New Hampshire Int'l Speedway - 6/29/07 - 41st

MacDonald’s Suspension Problems Causes Disappointment At NHIS

     Eddie MacDonald’s day ended after 28 laps in the Grand National Series Busch East race at New Hampshire International Speedway with a suspension problem. The #48 New England Mechanical Overlay sponsored Chevy blew out the right front tire on lap 12 and again on lap 28 to end the day in the New England 125.

     “I am not sure what happened and I won’t know until we get it back to the garage but it may have been the tie rod because the inside of the tires are chewed up,” said a very disappointed MacDonald.

     After winning the last BES race at Stafford, the team was optimistic that their luck was changing and a good run at “The Magic Mile” lay ahead. The car was very loose at the start of practice but crew chief Rollie LaChance kept making adjustments. The car was much better in qualifying as MacDonald recorded a 30.812 seconds time that was good enough for seventh place on the starting grid.

     “I am very pleased with our starting position. The car was still a little loose but we were able to post that time and I think it will be even better during the race,” said MacDonald after the qualifying effort. “This crew has worked so hard and I can’t thank them enough for their effort. All of our sponsors mean so much to us and we would not be here without them. I want to thank NEMO, Hancock Place, Hanover Place, Stripers Grill, Tri-State Roofing, and Sports Park of Loudon.”

     MacDonald was content when the green flag waved to ride around the track while holding his position to burn up some laps. The plan was to come in for gas sometime after lap 20 but trouble struck well before that.

     “I was just riding along on lap 12 when the right front tire just blew. I was glad I didn’t hit the wall. There wasn’t any indication we had a problem but when the second tire blew we knew we had a serious problem so we just parked it instead of taking a chance and wrecking it,” said MacDonald.

     “We will get it back to the shop and make the necessary repairs so we will be ready to go for the next race at Thompson.”
    
     The weekend was not a total loss as MacDonald received an opportunity to drive one of Randy MacDonald’s cars in the Busch Series Camping World 200 at NHIS on Saturday. MacDonald started 43rd when the car would not start for qualifying due to a faulty kill switch. After running 25 laps, MacDonald parked the car but was thankful for the ride saying, “I had a lot of fun out there and it was really great to get the seat time in one of these cars during practice and the race. I hope I get the chance to do it again in the future.”
NASCAR GRAND NATIONAL DIVISION, BUSCH EAST SERIES

Logano Wins The New England 125
Loudon, N.H. — LOUDON, N.H. – Brad Leighton has won eight times at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The only thing that came between him and No. 9 Friday was rookie phenom Joey Logano.

Logano, the 17-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing development driver, beat Leighton on a green-white-checkered finish for his fourth Grand National Division victory in eight starts. His third Busch East win of the season gives him a 100-point lead over defending series champion and second-place Mike Olsen.

Logano won the pole Thursday and led four times in Friday's race for 61 laps. He took the lead on lap 110 and quickly put more than a half second between him and Leighton. A pair of cautions – the last on lap 121 – erased that lead and forced the race into overtime. On the final restart, NASCAR officials ruled Leighton jumped the start and black-flagged him. Rather than risk the disqualification, Leighton relinquished the spot to Logano and settled for second.

Tim Schendel, who started 26th, finished third. Landon Cassill, a Hendrick Motorsports development driver making his second Busch East start, was fourth and Brian Hoar finished fifth.

Matt Kobyluck, James Buescher, Ruben Pardo, Peyton Sellers and Jamie Hayes rounded out the top 10. Logano has 984 points. Olsen, who finished 11th, has 884 and Sellers has 864.

The Busch East races at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway Saturday, July 14.


NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series-New England 125 Results
Friday At New Hampshire International Speedway - Loudon, N.H.  - Lap length: 1.058 miles

(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Joey Logano, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 126 laps, 66.149 mph, $14,600.
2. (11) Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, N.H., Chevrolet, 126, $9,300.
3. (26) Tim Schendel, Sparta, Wisc., Dodge, 126, $8,300.
4. (6) Landon Cassill, Charlotte, NC, Chevrolet, 126, $6,800.
5. (14) Brian Hoar, Williston, Vt., Dodge, 126, $5,900.
6. (13) Matt Kobyluck, Uncasville, Conn., Chevrolet, 126, $5,300.
7. (24) James Buescher, Plano, Tex., Chevrolet, 126, $5,000.
8. (18) Ruben Pardo, Mexico City, Mex., Dodge, 126, $4,500.
9. (4) Peyton Sellers, Danville, Va., Chevrolet, 126, $4,000.
10. (25) Jamie Hayes, Norlina, N.C., Chevrolet, 126, $3,600.
11. (16) Mike Olsen, North Haverhill, N.H., Chevrolet, 126, $3,800.
12. (3) Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif., Dodge, 126, $3,100.
13. (23) Michelle Theriault, Bristol, Conn., Chevrolet, 126, $3,000.
14. (22) Jeff Anton, Russell, Mass., Chevrolet, 126, $2,900.
15. (42) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Mooresville, N.C., Chevrolet, 126, $3,800.
16. (29) Joe Masessa, Franklin Lakes, N.J., Chevrolet, 126, $2,673.
17. (27) Michael Gallo, Sanford, Maine, Ford, 126, $2,650.
18. (30) John Salemi, Nashua, N.H., Chevrolet, 126, $2,625.
19. (34) Scott Bouley, Wolcott, Conn., Chevrolet, 126, $2,600.
20. (8) John Freeman, Huntersville, N.C., Chevrolet, 126, $2,575.
21. (35) James Pritchard, Jr., Wharton, NJ, Chevrolet, 126, $2,550.
22. (41) Dion Ciccarelli, Severn, Md., Chevrolet, 126, $2,525.
23. (19) Jesus Hernandez, Fresno, Calif., Chevrolet, 126, $2,500.
24. (2) Sean Caisse, Pelham, N.H., Chevrolet, 126, $2,475.
25. (39) Patrick Dupree, Saranac Lake, N.Y., Dodge, 125, $2,450.
26. (38) Mike Johnson, Salisbury, Mass., Ford, 123, $2,425.
27. (28) Max Dumarey, Gent, Belgium, Chevrolet, 121, $2,400.
28. (10) Marc Davis, Mitchelville, Md., Chevrolet, 120, accident, $2,400.
29. (17) Kelly Moore, Scaeborough, Maine, Chevrolet, 120, accident, $2,400.
30. (36) Todd Peck, Glenville, Pa., Chevrolet, 118, accident, $2,400.
31. (37) Garrett Liberty, Jonesboro, Ga., Chevrolet, 110, accident, $2,400.
32. (15) Chase Austin, Eudora, Kan., Dodge, 104, accident, $2,400.
33. (32) German Quiroga, Mexico City, Mex., Dodge, 103, accident, $2,400.
34. (33) Jonathan Smith, Beacon Falls, Conn., Chevrolet, 94, accident, $2,400.
35. (21) Ryan Seaman, Toms River, NJ, Chevrolet, 68, accident, $2,400.
36. (12) Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y., Chevrolet, 68, accident, $2,400.
37. (40) Jeremy Clark, Concord, NC, Chevrolet, 66, radiator, $0.
38. (20) Eric Holmes, Salida, Calif., Chevrolet, 56, accident, $0.
39. (31) Glenn Sullivan, Westbury, NY, Chevrolet, 51, suspension, $0.
40. (9) Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y., Chevrolet, 31, engine, $0.
41. (7) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., Chevrolet, 28, suspension, $0.
42. (43) A.J. Lane, Carleton, Mich., Ford, 24, handling, $0.
43. (5) Rogelio Lopez, Aquascalientes, Mexico, Chevrolet, 15, fire, $0.

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 2 hours 0 minutes 55 seconds

Margin of Victory: .430 seconds

Fastest Qualifier: Joey Logano, (125.294 mph, 30.399 seconds)

Lap leaders: Logano 61, Leighton 48, Holmes 7, Buescher 6, Sellers 4. 9 changes among 4 drivers.
Cautions: 10 for 64 laps.

Top 10 points: 1. Logano, 984; 2. Olsen, 884; 3. Sellers, 864; 4. Kobyluck, 855; 5. Hayes, 795; 6. Lopez, 771; 7. Hernandez, 764; 8. Anton, 761; 9. Chew, 760; 10. Earnhardt, 759.

Media Contact: Jennifer MacDonald - jennymac29@hotmail.com