| Hawkins Leads Charge into Home State | 
Myrtle Beach, S.C.—When Matt Hawkins last left South Georgia Motorsports Park, the Canton, Ga., driver did so with the winner’s trophy. The win jumped Hawkins from 23rd to ninth in the standings and fueled his last-season chase at the championship.
But when Hawkins returns to the sight of his second Hooters Pro Cup win for the running of the BFGoodrichTires.com 250 presented by K&N Filters on Saturday, March 29, he will be the one that’s being chased.
Hawkins, driver of the No. 2s JaniKing Ford, finished second in the season-opening Southern Division event at USA Int’l Speedway on March 15, giving him the point lead heading into SGMP. And with his successes last season at the fast, half-mile track, Hawkins expects to leave with the lead.
“I think we’re going to be awesome at [South Georgia],” said Hawkins. “Having Mike Garvey as my crew chief is great. We should have won the Snowball Derby. But that’s three second-place finishes in a row for us and we won at [SGMP] before that; so we’ve been doing great. We just have to keep it going all season.”
But Hawkins won’t be alone in his quest for victory. Several of the top-tier drivers in the Greased Lightning Southern Division will by trying to rebound after troubles at USA Int’l Speedway.
Bobby Gill, Michael Ritch, Woody Howard, Trevor Bayne and Mark McFarland all suffered DNFs in the season opener and come into SGMP with a since of urgency.
In the first race at SGMP last season, Gill and Howard put on a show for the win, swapping positions—and paint—in the waning stages before Howard, driver of the No. 55s Dean Motorsports Chevrolet, took the lead with eight laps remaining en route to victory.
Ritch, driver of the No. 28s Racing for Veterans Ford, led 41 laps, McFarland, driver of the No. 81s Sears Auto Center Chevrolet, was out front for 34 laps and Bayne, driver of the No. 29s Chevy Racing Chevrolet, paced the field for eight laps.
If you mix in Caleb Holman, who finished fourth at USA Int’l, Billy Bigley, who finished fifth at USA Int’l, and James Buescher, who finished third at USA Int’l, the potential for a barnburner is high.
The BFGoodrichTires.com 250 is slated for a green flag at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 at SGMP. Front gates open at SGMP will open at 11:30 a.m. and fans are encouraged to come out early for the two-hour practice session that starts as soon as the gates are open. Awesome Awnings Pole Qualifying will start at 4:30 p.m. and be followed by the on-track autograph session at 5:45 p.m.
The event will air on VERSUS Network on Monday, April 7 at 4 p.m. (ET).
For ticket information, contact SGMP at (229) 896-7000.
###
GREASED LIGHTNING SOUTHERN DIVISION QUICK FACTS
FOR THE BFGOODRICHTIRES.COM 250
WHAT: BFGoodrichTires.com 250
Presented by K&N Filters
WHERE: South Georgia Motorsports Park, Cecil, Ga.
.5-mile, semi-banked asphalt oval
WHEN: Saturday, March 29
DISTANCE: 250 Laps/ 125 Miles
POSTED AWARDS: $127,136
STARTING FIELD: 36-car starting field
PROMOTER: Ronald & Kim Wood
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul Warner, USAR Media Relations Director, 843-390-4224
Email Address pwarner@usarprocup.com
TELEVISION: VERSUS Network—April 7 at 4 PM
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 28:
5:00 -7:00 pm Early Parking and Registration
Saturday, March 29:
8:00 a.m. USAR HPCS officials Meeting
8:20 a.m. Transporter Parking
8:30 a.m. USAR HPCS Crew Chief Meeting
9:00 a.m. Pit Gates Open
9:30 a.m. USAR HPCS Tech Inspection Begins
10:00 a.m. USAR HPCS Rookie Meeting
11:30 a.m. USAR HPCS Practice Begins
1:30 p.m. USAR HPCS Practice Ends
2:00 p.m. USAR HPCS Drivers Meeting (Engines Off)
2:15 p.m. Chapel Service (Engines Off)
3:00 p.m. Front Gate Opens
4:30 p.m. Awesome Awnings Pole Qualifying for the USAR HPCS
5:45 p.m. Wraps Ink On-Track Autograph Session for the USAR HPCS
6:30 p.m. Pre-Race Ceremonies for the BFGoodrichTires.com 250
7:00 p.m. BFGoodrichTires.com 250
Track Qualifying Record:
Driver: Woody Howard Date: March 31, 2007 Time: 18.379 seconds Speed: 97.938 mph
Results from last year’s event at SGMP on 3/31/07
1. Woody Howard
2. Michael Ritch
3. Bobby Gill
4. Chase Pistone
5. Shelby Howard
6. Richard Boswell
7. Dange Hanniford
8. Buckshot Jones
9. Mart Nesbitt
10. Wade Day
Awesome Awnings Pole Award: Woody Howard
Icard Time of the Race: 2:30:20
Green Flag Average Speed: 94.018
Margin of Victory: .573 seconds
Caution Flags: 14
Caution Laps: 94
Lap Leaders: 1-31 Woody Howard (40); 32-65 Mark McFarland (34); 66-70 Richard Boswell (5); 71-112 Dange Hanniford (42); 113-120 Trevor Bayne (8); 162-241 Bobby Gill; 242-250 Woody Howard
Past Winners at South Georgia Motorsports Park
Year Race Winner Pole Winner
2007 Matt Hawkins Mark McFarland
2007 Woody Howard Woody Howard
2006 Benny Gordon Johnny Rumley
2006 Joey Logano Clay Rogers
2005 Shane Huffman Mark McFarland
BFGoodrichTires.com 250 Fast Facts
• Woody Howard is the only driver to win both the pole and race in the same event at SGMP.
• In all five of the events held at SGMP the winner has started inside the top-10—Shane Huffman (8th), Joey Logano (6th), Benny Gordon (6th), Woody Howard (1st), Matt Hawkins (7th).
• In five races at SGMP, there has yet to be a repeat winner.
• Woody Howard has an average finish at SGMP of 4.7 in three starts.
• The Hooters Pro Cup Series has averaged 6.4 lead changes in the five events at USA Int’l Speedway.
• The tight confines of SGMP usually produce plenty of hard racing and crashes. In five events, the average number of cautions per race is 13.4.
• If Bobby Gill can finish inside the top 10, he will reach 125 top-10 finishes in his 167th Pro Cup start.
• Michael Ritch will make his 125th start in Hooters Pro Cup competition at SGMP. If he can lead a lap, Ritch will have led 50 times in those starts.
• Mark McFarland’s pole at USA Int’l Speedway was his 10th pole in 38 races, giving him the highest pole-per-race average in Pro Cup competition (30 starts minimum).
• Billy Bigley Jr., of Naples, Fla., is coming into the SGMP event fourth in points. His fifth-place finish at USA Int’l Speedway on March 15 was his first top-five finish since Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 2005.
• James Buescher has not finished outside the top three in Pro Cup competition in the last three races.
SPECIAL AWARD SPONSORS:
Awesome Awnings Pole Award ($1,000)
Lucas Oil Products Halfway Leader Award ($1,000)
Miller Lite Beer Rookie of the Race Award ($1,000)
Aaron’s “Do the Math” Award ($500)
Longhorn Win from the Pole ($500)
Greased Lighting “Clean Team Award” ($500)
Comp Cams “Engine Builder of the Race
OFFICIAL SERIES SPONSORS:
Hooters • Miller Lite • BFGoodrich Tires • Sears Auto Center • Greased Lightning • Aaron’s Sales & Lease • Longhorn • Lucas Oil • Sunoco Race Fuels • Awesome Awnings • Pepsi • Racing Electronics • Crane Cams Ignition • iCard • Club Car • Fatheadz Sunglasses • TriStar Racewear • Wraps INK
CONTINGENCY AWARD SPONSORS:
Automotive Specialists • Auto Meter • Brown and Miller Racing Solutions • Brodix Cylinder Heads • Crane Cams • Crane Ignitions • Comp Cams • Eaton Corporation (Detroit Locker) Edelbrock • Eibach Springs • Five Star Bodies Fuel Safe • Gaerte Engines • Hawk Performance • Heintz Performance • Hess Racing Products • Holley Performance • Impact Racing Products • JE Pistons • K & N Filters • Kool Mat • Longacre Racing Products •Pro Systems Brake Solution • Quarter Master • RE Suspension • Leavitt Racing Components • Tex Racing • Trailers of the East Coast • Whelen Engineering
Have an opinion on
this story? Post a message on
The Southern Motor Racing Forum OR Send the Editor an E-mail!
|
