USAR: Goodson Sees Run End Early in Alabama; Looks to Jennerstown to Gain Track Experience
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 10, 2001
Winston-Salem, N.C. -- Hal Goodson entered this past weekend's USAR ProCup Series race at Montgomery (Ala.) Motor Speedway on a hot streak. The Darlington, S.C. native's good fortune would take a turn south, however, as he was collected in an incident on lap 120 of the Miller Lite 200. Goodson would have to settle for a 28th-place finish, but was able to hold onto the points lead. Goodson now leads Bobby Gill by nine points.
"It just wasn't our night," Goodson said. "All I saw was smoke and my spotter told me to go high, and all of a sudden the No. 56 shot back up the track and there I was. The impact caused damage to the front of our car, which resulted in us having engine problems. I hate it for the guys on the crew because they worked really hard to give me a good car. We were a little tight there at the beginning of the race, but I think we would have been in contention."
Goodson started the No. 45 Carlin Financial Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Taylor Motorsports from fifth position and quickly found a comfortable line to run around the track. After pitting during the middle stages of the event, Goodson's crew made changes to the car to loosen it up. Just as he was working his way back to the front, Goodson was collected in the accident.
"It was just one of those nights," Crew Chief Colan Ingle said. "The car was a little tight at the start, but we had made some changes during the pit stop that I think would have helped the car. Lady Luck just wasn't on our side this past weekend, but we'll put this behind us and get ready for the next race."
The next event for Goodson and the team is this weekend at Jennerstown Speedway in Jennerstown, Pa. for the running of the Lucas Oil 250 USAR ProCup Series Northern Division race. The team will use the race as a test for when it returns to the track in September for the "Four Champions Challenge" race.
"We wanted to run this race so we will have a baseline to work with for when we come back up there in September," Goodson said. "Since we aren't running for points in the Northern Division, our goal is to gain track time and learn what setup works best around the track."
USAR ProCup Series qualifying for the Lucas Oil 250 at Jennerstown Speedway is set for 5:00 p.m. EST. The field gets the green flag two hours later at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Text provided by Patrick Rogers
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