PRESS RELEASEPRESS RELEASE |
Gordon Wins Food City
150
Northern Division interloper takes
final Southern Division race
USAR ProCup, Paul Warner (August 23, 2007)
(Click Here for Original Article)
Bristol, TN. - Benny Gordon wasn’t crowned the Northern Division champion for the
first time in four years this season, but his win in Wednesday
night’s Food City 150 presented by Naturally Fresh at Bristol Motor
Speedway surely eased his pain.
Gordon took the lead when race-leader Wade Day bounced off the wall
on Lap 86 and fought off Chase Pistone on a green-white-checkered
finish en route to his third win of the season and the 24th of his
career.
"We’ve always run well here over the years, but we’ve never been
able to win," said Gordon, driver of the No. 66n Samuel Metals Ford.
"It’s really cool to be the first person to win on the new surface
here. I don’t know that we had the best car here. But once we got
out front, our car was really good." |
Benny Gordon climbs from his No. 66n Samuel Metals Ford and celebrates in Bristol Motor Speedway Victory Lane after winning the Food City 150. Kathy Bond Photo |
Kathy Bond Photos
Chase Pistone’s car was pretty good, too. Pistone, driver of the No.
54 C&C Boiler Chevrolet, took a shot at Gordon on the final restart,
but he came up .300 of a second shy of his second victory of the
year. Pistone’s second-place finish was his first top-five finish
since his third-place effort at Peachstate (Ga.) Speedway five races
ago.
"This was really important for our team," said Pistone, who dropped
from first to seventh in points during the mid-season slump.
"Hopefully, this will get everybody pumped up heading into Mansfield
for the Championship Series."
Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 29 Chevy Racing/DEI Chevrolet,
continued his recent upswing by finishing third on Wednesday night.
Bayne marched from 23rd to finish second in the 150-lap affair.
Bayne’s podium finish solidified his second-place seed going into
the Championship Series.
"We had an awesome run here tonight," said Bayne, who finished the
regular season with four top-five finishes, including his first win.
"I really wanted the win tonight, especially after leading laps here
last year. We had an early draw in qualifying, and that hurt us. But
we were able to fight back from 23rd to finish third. I think we
kept second in the points, so it was a good night all around."
While Bayne held onto second in points with his solid run, several
of the other top drivers didn’t have such good nights in the Food
City 150.
Michael Ritch, driver of the No. 28 Naturally Fresh/Jackaroo Ford,
started from the pole and led the first six circuits before coming
to pit under the first caution. Ritch lost two laps while making his
stop and had to settle for 19th at the end of the night. Even with
his mid-pack finish, Ritch clinched the Aaron’s Southern Division
title.
Mark McFarland, driver of the No. 81 Knight’s Companies Chevrolet,
took over the lead after Ritch’s misfortune. But his time out front
was just as short as Ritch’s. As McFarland attempted to come to pit
road on Lap 13, his car stalled and never refired, dropping him to
36th at the finish after leading six laps.
Rookie Eric Humphries, driver of the No. 33 American Metals Ford,
elected not to pit early in the event and inherited the lead when
McFarland stalled. After leading 17 laps in his first Pro Cup start,
Humphries lost the lead to Wade Day on Lap 30.
Day, driver of the No. 96 Lopez Wealth Management Ford, was able to
pull away from the field after taking the lead, but he would be the
third leader of the night to suffer problems. Coming off Turn 2,
Day’s car shot up the track and tagged the wall, ending his chances
at victory and the Miller Lite Rookie of the Year for the Southern
Division.
Matt Hawkins, driver of the No. 2 H&H Electric Ford, appeared to be
en route to the rookie title early in the race, but he was caught up
in an accident on Lap 46 and limped home 22nd.
Rookie Richard Boswell, driver of the No. 88 Champion Chevrolet,
took advantage of his fellow rookies' struggles by finishing eighth
and clinching the $10,000 bonus for being the top rookie during the
Southern Division regular season.
Shelby Howard and Bobby Gill completed the top five.
The Food City 150 featured four lead changes among four drivers and
was slowed 11 times for 53 laps of caution.
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