Hooters ProCup Series (Sponge Absorbant 250 Post-Race Story)

Benny Gordon Wins Sponge Absorbant 250 


By Paul Warner
Sunday, August 15, 2004

South Boston, VA-Benny Gordon completed the hat trick at South Boston Speedway on Sunday afternoon. 
Gordon took the lead away from Danny Sammons on Lap 203 and held off a hard-charging Jeff Agnew to take his third win in a row and fourth in the last five races.
"If you get on to something in these cars, a lot of these tracks drive very similar," said Gordon, driver of the No. 66 Predator Performance Ford. "We've hit on something, and I've run the same setup in the car for about the last five races."
And it looked like Gordon had found something from the drop of the green flag.
Gordon, who picked up $1,000 for being the Advance Auto Parts Pole Award winner after the race was started by points, quickly cleared Johnny Rumley, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford, on the first lap and led until coming to pit road on Lap 132. When Gordon returned to track after his mandatory stop, the Northern Division point leader would restart 11th behind the drivers that stopped earlier. 
"We're down to the point in the season where we're point racing," said Gordon. "It wasn't as much for the money as it was the five-bonus point for leading the most laps and at halfway."
Once Gordon had achieved those goals, the Dubois, Pa., driver was free to make a run back to the front. And he did so with some amazing passes. 
On Lap 144, Gordon went three wide to move from 10th to eighth. Running lap times nearly two tenths quicker than Sammons and Rumley, who were running first and second, respectively, Gordon moved into the top five on Lap 164 after passing Mardy Lindley, driver of the No. 16 Hooters Air Ford. 
On Lap 179, Gordon moved past Eric Corbett to take over third and quickly chased down the leaders. But Gordon would have to worry about making another pass. 
On Lap 202, Rumley made contact with Danny Sammons, driver of the No. 97 Ford, sending Sammons for a spin in Turn 4. With nowhere to go, Rumley slid into the accident as well. Rumley was accessed a stop-and-go for rough driving, handing the lead back to Gordon. 
After running strong all day, Sammons finished eighth.
"We've blown three motors in the last two races, and we almost didn't come [to South Boston]," said Sammons, who led 68 laps. "We came in early [on Lap 81], took four tires and it ended up putting us in the lead. It's just terrible to have something like that take us out."
Rumley rebounded from the contact to finish 10th.
Though Gordon and Sammons were the only drivers to lead laps, Agnew, driver of the No.73 Hooters NGA Golf Tour Chevrolet, consistently turned the fastest laps of the race. 
After starting fifth, Agnew quickly moved into second and began pressuring Gordon for the entirety of the first 100 laps. Unfortunately, Agnew tried a little too hard to take the lead. 
On Lap 130, Agnew spun at the exit of Turn 2 to bring out the caution.
"I just lost it," Agnew said of the spin. "The car was just getting looser and looser. Then, it just got out from under me."
After restarting 14th, Agnew moved patiently moved back into contention, moving back into the top five on Lap 207.
Agnew took second away from Eric Corbett on Lap 222, but the Floyd, Va., driver ran out time in his quest for his second win of 2004.
"I though I might have something for Benny there at the end," said Agnew. "We ran him down, but we just ran out of laps."
Agnew's second-place finish was the first time he took the checkered flag on the track in the last three races.
Although Agnew's finish bolstered his battered season, it failed to compare to the heartfelt run by hometown favorite Stacy Puryear. 
Making just third start of 2004, Puryear posted his best finish by taking the checkered third.
"The crew had a great stop and picked us up some positions," said an emotional Puryear, driver of the No. 01 BLC Building Centers Chevrolet. "We didn't get to qualify so I had to start at the back. My dad asked if we should even start, but I told him we came to race."
Jay Fogleman, driver of the No. 4 V2 Oil Ford, and Gary St. Amant, driver of the No. 11 Jegs.com Chevrolet, rounded out the top five. 
With his fifth-place finish, St. Amant clinched the Northern Division Miller Lite Rookie of the Year. St. Amant picked up and extra $10,000 for the award.