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Friday, 19 September 2008 12:21 |
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By Paul Warner
Newton, Iowa-Benny Gordon took the lead on Lap 169 of the Race2Recovery 225 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Diamond Vogel and held off late-race charges by Drew Herring and Mark McFarland to win at Iowa Speedway.
"This might be the biggest win of my career," said Gordon, driver of the No. 66n Samuel Metals Ford. "I’ve won at a lot of short tracks, but this is different. This place is special."
Gordon, who started from the Awesome Awnings Pole, led the first 26 laps and the last 56 laps, but his sixth win of the season wasn’t a cakewalk.
Drew Herring, driver of the No. 22s Titan Tire Ford, was putting pressure on Gordon for the lead Lap 180. Herring shadowed Gordon for 20 laps before coming to pit road on Lap 200.
McFarland, driver of the No. 81s Sears Auto Center Chevrolet, took up the charge after Herring pitted. With 20 laps remaining, McFarland moved into second and began to trim Gordon’s lead.
"My spotter said, ‘He’s 12 cars back.’ Then he said, ‘He’s eight back,’" said Gordon. "I got a little worried. I didn’t look in the mirror. I just hammered down. I knew he was driving as hard as he could."
McFarland pulled within a car length with just two laps to go, but he finished 0.324 seconds behind.
"My car was great when it was out front, but it was a little tight when I was in traffic," said McFarland. "It just took a little too long to get to Benny. We had the right strategy, but we came up a few laps short."
Michael Ritch, driver of the No. 28s Support Our Troops Ford, rebounded from a DNF at Mansfield to finish third.
"I thought we had a better car than this in practice," said Ritch. "Benny and Mark were better than us tonight. But finishing third to those guys is still pretty good. I’ll take it after the way Mansfield went."
Joey Coulter, driver of the No. 02s Darrell Gwynn Foundation Ford, posted his career-best finish by coming home fourth.
Bobby Gill, driver of the No. 06s USG Sheetrock Ford, completed the top five.
Unofficial Results
1. Benny Gordon
2. Mark McFarland
3. Michael Ritch
4. Joey Coulter
5. Bobby Gill
6. Matt Hawkins
7. John Gibson
8. Brett Butler
9. Drew Herring
10. Matt Merrell
11. Derrick Kelley
12. Jay Fogleman
13. J.P. Morgan
14. Caleb Holman
15. Hunter Robbins
16. Dana White
17. Sam Fullone
18. A.J. Frank
19. Ronnie Souders
20. Mikey Kile
21. Allen Purkhiser
22. Woody Howard
23. Billy Bigley Jr.
24. Bryan Silas
25. Matt Lofton
26. Derek Kale
27. Tim Bainey Jr.
28. Jeff Agnew
29. James Buescher
30. Tyler Young
31. Clay Rogers
32. Kirk Leone
33. Gary St. Amant |
