by Dick Casey - HRM Motorsports

Eddie MacDonald’s gamble on a gutsy move on lap 139 paid off with a third place finish in the Busch North Series opener at Lee USA Speedway. He powered his way past the # 40 and #55 on an inside move that put him in fourth with eleven laps to go.

Recalling the move Eddie said," I burned up my tires running on the outside, I knew my only chance was to make a move on the inside. I used a lapped car as a pick and it worked and I was able to get by Kobyluck and when Stefanik bobbled, I was able to get by him." With five laps to go, the # 17 Ford slipped by Ryan Moore for third place to take the checkered flag for his seventh career top five finish and best finish at his home track

The Rowley, Mass. driver is excited about the rest of the upcoming season with the showing of the new HRM Motorsports team," One of our goals coming into this season was to improve our qualifying position and we did that today. Starting fifth was huge for us and it allowed us to stay up front and avoid any problems."

Eddie added," We were really hoping for the win but finishing third is great for this new race team and it really gives us the momentum we need for the rest of the season."

The change to Ford this year gives the team the luxury of having a number of engines at their disposal. With Roush and Cosworth power available, Eddie feels the team is in a much better position than last year and it certainly paid off in the season opener. Eddie credits team owner/crew chief Chris Raymond for the great finish," Chris prepared a great car for me today. The handling and the power were there when I needed it."

The team was especially pleased with the performance over the long runs. After last week’s practice Raymond knew they had to find a way to make the car better and finish strong at the end and the effort paid off. Eddie admits," I have great confidence in Chris and the rest of the crew and they did it today. The car really responded at the end when I needed to make the inside move. It stuck to the bottom and I had plenty of power to make the passes."

Raymond was particularly pleased with the overall performance saying," We had a good qualifying run and we got the car running better on the long runs which was one thing we needed to improve. We ran great today and now we will see what happens from here."

Eddie is looking forward to the upcoming race at Thompson International Speedway with high expectations noting," We usually run pretty well there and with the new car and the Roush power we feel we should definitely be in contention for the win."