Before the Race, and the Night Before....
Reed
Sorenson Ends Dry Spell, Wins at Gateway
by Dan Peters
61-races later, the dry spell that started after he won here in 2005,
Reed Sorenson dominated late and won the NASCAR Busch Series 250 at
Gateway International Raceway Saturday night.
The weather was nearly perfect, almost “Un-seasonably cool”
for this time of year when temperatures approach the upper 90’s.
Rookie Driver
Richard Johns Crashes in Qualifying, forced to back up
car, starts 42 and finishes 31st
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
by Dan Peters
Perfect weather for Sorenson and his Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Team.
``My car was dominant all night,'' he said. ``It was as good as the
car I had when I won here earlier.''
Scott Wimmer, who broke the track qualifying record with a lap time of
33.246 seconds, finished second and David Reutimann, the fastest driver
in Friday's final practice, brought home a third-place finish.
Sorenson, who had the second fastest qualifying time, led 93 laps.
And They're Off
for the Start of the Gateway 250................................
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
by Dan Peters
"It's been a long couple of years in the Busch Series,'' Sorenson
said."We felt last year we let ourselves down and this year we've been
letting ourselves down. But the [last] couple of weekends
we've been pretty consistent.''
"It looked like it might be a one or two caution race,'' Wimmer said.
"It was difficult. I had cars point me to the inside and then they'd go
to the inside. We had a tough time getting lapped cars to run bottom
all night long.''
Rookie Tim
McCreadie #21 Leads Hometown Favorite
Kenny Wallace #2
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
by Dan Peters
Not so “Home sweet Home”
Hometown favorites Kenny Wallace retired early due to an accident,
finishing 34th and Steve Wallace finished 28th after crashing on Lap 6
due to a brake failure. The young Wallace’s pit crew worked
feverishly in the pits, keeping him in the race. The third Wallace in
the race fared much better with a 12th-place finish.
Mike Wallace
#7 and Eric McClure #0 Side By Side
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
Reed Sorenson
moving through lap traffic
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
Reed Sorenson
out front to stay at Gateway
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
Carl Edwards, last year’s winner had some bad luck late in the
race. The current NASCAR Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards
brought his #60 car across the start-finish line in sixth after a
late-race accident.
The win is the third for Sorenson in the Busch Series and second here.
His first win was at Gateway’'s sister track, Nashville
Superspeedway.
News and
notes from this past weekend
Carl Edwards was released early Monday from an Omaha hospital after
being injured Sunday night in a dirt-track race in nearby Greenwood, a
hospital spokeswoman said. Details of the injury
were not immediately available. Edwards' younger brother, Kenny
Edwards, said it could be a dislocated thumb, caught in the
steering wheel during a crash.
Edwards hit the back of another car that had spun out in the third lap,
starting a 10-car pileup that battered his car. Edwards left the 25-lap
race at I-80 Speedway in the back of an ambulance.
A prior rain delay of 45 minutes had left a slick surface on the track.
No word on if this will have a bearing on this week’s racing in
Indianapolis.
Tod Bodine "The Onion" despite some contact, and great pit crew
finishes 10th
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
Reed Sorenson
WINS
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RACE No. 21
NASCAR BUSCH SERIES 250
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
by Joe Paolella
Madison, IL
– July 21, 2007
1.25-Mile Paved Oval
250 M – 200 L – Purse: $1,532,287
1 2
41 Reed Sorenson Wrigley's Juicy Fruit
Dodge 200 195
* 10 $59,850 Running
2 1 29
Scott Wimmer Holiday Inn
Chevrolet 200 175
* 5
$67,999 Running
3 8 99 David
Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
200 170 * 5 $47,196 Running
4 29 38
Jason Leffler Great Clips
Toyota 200 160
$42,521 Running
5 21 6
# David Ragan Discount Tire
Ford 200 155
$29,575 Running
6 3 60
Carl Edwards Dish Network/homezone
Ford 200 155* 5
$34,200 Running
7 13 42
Kevin Hamlin Texaco/Havoline
Dodge 200 146
$33,950 Running
8
15 77 Ron
Hornaday Dollar General Chevrolet
200 142
$33,100 Running
9 16 1
J.J. Yeley Miccosukee Resorts
Chevrolet 200 138
$25,885 Running
10 24 03
Todd Bodine Germain Toyota
Toyota 200 139
* 5 $26,450 Running
11 26 16
Todd Kluever 3M
Ford 200 130
$38,121 Running
12 32 7
Mike Wallace GEICO
Chevrolet 200 127
$32,471
Running
13 11 35
Bobby Hamilton, Jr McDonald's
Ford 200 124
$31,696 Running
14 22 21
Tim McCreadie AutoZone
Chevrolet 200 121
$32,140 Running
15 10 9
Chase Miller Dodge Dealers
Dodge 200 118
$32,555 Running
16
5 37 Bobby
East Cub Cadet/Cottonelle Ford
199 115
$26,895 Running
17 23 20 Travis
Kittleson Steele Chevrolet Chevrolet 199
112
$31,685 Running
18 14 59
# Marcos Ambrose Kingsford Vineyards
Ford 198 109
$30,896 Running
19 31 70 Mark
Green ForeTravel/BIOMET Chevrolet
198 106
$23,940 Running
20 19 30
Stanton Barrett Interush.net
Chevrolet 198 103
$24,805 Running
21 34 05
Brett Rowe FMI Fireplaces/31-W
Insulation 195
100 $23,720 Running
22 39 28 Rob
Richardson, Jr Checkers/U.S. Border Patrol
193 97
$23,610 Running
23 12 90
Stephen Leicht citifinancial
Ford 188 94
$30,421 Running
24 9 47
Kelly Bires Clorox/American Red
Cross Ford 181 91
$25,340 Running
25 36 36
Brent Sherman BIG LOTS
Chevrolet 181 88
$27,901 Running
26
28 88 # Brad
Keselowski U.S. Navy Chevrolet
177 90 * 5
$25,095 Running
27 20 18
# Brad Coleman Carino's Italian
Grill Chevrolet 154 82
$24,985 Accident
28 27 66
Steve Wallace HomeLife Communites
Dodge 149 79
$29,411 Running
29 35 33
Cale Gale Camping World
Chevrolet 135 76
$30,240 Accident
30 4 27
Jason Keller Kleenex/GoodNites
Ford 131 73
$25,580 Accident
31 42 25
Richard Johns freecreditreport.com
Ford 119 70
$24,520 Accident
32 6 24
Landon Cassill National Guard
Chevrolet 108 67
$24,410 Accident
33 7 22
Mike Bliss Family Dollar
Dodge 98 69
* 5
$27,666 Accident
34 25 2
Kenny Wallace Jimmy John's
Chevrolet 97 61
$24,190 Accident
35
17 10 Dave
Blaney Fan1st.com Toyota
96 58
$22,080 Handling
36 18 14
# Kyle Krisiloff Lilly/Walgreens
Ford 96 55
$27,336 Accident
37 41 0
Eric McClure Hefty
Chevrolet 45 52
$21,885 Brakes
38 38 56
Frank Kreyer Culver's
Chevrolet 41 49
$21,825 Brakes
39 30 89 Morgan
Shepherd Victory in Jesus Racing
Dodge 25 46
$21,790 Brakes
40 40 52
Brad Teague Jimmy Means
Ford 20 43
$21,755 Over Heating
41 43 76
Jerick Johnson American Legion
Chevrolet 12
40 $21,720 Vibration
42 37 49
Derrike Cope Jay Robinson
Chevrolet 8 37
$21,640 Vibration
43 33 01
Danny Efland JD Motorsports
Chevrolet 0 34
$21,579
Electrical
# Raybestos Rook ie
of the Year Contender. * Includes race leader/most laps led
bonus.
Failed to qualify: (1) 44 Mike Harmon
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 52,000 - Reed Sorenson won
the Gateway 250, his third NASCAR Busch Series victory and second at
Gateway International Raceway. Prior to the green flag the following
driver(s) dropped to the rear: #25 Richard Johns (back-up car).
TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 37 minutes 56
sec.
AVERAGE SPEED: 94.977
mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.064 seconds
BUSCH POLE AWARD: Scott Wimmer, #29
(135.355 mph, 33.246 sec.) a track record
CHECKERS/RALLY’S DOUBLE DRIVE-THRU CHALLENGE AWARD: Scott Wimmer, #29
(141.823 seconds)
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Jason Leffler, #38 (29 Places)
MOBIL 1 COMMAND PERFORMANCE DRIVER OF THE RACE AWARD: David
Reutimann, #99
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: David Ragan, #6
SUNOCO DIAMOND PERFORMANCE AWARD: Reed Sorenson, #41
WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD: Scott Wimmer, #29 (53 Laps)
CAUTION FLAGS: 9 cautions for 44 laps: Laps:
7-9 (#66 accident turn 3); 94-97 (debris); 100-106 (#2,14,22 accident
turn 2); 110-118 (#20,24,88 accident turn 3); 123-126 (#25 accident
turn 1); 133-137 (#27,33,42 accident turn 2); 140-143 (debris); 155-158
(#18,37 accident turn 2); 179-182 (#60 accident turn 4).
LAP LEADERS: 12 lead changes among 7 drivers: Scott Wimmer 1-53;
Reed Sorenson 54-63; Mike Bliss 64; Carl Edwards 65-67; David
Reutimann 68-69; Brad Keselowski # 70-74; R. Sorenson 75-93; M.
Bliss 94; R. Sorenson 95-118; C. Edwards 119-122; Todd Bodine 123-137;
D. Reutimann 138-158; R. Sorenson 159-200.
TOP 10 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES POINTS
Points Wins
1. Carl Edwards
3229 4
2. David Reutimann
2377 0
3. Kevin Harvick
2358 3
4. David Ragan
2271 0
5. Jason Leffler
2257 0
6. Dave Blaney
2252 0
7. Bobby Hamilton Jr. 2183
0
8. Stephen Leicht
2094 1
9. Mike Wallace
2055 0
10. Marcos Ambrose
2048 0
BILL FRANCE PERFORMANCE AWARD
Points Wins
Chevrolet 157 11
Ford 131 7
Dodge 91 3
Toyota 83 0
SUNOCO DIAMOND PERFORMANCE AWARD
Carl Edwards 4
Kevin Harvick 3
Jeff Burton 2
Matt Kenseth 2
Clint Bowyer 2
Juan Pablo Montoya 1
Bobby Labonte 1
Denny Hamlin 1
Kasey Kahne 1
Stephen Leicht 1
Aric Almirola 1
Kyle Busch 1
Reed Sorenson 1
BUSCH POLE AWARD STANDINGS
Denny Hamlin 4
Kyle Busch 2
Steve Wallace 2
Aric Almirola 2
Kevin Harvick 2
Dave Blaney 1
Scott Pruett 1
David Stremme 1
David Ragan 1
Brad Coleman 1
Matt Kenseth 1
Regan Smith 1
Jason Leffler 1
Scott Wimmer 1
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD
Car #
Points
Shane Huffman 88 3
Mike Bliss 22 2
David Reutimann 99 2
Jason Leffler 38 2
Scott Wimmer 21 1
WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD
Car # Points
Mike Wallace 7 4
Jason Leffler 38 3
Brad Coleman 18 2
Aric Almirola 18/20 2
Scott Wimmer 21/29 2
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Driver Points
David Ragan 194
Marcos Ambrose 171
Juan Pablo Montoya 162
Kyle Krisiloff 152
Brad Keselowski 106
Brad Coleman 95
Robert Richardson Jr. 76
Justin Diercks 51
MOBIL 1 COMMAND PERFORMANCE AWARD
Car # Points
David Reutimann 99 6
Jason Leffler 38 4
Regan Smith 4 3
Shane Huffman 88 2
Dave Blaney 10 1
Brad Keselowski 88 1
CHECKERS/RALLY’S DOUBLE DRIVE-THRU CHALLENGE AWARD
Car # Points
Scott Wimmer 21/ 29 5
Regan Smith 4 2
Stephen Leicht 90 2
Marcos Ambrose 59 2
Jason Leffler 38 2
Paul Menard 15 2
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