DOVER, Delaware — A pair of rookies took center stage Friday at Dover International Speedway: Brett Moffitt came away with the Sunoco 150 checkered flag and Ryan Truex earned the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East championship.
Truex, a 17-year-old development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished eighth on Friday but it was the performance throughout the 11-race season that put him in the championship Winner’s Circle following the Sunoco 150. Truex finished his first season in NASCAR’s top development series with three wins and eight top 10s.
The main championship contender for Truex – Eddie MacDonald – finished one position behind Truex in the race and wound up 34 points out of the championship (1,719 – 1,685).
Jody Lavender was the third driver to enter the day with a mathematical chance at the championship, 102 points back of Truex. His race ended with a 17th-place finish, seven laps down.
Friday’s season finale was dominated on the track by Moffitt, also 17. The Grimes, Iowa, native led four different times for 85 laps and crossed the line two and a half seconds ahead of Ryan Gifford for the Sunoco 150 victory. The second win of the year placed him third in the season standings.
Following Richard Childress Racing development driver Gifford across the line at Dover was Corey LaJoie, David Mayhew, and Alan Tardiff. Steve Park, Ryan Duff, Truex, MacDonald and Jarit Johnson rounded out the top 10.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto set the track qualifying record earlier in the day and led three different times for 31 laps, but a mid-race accident left him two laps down in 11th.
With the 2009 season complete, the next racing event on the schedule for NASCAR Camping World Series teams will be the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29-30 in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
Truex and the rest of the NASCAR touring series champions will be honored at the Touring Series Gala in Concord, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 14.
| NASCAR East Series |
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| Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Total Award Status 1 4 44 Brett Moffitt * Red Line Oil Chevrolet 150 190 10 $14,825 Running 2 14 29 Ryan Gifford Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 150 175 5 9,870 Running 3 5 7 Corey LaJoie Warrior Spec Ford 150 165 9,050 Running 4 10 19 David Mayhew MMI Services/Ron's Rear Ends/KHI Chevrolet 150 165 5 7,500 Running 5 16 38 Alan Tardiff * Bestway Disposal/Renton Coil Spring Chevrolet 150 155 7,000 Running 6 15 35 Steve Park Waste Management Recycle America Chevrolet 150 150 6,600 Running 7 18 7 Ryan Duff Pine Branch Coal/KPSales.com Chevrolet 149 146 6,300 Running 8 6 0 Ryan Truex * NAPA Toyota 149 142 5,900 Running 9 2 71 Eddie MacDonald NEMO/Grimm Construction Chevrolet 149 138 5,700 Running 10 20 74 Jarit Johnson * Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet 149 134 5,100 Running 11 1 18 Matt DiBenedetto Joe Gibbs Driven Toyota 148 135 5 6,900 Running 12 19 39 Dustin Delaney Delaney Infra./CarDaddy.com Chevrolet 147 127 5,150 Running 13 27 12 Jesus Hernandez Chivas/Telmex/Z-Line Designs Dodge 147 124 6,350 Running 14 21 94 Tiffany Daniels Hamilton Racing Dodge 147 121 4,050 Running 15 9 40 Matt Kobyluck Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino Chevrolet 145 118 4,300 Running 16 8 16 Jonathan Smith Fadden Racing Chevrolet 144 115 4,050 Running 17 24 88 Jody Lavender JoJo Ent./Hartsville Mini-Storage Chevrolet 143 112 3,900 Running 18 26 5 Barney McRae Motion Racing Rent-a-Ride Chevrolet 136 109 3,350 Running 19 22 58 Rich Gould Cintron Liquid Energy/DOT Stores Chevrolet 136 106 3,300 Running 20 17 32 Dale Quarterley Alex & Aiden Chevrolet 133 103 3,250 Vibration 21 25 26 Scott Bouley Hunt of a Lifetime/Eagle Rivet Chevrolet 129 100 3,200 Running 22 3 9 Kevin Swindell Mike Curb/Curb Records Dodge 114 97 3,176 Transmission 23 7 37 Alex Kennedy * Media Master Chevrolet 111 94 3,650 Running 24 13 3 Josh Richards Gunter's Honey Chevrolet 89 91 3,600 Accident 25 12 30 Jeff Anton East Coast Resurfacing Chevrolet 56 88 3,050 Accident 26 11 60 Jonathon Gomez Century Boatland/Heritage Cattle Chevrolet 47 85 3,020 Accident 27 28 63 John Salemi Kustom Vinyl Chevrolet 25 82 3,500 Vibration 28 23 10 Matt Kurzejewski * Costy's Auto Parts Ford 13 79 3,000 Vibration RACE STATISTICS Fastest Qualifier: Matt DiBenedetto, Time: 23.201 Seconds, Speed: 155.166 mph Time of Race: 1 hrs., 30 mins, 23 secs Average Speed: 99.576 mph Margin of Victory: 2.562 Seconds Caution Flags: Laps 13-15; 18-24; 47-50; 80-85; 90-95. 5 for 26 laps. Lap Leaders: Matt DiBenedetto 1-15, Brett Moffitt * 16-25, Matt DiBenedetto 26-40, Brett Moffitt * 41-50, Matt DiBenedetto 51, Brett Moffitt * 52-82, Ryan Gifford 83-87, David Mayhew 88, Ryan Gifford 89-95, David Mayhew 96, Ryan Gifford 97-116, Brett Moffitt * 117-150. Total Laps Led: Brett Moffitt * 85, Ryan Gifford 32, Matt DiBenedetto 31, David Mayhew 2. 11 changes involving 4 drivers. |
