USAR: Gosselin takes Kroger 250 at New River Valley; Earns fourth win of '99 season
27 July 1999
RADFORD, VA -- Super Mario Gosselin collected his fourth victory of the USAR Hooters ProCup Series season in the Kroger 250 presented by Pepsi at the New River Valley Speedway when the Lake Wales, FL, driver outdistanced the 31-car starting field to earn the lions share of the $77,550 in posted awards.Michael (Ritch) was really tough in the early stages of the race and then Jay (Fogleman) came on really tough in the end," said Gosselin. After starting from the outside front row, Gosselin pitted the W.J. Plemons Risk Management Chevrolet during an early caution where the DGM Motorsports team fell out of the top-10.
"We were really tight at the start of the race," said Gosselin. "We decided to pit early and made some pretty major adjustments to the car. I was really worried about doing too much. We went for it and it worked out in our favor."
Gosselin pitted on lap 77 and returned to the field 14th. He then piloted his sleek black Chevrolet around the .416-mile oval and captured the lead from from rookie driver David Hyder on lap 109, putting him in a position to collect the Lucas Oil Halfway leader bonus and remain out front to the checkered.
Michael Ritch set the fastest lap of the day putting the Jackaroo Sauces/Competition Motorsports Chevrolet on the point for the Kroger/Pepsi 250. After winning his second Discount Auto Parts Pole Award this year, Ritch showed the field the appropriate line around the New River Valley Speedway for the first 98 circuits of the event.
After pitting, Ritch began to mount a charge back to the front when the rear pinion broke during a restart on lap 115 -- putting him out of the event.
"It just wasnt our week," said Ritch. "I felt like we had a pretty dominant car tonight, but luck just didnt seem to be on our side. Weve got to catch a little bit of luck if we want to get back into the points race. Well get them in two weeks at Tri-County."
As a result of Ritchs 25th place posting, he dropped two positions to seventh in the Series standings. With nine races remaining in the $1.5-million series, Ritch can still mount an attack on the point leaders.
Runner-up in the Kroger 250 Jay Fogleman was able to gain 10 points on point leader Bobby Gill, who finished fifth.
"We dont have a win this year and thats really eating at me," said Fogleman. "I really would have liked to have won here, being so close to home.
We tightened up the car a little bit too much on our pit stop. You just cant afford to be off in this Series anymore," Fogleman continued. "Its just too competitive. Youve got to be exactly on the set up. We were a little off and finished second, but were going to keep digging and win some races."
Defending Hooters ProCup Series Champion Jeff Agnew, a Floyd County, VA, native, posted his third straight top-five finish and his fourth for the year. Agnews third place effort moved him up two positions to fifth in points.
Naturally Fresh Spring Water driver Andy Thurman posted his best finish -- fourth place.
"It feels so good," said Thurman. "Weve struggled the first part of this year. Everybody has kept their heads up, kept working hard, fought back and we knew it would turn around. I am really happy for Naturally Fresh Spring Water. Theyve been behind us all year. It just felt great!"
Steven Christian cut 53 points out of a 72-point deficit in the $10,000 Miller Lite Rookie of the Year Race to close to 19 points behind Mardy Lindley, although it was Brian Sockwell that collected the $1,000 Rookie of the Race bonus with a 6th place finish in just his third Hooters ProCup start.
Fifth place finisher Bobby Gill earned the W.J. Plemons Hard Charger Award after improving 16 positions during the 250-lap event.
The Kroger 250 from New River Valley Speedway in Radford, VA, resulted in four lead changes among four different drivers; 1-98 Michael Ritch, 99-104 Jeff Agnew, 105-108 Dave Hyder and 109-250 Mario Gosselin. The 250-lap event also had nine cautions for a total of 64 laps including an 18-lap period to complete the track drying process from a rain shower that delayed the start for two hours.
Catch all the action of the Kroger/Pepsi 250 on Speedvision, Friday July 30th at 9 p.m.
The USAR Hooters ProCup Series will next visit Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, NC, on Friday, August 6, for the State Fair Brand Corn Dogs 250 at 8 pm.
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