BES - Dover - 9/21/07 - 18th
Dover International Speedway
Dover, Delaware
Friday, September 21st, 2007
150 Laps
Mechanical Problem Costs MacDonald Top Five Finish at Dover

With only thirteen laps to go in the Grand National Division Busch East Series Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway Eddie MacDonald was running in fourth place until the rear wheel bearing came apart ending his night with an 18th place finish.

“ We had a fast car all night but then with about twenty laps to go I thought the right rear tire was going flat. It is a shame because we had the same problem here last year and the right front tire came off. We thought we had it fixed. Something always seems to go wrong for us here,” said a disappointed MacDonald.

The NEMO Chevy started sixth on the grid after qualifying with a speed of 148.405 mph and ran in the top ten but the crew was waiting for a caution to make adjustments. On lap 44 MacDonald pitted but was not happy saying, “The car was very loose and we tightened it up to much. It just didn’t want to turn and this place is pretty tough if the car is off just a bit”

MacDonald dropped back to 14th at the halfway mark but then started to make his move through the field. With 48 laps to go, Eddie Mac was riding in tenth and seven laps later moved into the sixth position. “ After a while the car really started to handle much better after making an adjustment and we were able to move up after a couple of cautions. Rollie and the crew did a great job getting the car to where it need to be so we could be in position to get a top five finish. That is one of our goals each week to run in the top five.”

On a lap 119 restart MacDonald powered his way into fourth and appeared headed for a solid finish when the car began to vibrate. The bearing finally broke with thirteen laps to go but MacDonald was still hoping it was just the tire when he went to the pits. MacDonald was very frustrated with the finish, saying “I brought it into the pits hoping we could fix it and get back out but it couldn’t be done. We spent the last eleven laps in the pits. It stinks because we had such a fast car and could have used a good finish to help us get to California.”

The MacDonald Motorsports team is currently making plans to race in the Toyota All-Star Showdown in Irwindale on October 19-20. Despite running only eight races and finishing 21st in the point standing, MacDonald is guaranteed a spot in the Showdown due to his win in his first race of the season at Stafford Motor Speedway.

MacDonald hopes all the hard work this season will pay off at Irwindale saying, “We will get the #48 car ready and hope we can put on a good show out there. The way this team has worked this year it would be a great way of saying thanks to them and our sponsors. NEMO, Grimm Construction, Hancock Electric, Hanover Place, Tri-State Roofing, Stripers Bar and Grill, and A&B Vending have stuck with us all season and I want to thank them for all their help and I couldn’t think of a better way than to go out there and do well. We will be ready.”

Sunoco 150 Race Results

Source: NASCAR Public Relations

DOVER, Del. (Sept. 21) – Joey Logano (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet) finished second but became the NASCAR Busch East Series’ first rookie champion in the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway Friday afternoon.

Sean Caisse (No. 44 Casella Waste Systems Chevrolet) took the race lead from Logano with just eight laps to go, and then withstood a final charge by Logano to win by a car length.

Pole winner Jeffrey Earnhardt (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet) gained new northern fans and turned heads with a contending run to finish third. It was the 18-year-old Earnhardt’s best finish of the season and his fourth top-five finish over the last six races of the season.

Jesus Hernandez (No. 4 Allstate Chevrolet) placed fourth, followed by Tim McCreadie (No. 31 Camping World/RVbank.com Chevrolet.)

By virtue of NASCAR’s lower age limit of 16 starting this year for its touring series, Logano is also the youngest champion of the series as well. Logano turned 17 on May 24. His base second-place prize money of $9,361 pushed his season race winnings to $100,786.

Logano, hired as a development driver by Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2007 season, revealed uncommon talent by leading the series point standings all but one week during the early season, and drove on to five wins and 10 top-five finishes in 13 races. That set a new record for races won by a rookie. The previous record was two-win seasons by three different rookie drivers.

Logano praised his teammates in sharing the title.

“My crew chief Mike Sibley is one of the greatest out there. Everyone on the team has worked so hard, and it paid off. Every time we went to the race track we had a chance to win. But there are ten teams who could win every single week. The NASCAR Busch East Series has great competition.”

Chase Austin (No. 99 HomeLife Dodge) posted his rookie season’s best finish of sixth followed by Marc Davis (No 92 WHUR 96.3 Chevrolet), Steve Park (No. 54 Waste Management/Recycle America Chevrolet), Peyton Sellers (No. 83 Strutmasters.com Chevrolet) and Max Dumarey (No. 16 Bodycoach.net) Chevrolet.

Finish Start Car # Driver Hometown Car Laps Money Won Reason Out
1 3 44 Sean Caisse Pelham, N.H. Casella Waste Systems Chevrolet 150 $13,500  
2 2 20 Joey Logano # Middletown, Conn. Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet 150 $10,661  
3 1 1 Jeffrey Earnhardt # Mooresville, N.C. Tracker Boats/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 150 $10,000  
4 19 4 Jesus Hernandez # Fresno, Calif. Allstate Chevrolet 150 $7,500  
5 21 31 Tim McCreadie Watertown, N.Y. Camping World Chevrolet 150 $7,000  
6 8 66 Chase Austin # Eudora, Kan. HomeLife Communities Dodge 150 $6,000  
7 15 92 Marc Davis Mitchelville, Md. WHUR 96.3 Chevrolet 150 $5,700  
8 18 53 Steve Park E. Northport, N.Y. Waste Management Recycle America Ford 150 $4,600  
9 5 83 Peyton Sellers Danville, Va. Strutmasters.com Chevrolet 150 $4,700  
10 7 16 Max Dumarey Gent, Belgium BodyCoach.net Dodge 150 $5,000  
11 24 58 Richard Gould North Brunswick, N.J. North American River Runners Chevrolet 150 $3,700  
12 20 35 Jerry Marquis Broad Brook, Conn. Waste Management Recycle America Chevrolet 150 $4,150  
13 27 30 Jeff Anton Russell, Mass. Baran Institute/Engineered Floors Chevrolet 150 $4,100  
14 11 03 Rogelio Lopez # Mexico City, Mexico Telmex/Lucas Oil Chevrolet 150 $4,000  
15 25 61 Mike Olsen N. Haverhill, N.H. Little Trees Chevrolet 147 $4,550  
16 28 84 Dion Ciccarelli Severn, Md. Bad Boys of the Bering Sea Chevrolet 146 $3,900  
17 9 22 Ruben Pardo Mexico City, Mexico Family Dollar/Supercuts Dodge 140 $3,850  
18 6 48 Eddie MacDonald Rowley, Mass. New England Mechanical Overlay Chevrolet 139 $3,800  
19 29 26 Scott Bouley Wolcott, Conn. Cutting Edge Signs/Spyville.com Chevrolet 137 $3,750  
20 26 37 Michelle Theriault # Bristol, Conn. Glock, Inc. Chevrolet 136 $3,725  
21 13 40 Matt Kobyluck Uncasville, Conn. Mohegan Sun Chevrolet 116 $3,700 Accident
22 16 2 John Freeman Huntersville, N.C. Smashmouth Dodge 115 $3,675 Suspension
23 17 06 Ryan Seaman Toms River, N.J. ERS Fleet Repair/Erbe Carting Chevrolet 113 $3,150 Accident
24 30 5 Jonathan Smith # Beacon Falls, Conn. Kodak/Dominos/Sunoco Chevrolet 112 $3,600 Electrical
25 12 99 Bryon Chew Mattituck, N.Y. Buzz Chew Auto Group Chevrolet 92 $3,500 Accident
26 22 9 Tim Andrews Mooresville, N.C. Van Dyk Baler/Bollegraaf Chevrolet 85 $3,000 Engine
27 10 21 Antonio Perez Mexico City, Mexico Raintree Vacation/Aqua Pure Chevrolet 84 $3,000 Accident
28 14 52 Jamie Hayes # Norlina, N.C. Hendrick Autoguard Chevrolet 64 $3,500 Accident
29 4 15 Brian Ickler Poway, Calif. NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 42 $3,000 Suspension
30 23 63 John Salemi Nashua, N.H. Ocean Glass Chevrolet 7 $3,500 Engine
               
Did Not Qualify              
  41 James Pritchard Jr Wharton, N.J. Mannings USA Dodge      
  14 Joe Masessa Franklin Lakes, N.J. North Jersey Dermatology Chevrolet      
  3 Pierre Bourque Ottawa, Ontario Impremedia/Full Metal Minerals Chevrolet      
                 
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 47 minutes 14 seconds
Margin of Victory: .172 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: J.Earnhardt (151.413 mph, 23.776 seconds)
Caution Flags: 8 for 54 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J.Logano 1-14; S.Caisse 15-21; J.Logano 22-65; B.Chew 66-68; J.Freeman 69-72; S.Caisse 73-86; J.Hernandez 87-91; J.Freeman 92-102; J.Hernandez 103-105; S.Caisse 106-120; J.Logano 121-143; S.Caisse 144-150.

Standings: 1. J.Logano, 2123; 2. S.Caisse, 1957; 3. P.Sellers, 1862; 4. M.Kobyluck, 1840; 5. J.Earnhardt, 1736; 6. M.Olsen, 1721; 7. R.Lopez, 1671; 8. J.Hayes, 1661; 9. M.Davis, 1654; 10. J.Anton, 1630.

Sunoco Rookie Standings: 1. J.Logano, 112; 2. J.Earnhardt, 82; 3. R.Lopez, 78; 4. J.Hernandez, 74; 5. J.Hayes, 72; 6. M.Davis, 65; 7. M.Theriault, 53; 8. C.Austin, 52; 9. J.Smith, 44; 10. M.Dumarey, 39; 11. T. Schendel, 31; 12. J.Pritchard, Jr. 17; 13. R.Jarvis, Jr. 14; G.Quiroga 5.

 

Media Contact: Jennifer MacDonald - jennymac29@hotmail.com