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RACING
NEWS
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| Its Ben Gordon in Kmart 250 | Veteran grabs fourth win at Motor Mile
Radford, Va.—If the Kmart 250 at Motor Mile Speedway was any indication of what
the Championship Series is going to be like, race fans will be in for a treat.
Benny Gordon, the Sears Auto Center Northern Division point leader, and Mark
McFarland, the Greased Lightning Southern Division point leader, battled down to
the finish of the 250-lap event before Gordon inched away for his first win of
the season.
“We had a lot of changes on the team this year, and it just takes a little while
to build back to where we have been,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 66n Samuel
Metals Ford. “I could see the momentum in the shop and the enthusiasm in the
guys. I was really thinking it was going to turnaround tonight.”
Though the premonition may have buoyed Gordon’s confidence, Motor Mile is a
track that he needs little extra incentive.
With his win on Saturday night, Gordon has now won four races in seven starts at
the .416-mile track.
“I don’t what it is about this track, but I love it,” said Gordon, who took home
$11,000 for his win. “I grew up racing on a track that reminds me of this track,
and I remembered a lot of secrets about how to set the car up and race the
track.”
After starting third in the 32-car field, Gordon took the lead from pole-sitter
Clay Rogers on the 19th circuit and held the lead until pitting on Lap 38. Most
of the leaders followed Gordon’s decision to short pit and came to pit road
behind the No. 66 Ford.
Tim Bainey Jr. and Allen Purkhiser took turns at the point until Jay Fogleman
made his presence known at this former home track, taking the lead on Lap 97.
Once out front, Fogleman, driver of the No. 4n Speedco/The Works Ford, built
leads of two seconds over the field before Gordon began to reel him in around
Lap 175.
Gordon ducked under Fogleman for the lead on Lap 189. A caution negated the
pass, but Fogleman decided to give up the lead and come to pit road.
“I knew we were going to finish second or third if we didn’t pit, so we just put
tires on it to see if we could win it,” said Fogleman, who made it back to third
at the finish. “If circumstances went our way and we got a caution with 20 to
go, we had a chance at winning tonight.”
With Fogleman trying to rally from the back, Gordon’s focus turned to holding
off McFarland.
McFarland, driver of the No. 81s Sears Auto Center Chevrolet, lurked around in
the top three all night before pressuring Gordon for the win over the final 30
laps. McFarland closed to within a car length on several occasions, but he came
up .305 of a second shy of his third victory in a row.
“My car was as good as it was all night at the end, handling-wise,” said
McFarland. “We were having brake problems all race, and the [brake] pedal went
soft. I really didn’t know what I had each lap until I got to the corner; it was
kind of scary. I didn’t want to go in there and wipe Benny out.”
Brandon Ward, the defending winner of the event, brought his No. 93n Super Clean
Ford in fourth position.
Jeff Agnew, driver of the No. 73n Team 7 Ford, wrestled an ill-handling machine
after an early-race mishap and finished fifth.
Unofficial Results
1. Benny Gordon
2. Mark McFarland
3. Jay Fogleman
4. Brandon Ward
5. Jeff Agnew
6. Gary St. Amant
7. Joey Coulter
8. Mart Nesbitt
9. Caleb Holman
10. Jason Sarvis
11. Allen Purkhiser
12. Sam Fullone
13. Derrick Kelley
14. Derek Kale
15. Tim Bainey Jr.
16. Tyler Young
17. Brandon Miller
18. Jason Kidd
19. Ronnie Souders
20. Danny Abold
21. Dwayne Tatman
22. Lonnie Rush Jr.
23. Matt Merrell
24. Joe Harrison Jr.
25. Danny Jackson
26. Mikey Kile
27. Tim Kerr
28. Mike Hampton
29. Brett Butler
30. Ray Love Jr.
31. Clay Rogers
32. Scott Leach
###
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