USAR Post Race Release

For Immediate Release

 

 

Mike Milliron

USAR Media Relations

770-719-0204

 

Fogleman Gets the Win at Motordrome
 

 

Smithton, PA - (September 7, 2002) - Jay Fogleman brought a completely rebuilt racecar from his Durham, North Carolina race shop to Motordrome Speedway Friday, and proceeded to dominate the entire night of racing action in the Naturally Fresh Foods 250, presented by Racing Electronics. This event marked the first ever visit by USAR to the Smithton, Pennsylvania half-mile facility, which also signaled the conclusion of the 2002 regular season for the USAR Hooters ProCup Series Northern Division.

Only two other drivers managed to finish the race on the lead lap, as two separate extended green flag runs during the middle of the race, allowed the leaders to put many of the competitors a lap down . Brian Ross finished in second, securing the 2002 Northern Division regular season points lead. Jeff Agnew came home with a solid third place run, and the final car on the lead lap. Jason McLellan, who finished the race in fourth, but later failed to pass post-race technical inspection. That moved Mardy Lindley up to the fourth position and Allen Purkhiser to fifth place, both drivers finishing one lap behind race winner Fogleman. Mario Gosselin, Roger Blackstock, Philip Rondeau, Dale Everson, and Eric Corbett rounded out the top ten.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 80's made for fantastic race day preparation, and also proved to be interesting for qualifying, as the racetrack became somewhat slick in the afternoon heat. When all of the dust had settled, Jay Fogleman had posted the quickest lap around the Motordrome Speedway, earning him the $1000 Sunoco Pole Award with a time of 18.43 seconds which bettered the mark set by Jeff Agnew of 18.45 seconds, putting the two tough competitors on the front row. Only 1.5 seconds separated the lap times throughout the entire 26 car starting field.

Once the pre-race on track driver autograph session had completed, the fans made their way back to the grandstands for driver introductions and the command to 'Start Your Engines'! Jay Fogleman took advantage of his pole position to lead lap one, before Mardy Lindley charged past from his third place starting spot to lead laps two through four. Fogleman wasted little time regaining the lead on lap five, and held on to the top spot until 81. Four separate caution flags slowed the race to that point, mainly for single car spins, including one by Jeremiah Kuntz on lap 75. Jeff Agnew made his charge for the lead on the race restart, but managed to lead for only two laps before Fogleman once again asserted himself back into the lead on lap 83.

The next 61 caution free laps became the longest green flag run of the race, and permitted the race leaders with the opportunity to weave their way through most of the field. This providing race fans with an excellent demonstration of passing on both the high and low lanes, as the leaders were able to make occasional advances on each other, while dodging other two and three car battles around the track. Kyle Shoemaker was having a great run in fourth place, when he was forced to pit after losing his oil pump belt on lap 119. By lap 125 Jay Fogleman had extended his race lead over Jeff Agnew by nearly a full straightaway, easily making him the Lucas Oil Products Halfway Leader, which earned him another $1000 bonus. By the time the next caution came on lap 144, only four cars remained on the lead lap.

Pit strategy always plays a major role in any stock car race, and Friday night was no exception, as the lead lap cars all took on two tires and fuel in the unusually wide open pit road. Once the remainder of the race field had their chance to pit on the next lap, only Jay Fogleman came back in again to change his other two worn tires, which put him back to fourth place on the restart.

Brian Ross beat the remaining lead lap cars out of the pits, and led for the next nine laps, before Jeff Agnew made his way into the lead on lap 156. Fogleman had worked his way into second place by lap 166, and steadily began to run down the race leader Agnew. The two drivers began a two car duel, while working around heavy race traffic, but a caution on lap 194 put them both in front of the entire field for another restart on lap 200. Fogleman made the final pass for the race lead on lap 204, and from there on would not look back, as he extended his race lead to 1.1 seconds at the checkered flag finish. After making a separate pit stop for two more tires, Brian Ross made a late race pass over Jeff Agnew to finish in second. Agnew held on to third, while McLellan and Lindly finished the race in fourth and fifth respectively.  

Brian Ross earned the $1000 Miller Lite Rookie of the Race award, while the Southern Pride Lap Leader award of $500 went to Jay Fogleman. The W J Plemons Investment Hard Charger award of $500 was shared by Philip Rondeau and Brian Eckliff. The #4 Automotive Specialists entry of Jay Fogleman received the CV Products Engine Builder of the Race award. There were a total of eight separate caution flags which combined to slow the race field for 45 laps. The time of the race was 1:52:57, with a green flag average speed of 95.911 MPH.

 

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