Kevin Cornelius scores Velocity 250 OSCAAR Super Late Model feature victory at Sunset Speedway
After taking the lead following a lap 15 restart, Kevin Cornelius didn’t look back as he would lead the remaining 35 laps en route to scoring his third career OSCAAR Super Late Model series victory.
The night started off with Corey Jones scoring the heat win in the first heat just ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick, Kevin Cornelius, Mike Beyore, Dave Doucette, Shane Gowan and Rob Gibson as Dave Taylor pulled off on lap seven.
Current points leader Andrew Gresel won the second heat ahead of Glenn Watson, Shawn Chenoweth, Dwayne Baker, Rob Poole, Todd Campbell, Terry Bogusz and Craig Stevenson.
Jeff Hanley would win the third heat ahead of Kelly Balson, Jesse Kennedy, Tyler Hawn, Chris Burrows, Rob Reimer and the 5.
Kevin Cornelius would win heat two ahead of Fitzpatrick, Gowan, Passer, Beyore, Doucette and Taylor. Jones would fail to finish after suffering contact during the beginning of the heat.
Gresel would go for a spin early in the heat, while Dwayne Baker picked up the win ahead of Poole, Campbell, Watson, Bogusz and Stevenson.
Jeff Hanley went for the daily double ahead of Hawn, Kennedy, Balson, Burrows, Reimer and the 5.
Come feature time, it’d be Kelly Balson starting on pole ahead of Andrew Gresel, Dwayne Baker, Shawn Chenoweth, Kevin Cornelius, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Jeff Hanley, Jesse Kennedy, Tyler Hawn, Rob Poole, Mike Beyore, Shane Gowan, Glenn Watson, Dave Doucette, Todd Campbell, Chris Burrows, Kyle Passer, Terry Bogusz, Corey Jones, Dave Taylor, Rob Reimer, Rob Gibson, Craig Stevenson and the 5.
The feature didn’t start off as Glenn Watson would’ve hoped as he’d go for the spin on lap one. The second attempt at starting the race went smoother with Gresel jumping out ahead of the field with Chenoweth in second. Baker would hold serve in third with Cornelius moving up to fourth before the second caution flew at lap six for Passer spinning in turn four. Under caution, Fitzpatrick and Hanley would trade shots at each other as a result of some hard, close, touching racing throughout the first bit. With 44 laps to go, Gresel led Chenoweth, Baker, Cornelius, Hanley, Poole, Fitzpatrick and Kennedy.
Gresel would jump out ahead of the field once again as Cornelius moved up to second with Chenoweth slipping back to third before the caution waved again at lap 13, this time for Campbell going around on the backstretch. Balson would head down pit road under this caution for adjustments. With 37 laps to go, 2014 Bruce Gowland Memorial winner Baker sat fourth ahead of Poole, Hanley, Fitzpatrick, Kennedy, Hawn, Jones, Beyore, Doucette, Watson, Taylor, Passer, Burrows, Gowan, Bogusz, Campbell, Reimer, the 5, Gibson and Stevenson. Under yellow, Fitzpatrick would head down pit road, done for the event, with transmission issues.
Cornelius would use the restart as his opportunity to grab the lead ahead of Gresel and Baker before the caution flew once again, lap 15, for an incident with Watson, Burrows and Passer. The yellow flurry would continue with another caution on lap 16 for Gibson going around in turn two. The back-to-back cautions would allow Hanley to move into third ahead of Baker and Poole as yet again, caution as Watson, Beyore, Doucette and Passer found each other in turn two.
The restart would then bring forth a green flag stretch of racing that saw Cornelius stretch his lead over Gresel and Hanley and start to get into lap traffic. As it looked as though things could possibly get hairy with cars two-wide in front, the caution flew at lap 38 for Doucette going for a spin.
Cornelius would get a good restart to stay ahead of Gresel while Baker passed Hanley to move into third before the caution waved for the final time at lap 43 for Burrows spinning on the backstretch.
Kevin Cornelius would get another good restart to pick up the victory ahead of Andrew Gresel, Dwayne Baker, Jeff Hanley, Shawn Chenoweth, Glenn Watson, Tyler Hawn, Jesse Kennedy, Corey Jones, Dave Taylor, Kyle Passer, Todd Campbell, Dave Doucette and Rob Reimer.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished second at Dover and heads to the next round of the Chase with the solid momentum after three top-10 finishes in the opening three races.
“This elimination race didn’t produce quite the excitement NASCAR had hoped,” Keselowski said. “In fact, it was yawn-inducing. It was so boring that fans didn’t give a hoot; it was so boring that I didn’t give a tweet.”
2. Joey Logano: Logano took fourth at Dover as four drivers were eliminated from Cup championship contention.
“It’s on to the ‘Contender’ round,” Logano said. “Or, to the six or so drivers with no chance to win the Cup, the ‘Pretender’ round. Or, because Danica Patrick didn’t qualify, the ‘One Gender’ round.”
3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon took control at Dover late and won the AAA 400, guaranteeing his spot in the next round of the Chase For The Cup.
“I don’t think anyone’s surprised by the four drivers eliminated,” Gordon said. “I guess the only ‘sleepers’ at Dover were in the stands.”
4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson, a nine-time winner at Dover, took third in the AAA 400 and now moves on to the Contender round of the Chase For The Cup.
“That’s right,” Johnson said. “I’ve won at Dover nine times. I’m pretty much on a first name basis with Miles The Monster. But I didn’t win Sunday, and I don’t seem to be anyone’s favorite to win the Cup. Much like Miles, I don’t scare anyone.”
5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 17th at Dover, one lap down, and qualified for the Contender round, which starts at Kansas Motor Speedway next week.
“And then there were twelve,” Earnhardt said. “At least, that’s what a Junior Nation member says halfway through a case of beer. Then it’s time for breakfast.”
6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the pole and led 223 laps before tire issues relegated him to a 13th-place finish.
“We had plenty of car,” Harvick said, “but no luck at all. This time, it was a tire issue. My left front tire took a leak; we just keep pissing away wins.”
7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished fifth at Dover and joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in the Chase For The Cup Contender round.
“Three more races,” Kenseth said, “and the field will be down to six. I really like the way the new format pares down the field. The new format is better at ‘weeding out’ than NASCAR’s drug policy.”
8. Kyle Busch: Busch, making his 500th Sprint Cup start, finished 10th at Dover and qualified for the next round of the Chase.
“I’ve taken a lot of green flags,” Busch said. “But none have led to a Sprint Cup championship. And that’s frustrating. And, as people know, I’m not afraid to hide my frustration. So, my career has been defined by ‘fits and starts.’”
9. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 11th, enough to secure the 10th spot in the standings and a spot in the Chase’s Contender round.
“I’m moving on,” Edwards said. “And I’m saying goodbye to Greg Biffle. I can say that now or two months from now, and it still applies.”
10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished sixth at Dover and now has top-six finishes in all three Chase races.
“It’s too bad I didn’t make the Chase,” Larson said, “because I really feel like I could win it all. As it is, I can’t win at all.”
Gary McLean dominates OSCAAR Hanover Holidays Modified Velocity 250 feature at Sunset Speedway
After taking the lead in the early going, Gary McLean didn’t look back as he would dominate en route to scoring the victory in the OSCAAR Hanover Holidays Modified Velocity 250 feature at Sunset Speedway.
Gary Elliott would start on the front row and took the lead early, though McLean would work his way to the front and pass Elliott for the advantage at lap four. The caution would then fly a lap later for debris in turn two. With 35 laps to go, Gary McLean led Elliott, Terry Baker, Davey Terry, Bobby Tolton, Dustin Jackson, Matt Barton, Brent McLean, Ryan Dick, Brian McLean, Steve Lyons, John Harper, Justin Demelo, Shane Stickel, Cory Horner, Justin Jones, Tommy Robb, Andre Pepin, Drew Stieler and the 19.
Gary McLean would get a good restart to stay ahead of Elliott while Terry would get by Baker to move into the fourth spot. Jackson also continued to move up as he and Barton were both able to get by Tolton for position before the caution flew at lap 21 for Brent McLean stalling on the backstretch. With 19 laps to go, Gary McLean led Elliott, Terry, Baker, Jackson, Barton, Tolton, Dick, Brian McLean, Stickel, Jones, Stieler, Pepin and Demelo.
It’d be another good restart for Gary McLean and Elliott as they were able to stay ahead of the field. Unfortunately, Davey Terry’s car would begin to fall off, resulting in a drop of positions as Baker, Barton, Dick and Jackson were able to get by before the third caution for Bobby Tolton going up in smoke at lap 29. With 11 laps to go, Gary McLean led Elliott, Baker, Barton, Dick, Jackson, Terry, Brian McLean, Jones, Stickel, Stieler, Lyons, Pepin, the 19, Demelo, Robb and Horner.
The restart wouldn’t go as Stieler would’ve liked as Stickel would make contact with Stieler, resulting in Stieler’s day ending with some broken front suspension parts.
Gary McLean would lead the final 11 laps en route to scoring the victory, inching closer to his third straight series championship. Gary Elliott kept up his solid rookie year with a second place finish, ahead of Matt Barton, Terry Baker and Dustin Jackson. Ryan Dick finished sixth, followed by Brian McLean, Davey Terry, Steve Lyons, Justin Jones, Tommy Robb, Justin Demelo, Shane Stickel, Andre Pepin and Cory Horner.
Ambrose Ready to Enjoy High Speed Tracks
Kansas Kicks Off First of Final Four Mile-And-A-Half Ovals
In what is his last full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Marcos Ambrose wants to enjoy the high-speed tracks left on the 2014 season schedule, including this weekend at the Kansas Speedway. Driving the STANLEY No. 9, Ambrose will make his 11th start at the Kansas Speedway this weekend.
Ambrose has had success at the track with two Top-10 finishes in his Cup career at Kansas Speedway.
@MarcosAmbrose talks about his love for high speed ovals
@Marcos Ambrose #9 Fan Page talks about the speed of Kansas Speedway
“My approach for these final races is to enjoy driving the car, enjoy my crew and enjoy the people around me in the garage. One of things that I’ve enjoyed the most is racing at the speeds we do at a track like Kansas, Charlotte, Texas and Homestead. We have all those races left, and it’s incredible to race at the speeds we do at these tracks. I’m going to miss that.
“Kansas was really fast after they repaved it, but now it’s a place that has multiple grooves and good racing. The racing is intense, and there are a lot of guys racing for the championship. I expect those guys to be up front or take chances to be up front. Hopefully, we can be there with them.”
No. 9 STANLEY Ford
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneurs Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force, STP, Strike Ten Entertainment and Fresh From Florida, and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners STANLEY, DEWALT, Mac Tools and Twisted Tea. In addition, Dakoda Armstrong wheels the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
