Waterford Speedway - 7/23/05 - 20th

Broken Oil Line Ruins Eddie's Run at the
 Waterford Speedbowl

By Dick Casey---Triple Crown Racing

Eddie MacDonald’s hopes for a good finish in the Busch North Series Town Fair Tire 150 at Waterford Speedbowl went up in a ball of smoke and flames on lap 61. After qualifying ninth with a speed of 88.103 mph, The One Stop Toy Shop Chevy was able to run in the top ten early in the race. MacDonald was in seventh place after moving up three spots on a lap 40 restart and felt the car was coming to him.

“We knew in practice that the car was not fast right away but it continued to improve the more laps we ran. We figured we wouldn’t qualify too well but we would be good in the long run,” said a disappointed MacDonald after the race.

Trouble began brewing earlier in the race when he could smell oil in the cockpit but thought the problem would not worsen and waited for an opportunity for a yellow flag to make a pit stop. “It was leaking a little for a while and I was just running easy behind Olsen waiting for a caution but unfortunately when we did get one (on lap 61) the oil line broke and the car caught on fire. The track fire crew was right there to put it out and thanks to them we didn’t lose the car.”

The Triple Crown Racing crew was able to fix the broken line but MacDonald was eight laps down upon returning to the track. Without any realistic chance of a top ten finish, the goal for the remainder of the race was to bring the car home in one piece. MacDonald was credited with a 20th place finish and is currently 10th in the point’s race.

The Rowley, Mass. driver definitely felt he had a top ten car saying, ”We had a good car and it was getting better the longer we ran but I guess it was not meant to be. This track has not been a favorite of mine through the years and this was just another bad luck run.”

The good news is that MacDonald brought the car home without any body damage and is optimistic a good run is in the cards for this week’s Edge Hotel 150 race at Adirondack International Speedway.

Town Fair Tire 150

NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, BUSCH NORTH SERIES

Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford, Conn., Saturday, July 23, 2005

UNOFFICIAL FINISH (finishing position, starting position, driver, hometown, manufacturer, laps completed, reason out if any, money won)

1. (1) Matt Kobyluck, Uncasville Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $8,500
2. (5) Bryon Chew, Mattituck N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $3,200
3. (14) Andy Santerre, Cherryfield Maine, Chevrolet, 150, $3,400
4. (6) Mike Olsen, North Haverhill N.H., Chevrolet, 150, $2,300
5. (10) Mike Stefanik, Coventry R.I., Chevrolet, 150, $2,100
6. (13) Sean Caisse, Pelham N.H., Chevrolet, 150, $2,100
7. (4) Mike Johnson, Salisbury Mass., Ford, 150, $1,700
8. (8) Dave Dion, Hudson N.H., Ford, 150, $1,600
9. (3) Ryan Moore, Scarborough Maine, Chevrolet, 150, $1,500
10. (2) Joey McCarthy, Randolph N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,475
11. (24) John Salemi, Nashua N.H., Pontiac, 150, $2,450
12. (16) Ryan Seaman, Toms River N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,425
13. (7) Brian Hoar, Williston Vt., Dodge, 150, $1,400
14. (15) Don Wagner, Wharton N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,375
15. (18) Marc Rogers, Brick N.J., Chevrolet, 148, $850
16. (26) Laine Chase, Beverly Mass., Chevrolet, 148, $825
17. (11) Dale Shaw, Center Conway N.H., Chevrolet, 147, $1,250
18. (22) John Cerbone, City Island N.Y., Chevrolet, 146, $1.225
19. (20) Jeff Anton, Russell Mass., Chevrolet, 146, $1.200
20. (11) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley Mass., Chevrolet, 143, $1,175
21. (17) Scott Bouley, Thomaston Conn., Chevrolet, 132, $1,150
22. (23) Joe Masessa, Franklin Lakes N.J., Chevrolet, 127, $1,150
23. (19) Rich Gould, North Brunswick N.J., Chevrolet, 119, Accident, $650
24. (25) Chappy Knaack, Linthicum Md., Chevrolet, 119, Rear End, $650
25. (12) Kip Stockwell, Braintree Vt., Chevrolet, 51, Running, $1,150
26. (21) Charles Lewandoski, Stafford Springs Conn , Chevrolet, 0, DNS, $1,150

TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 9 minutes, 10 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 48.795 mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.211 seconds
CAUTION PERIODS: 10 for 56 laps
LEAD CHANGES: 3 between 2 drivers
LAP LEADERS: Matt Kobyluck 1-22, Ryan Moore 23, Kobyluck 24-65, Moore 66, Kobyluck 67-150
BUSCH POLE AWARD: Matt Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Chevrolet (15.035 seconds @ 88.093 mph)
POWERADE POWER MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: John Salemi, DelCorp Co. Pontiac
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Sean Caisse, Trik Custom Sleds Chevrolet

 

Media Contact: Jennifer MacDonald - jennymac29@hotmail.com