Spectator in Shenandoah
(May 8, 2007) - DuBois, PA.
Benny Gordon and his Samuel Metals team found
themselves in the unusual position as spectators
Thursday night at Shenandoah Speedway during the
running of the Farmer’s Foods 250.
Watching from the top of the pit wagon for over half
of the race Benny could do nothing more than follow
the action around the track. “This is some of the
wildest racing I have seen in a long time”, said
Benny. “I would much rather be out on the track
mixing it up with the other drivers than here in the
pits watching them race.” |
Kathy Bond/USAR ProCup Photo |
Qualifying 12th for the second race in a row, after setting a season
record nine pole positions in 2006, put Benny in a difficult
starting position to race to the front on a one groove short track.
The early laps showed the car was setup for the long run and was
coming to Benny.
On just the second restart of the race Benny hammered the throttle
on his Predator Performance powered race car quickly closing the gap
on the ninth place car. Unfortunately the 9N car of Ben Stancill was
not as quick and Benny ran into the rear of Stancill’s Dodge Charger
damaging the left front of his number 66N Samuel Metals Ford. “I
could not avoid hitting Stancill. He must have had some sort of a
problem or maybe he missed a shift”, said Benny. “I was expecting
him to take off”.
 |
A damaged left front fender was pushed into the
front tire causing it to rub and smoke. Benny was
forced to pit under the green flag loosing 4 laps
while the team pulled the fender and bumper away
from the tire and removed the hood. Back on the
track Benny found the car was not badly damaged but
he had lost the majority of the down force due to
the missing hood and fender. Despite the damage
Benny was able to run with the front of the pack.
Attempts to earn a lap back on several later caution
flags found Benny racing Sam Fullone, another
Predator powered race car. “Sam was running away
from the field and I was unable to catch him” said
Benny. “I rolled into the corners hard trying to get
up beside Sam but I just could not keep up with him.
He had his car set up perfectly and kept pulling
away from me,” said Benny. Unable to catch Sam,
Benny was forced to follow. |
Lady luck dealt another harsh blow when on lap 114 the oil pressure
light flashed on and the pressure dropped to zero. Benny was forced
to shut the engine down and wheel into the pits. A quick assessment
of the situation found the oil pump pulley on the crankshaft had
disintegrated throwing off the oil pump belt and hurling pulley
pieces into the radiator. The spare parts needed to make a repair
were in the hauler. However, Shenandoah is one of the tracks where
haulers must be parked outside the track. Nothing could be done to
attempt repairs and get the number 66N back in to race. The car was
retired from the race.
“We have hit a streak of bad luck” said Benny. “I am confident in
this Samuel Metals team and our preparation for each race, but you
must have a little bit of luck on your side. I know that our luck is
going to turn but it is frustrating having to suffer through these
tough times. We have three weeks to prepare for the next race and we
will be working hard to make sure we are ready. What happened
tonight is very odd and I have never seen this happen before”, said
Benny.
About Samuel
The Samuel Company is a family owned metal processing and
distributing company headquartered in Ontario, Canada with more than
80 facilities located throughout Canada and the United States and
more than 4500 employees. For more information about Samuel,
please visit www.samuel.com.
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