Gordon Improves in
Championship Standings
(October
26, 2007) - DuBois, PA. The good news for Benny Gordon
last weekend was that he improved his position in the championship
series moving from eighth to seventh place. It was just one
position, but it was a positive end to another challenging weekend.
2007 has been a year filled with new and different
challenges for Benny Gordon. This weekend was
another one presenting new obstacles to overcome.
While the race results Saturday night did not turn
out as he would have liked, the improvement in
championship positions offered positive
reinforcement necessary at this time of the year.
At Myrtle Beach, Benny lost his jack man to a shoulder injury. This
week it was his brother Todd, the crew chief. So Benny headed to
South Georgia with a new jack man and he called upon Marty Lindley
to step in as the crew chief. “I called Marty because I believed he
would be a good match for my driving style and fit in well with our
team, said Benny. “Todd was not able to make it to the race because
his son Andrew plays football for the high school team. They had a
game on Friday night and Todd was not able to get a flight into
Valdosta in time to make the race. I needed an experienced person to
help me out and I called on Marty.”
Race practice started out well with Benny setting the fast time
early in the first session. However, that time did not hold up
thorough out the two-hour session as a number of other drivers
dialed in their cars with fresher tires. “We worked on the car to be
consistent and not the fastest car in the field,” said Benny.
“Experience has shown that the fastest car in qualifying does not
typically win the race. We wanted to win the race, so we set the car
up to be consistent.”
Race and pit strategy always are important factors in the short
track races. “We worked our fuel numbers very carefully to know how
soon we could pit for fuel,” said Benny. “The last two races I have
raced here have been filled with caution laps. I expected the same
tonight. Getting tires on the car was not the issue, fuel is. Race
strategy this year has shown that it is very important to pit just
as soon as the fuel window opens so you have the rest of the race to
work your way back to the front.”
True to history, the race was filled with caution laps, 70 including
one red flag. Following race strategy Benny stopped for tires and
fuel before the first third of the race was run. He found himself
down a lap just after the halfway point. A very timely caution put
him first car on the inside at the restart. Benny was able to race
his way in front of the race leader and his Samuel Metals, Johnny’s
Suzuki, Predator Performance, ADG, Murray’s Freightliner, Greased
Lightning Ford Fusion took off. Benny was able to pull away from the
field and stretch his lead to almost a half lap before the next
caution flew. “The car came alive out in front of the field,” said
Benny. “Until then I was not able to consistently run the line that
I needed and I did not have the clean air to make the front end
stick. Running in traffic the car was not handling well and it
continued to push.”
After returning to the lead lap, Benny was mired in the field
working his way to the front. Pitting several more times to put on
cooler tires proved to be beneficial. “I was like a yo-yo for a
while working my way up a few spots then pitting for tires and
falling back having to work my way back up”, said Benny. “The pit crew
worked hard tonight. It was not a one and one deal for them. We had
good pit stops.”
When it was all said and done Benny was able to drive his way from
25th position, a lap down back to the eleventh finishing position.
“Of course I wanted to win the race but the car just did not handle
well enough to get there. We had Samuel president Wayne Bassett and
a group of suppliers from Canada as well as key Samuel personnel in
the VIP box to watch the race. I really appreciate Mr. Bassett and
the other fine folks from Samuel attending the race. They are great
supporters of our race team and I am very lucky to have such good
sponsors.”
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.
About Greased Lightning
The Greased Lightning family of super-strength degreaser products
tackle today's cleaning needs. From the kitchen and bathroom to the
laundry room and garage, Greased Lightning products wipe out grease,
grime and dirt, leaving your home sparkling clean and smelling
fresh. For more information on Greased Lightning please visit
www.greased-lightning.com.
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