BNS: Kelly Moore Loudon Rce Notes

Loudon, NH - Kelly Moore, driver of the LesCare Kitchens Pontiac, earned a top-5 finish in the Pennzoil/Replacement Auto Parts 100 on Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway. The fourth place finish moved Moore up to fifth overall in the championship standings. "My team worked with me this weekend to improve the car and I appreciate all their effort," said Moore. "We made some minor changes to the chassis before our practice session on Saturday and that really moved us up in overall speed and handling."

Moore qualified on Friday afternoon and after all was said and done, was eleventh fastest among the 61 cars that took time trials. "We were a little off in the corners, we had the straightaway power but our exit on the corners hurt us," commented Moore. Teams were provided a 30-minute practice session early Saturday morning, this proved beneficial to the LesCare Kitchens team as they fine tuned the chassis setup they had put in place on Friday evening. At the completion of the session, Moore was listed as the fourth fastest overall.

As the green flag flew, Moore quickly bolted into the ninth spot and four laps later moved around Dale Quarterly for eighth. The first caution was thrown on lap eight after several cars tangled with the turn one wall. The field was restarted on lap twelve and it took only another two circuits for Moore to take the seventh spot.

Moore broke into the top-5 after Tom Carey drifted up on the track exiting turn two. Moore battled again with Dale Shaw exiting turn two and blasted by him down the backstretch to take the fourth spot on lap 34. Up front, the first and second place racecars of Andy Santeree and Ted Christopher began building a huge lead over Dennis Demers, Moore and Dale Shaw. Moore tried Demers several times but was not able to make the pass. Demers car began leaking an excessive amount of oil, most of which landed on the hood and windshield of Moore. This went on for more than ten laps before officials "black flagged" Demers.

The oil completely blinded the Scarborough, ME native for nearly half the 100-lap event. Moore's crew chief, Jamie Lorfano, worked with the team's spotter to calm Moore down and get him back into a rhythm. The race stayed green the rest of way and Moore was able to bring home a top-5 finish.

Afterwards, photographers and other competitors gathered around the LesCare Kitchens Pontiac Grand Prix and were shocked at what they witnessed. Moore's hood and windshield was soaked with oil! As onlookers glanced through the windshield from inside the cockpit, they walked away with bewildered looks on their faces. Wondering how the cagey veteran brought the car home in one piece.

The Busch North Series will head back to Nazareth Speedway in Eastern Pennsylvania for a 100-lap race on Sunday, July 18.