution and it came just in time for us. We were able to stay on the lead lap at that point and come in and try to adjust on the car a little bit.”
The teams effort didn’t make much difference on the track. Leighton continued to struggle, but was able to gain position nevertheless. Leighton made it up to 13th before coming back down pit road for a fresh set of tires. He returned to the track in the 20th position.
Leighton had his work cut out for him, but his determination prevailed and the Center Harbor, N.H. native was able to get into 18th before the checkers dropped. Leighton stayed out of trouble the entire race long and was able to bring the car home in one piece.
“The fortunate thing is that we have a car we can work on,” said Leighton. “The guys don’t have to go back and worry about fixing body and frame damage. They can concentrate on making this car better for the September race.”
Kobyluck Looks To Climb Points Ladder At NHMS
Kobyluck Looks To Climb Points Ladder At NHMS
Uncasville, Conn. (June 19, 2009): NASCAR Camping World Series East Champions are made at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A finish there can make or break your chances at a title. For Matt Kobyluck, driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet and defending series champion, the Heluva Good! Summer 125 holds a lot of weight. He’s currently third in the point standings, and is hoping to move up the ladder with a strong performance at the 1.058-mile oval.
“I’m pretty confident,” Kobyluck said going into the event. “We’ll be taking the same things we used last year and building on them a little bit more. We definitely go into every race with the goal of winning, but a win here would be tremendous. We’ve always had fast cars here and we’ve been getting closer and closer to our goal of winning every time we go back.”
The 39-year-old driver posted a third place finish in this event last year, which catapulted him to second in the point standings. The Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet was out front for the first 35 laps. He led one more time before a three-wide battle with Trevor Bayne and Eddie MacDonald relegated him to third for a green-white-checker finish.
“We didn’t take tires last year and the guys that finished ahead of us both did. They were on fresher tires so I had nothing for them on the last restart,” reflected Kobyluck. “A third place finish was a huge day for us in terms of the championship. If you want to win the title in this series, you have to have a good day at New Hampshire.”
Kobyluck has more experience at the track than most regular drivers in the series. The Heluva Good Summer 125 will mark his 26th start at NHMS in the Camping World Series East with over 2500 laps raced in competition at the Magic Mile. He’s posted five top-five and eight top-10 finishes there – with two top-five’s last season alone.
The Heluva Good Summer 125 is slated to take the green flag at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26th. Fans can meet up with Kobyluck at an autograph session outside the infield tunnel on Friday at 3 p.m.
For more information on Matt Kobyluck or Mohegan Sun Racing visit www.mattkobyluck.com.