LOUDON, N — H. – Eddie MacDonald closed the gap on NASCAR Camping World Series East points leader Ryan Truex Friday night at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a win in the Heluva Good! Fall 125.
MacDonald beat Kevin Swindell to the line on a Lap 92 restart and kept the lead when Swindell faltered on a Lap 97 green-white-checker restart to win the rain-delayed and darkness-shortened race in Loudon.
MacDonald, driver of the No. 71 NEMO/Daymark Chevrolet from Rowley, Mass., entered Friday trailing Truex by 50 points in the season standings. By virtue of winning the race and leading a lap, MacDonald was able to gain 20 points on Truex – who finished third – with just one race remaining to decide the championship.
MacDonald also earned a secure spot in the postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be run Jan. 30, 2010 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Brett Moffitt wound up second Friday and was followed across the line by Truex, Matt Kobyluck, and Jesus Hernandez. Kobyluck led a race-high 38 laps but lost the lead to Swindell on the Lap 82 restart.
The rest of the top 10 finishers were Jody Lavender, Alan Tardiff, Steve Park, Max Gresham and Swindell.
The race was originally scheduled for 125 laps, but the start was delayed by 40 minutes due to rain and the race was shortened to 99 laps by darkness.
The finale of the 2009 season and the crowning of a champion will take place on Friday, Sept. 25 with the Sunoco 150 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
For more information, contact:
Jason Cunningham, NASCAR Public Relations, (704) 201-6658 or jcunningham@nascar.com
NASCAR Camping World Series East-Heluva Good! Fall 125 Unofficial Results
Friday
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, N.H.
Lap length: 1.058 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., Chevrolet, 99 laps, 80.296 mph, $15,500.
2. (3) Brett Moffitt, Grimes, Iowa, Chevrolet, 99, $10,825.
3. (9) Ryan Truex, Mayetta, N.J., Toyota, 99, $9,100.
4. (5) Matt Kobyluck, Uncasville, Conn., Chevrolet, 99, $9,650.
5. (34) Jesus Hernandez, Fresno, Calif., Dodge, 99, $8,800.
6. (11) Jody Lavender, Hartsville, S.C., Chevrolet, 99, $6,300.
7. (19) Alan Tardiff, Lyman, Maine, Chevrolet, 99, $6,000.
8. (14) Steve Park, East Northport, N.Y., Chevrolet, 99, $5,700.
9. (2) Max Gresham, Griffin, Ga., Toyota, 99, $5,300.
10. (6) Kevin Swindell, Germantown, Tenn., Dodge, 99, $4,600.
11. (12) Ryan Duff, Hazard, KY., Chevrolet, 99, $4,700.
12. (21) Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, Mass., Chevrolet, 99, $3,900.
13. (28) Alex Kennedy, Aztec, N.M., Chevrolet, 99, $4,146.
14. (25) Dustin Delaney, Mayfield, N.Y., Chevrolet, 99, $3,900.
15. (35) Mike Johnson, Salisbury, Mass., Ford, 99, $3,200.
16. (23) Jarit Johnson, El Cajon, Calif., Chevrolet, 99, $3,100.
17. (8) Ty Dillon, Lewisville, N.C., Chevrolet, 99, $3,000.
18. (16) Josh Richards, Shinnston, W.VA., Chevrolet, 99, $3,400.
19. (10) Jonathan Smith, Beacon Falls, Conn., Chevrolet, 99, $3,350.
20. (32) Tiffany Daniels, Smithfield, Va., Dodge, 99, clutch, $2,800.
21. (17) D.J. Shaw, Conway, N.H., Ford, 99, $2,750.
22. (13) Jeff Anton, Russell, Mass., Chevrolet, 99, $2,700.
23. (29) Todd Peck, Glenville, Pa., Chevrolet, 99, $2,675.
24. (18) Tommy Cloce, Canton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 99, $2,650.
25. (15) Brad Leighton, Center Harbor, N.H., Chevrolet, 99, $2,625.
26. (30) Scott Bouley, Middlebury, Conn., Chevrolet, 97, $2,600.
27. (7) David Mayhew, Atascadero, Calif., Chevrolet, 92, $2,600.
28. (4) Joey Polewarczyk, Hudson, N.H., Chevrolet, 92, accident, $2,600.
29. (26) Eric Curran, Springfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 85, accident, $2,600.
30. (24) Jason Patison, Corona, Calif., Chevrolet, 85, accident, $2,600.
31. (20) Corey LaJoie, Concord, N.C., Chevrolet, 75, accident, $2,600.
32. (31) John Salemi, Nashua, N.H., Chevrolet, 64, $3,100.
33. (33) Barney McRae, Milton, Vt., Chevrolet, 52, handling, $2,600.
34. (22) Jason Holehouse, Toronto, Ontario, Toyota, 14, accident, $2,600.
35. (27) Matt Kurzejewski, Mansfield, Pa., Ford, 14, dns, $2,600.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 18 minutes 16 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.296 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: E.MacDonald (127.079 mph, 29.972 seconds)
Caution Flags: 7 for 27 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: E. MacDonald 1-17; D. Mayhew 18-30; E. MacDonald 31; D. Mayhew 32-43; M. Kobyluck 44-81; K. Swindell 82-91; E. MacDonald 92-99.
Standings: 1. R. Truex, 1577; 2. E. MacDonald, 1547; 3. J. Lavender, 1475; 4. M. Kobyluck, 1449; 5. B. Moffitt, 1435; 6. S. Park, 1421; 7. D. Delaney, 1268; 8. A. Tardiff, 1261; 9. R. Duff, 1238; 10. A. Kennedy, 1230.
