USAR: South Boston race report

Gosselin Gets Second Consecutive Win
Awarded Win After Tech Inspection Results in Disqualification

South Boston, VA– After running a consistent race Saturday night which produced what he thought was a strong second-place finish, Mario Gosselin received a gift that could produce big dividends in a couple of months.

Gosselin was proclaimed the winner of the Naturally Fresh Dressings 250 at South Boston Speedway Saturday night after the camshaft on the Ford of Fogleman did not fall within specifications mandated by United Speed Alliance Racing rules.

The win was the second consecutive USAR Hooters ProCup Series Southern Division victory for the 1997 Hooters ProCup Series champion. Gosselin scored his 17th career victory at Hickory Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

For Folgeman, the rules infraction cost him his second win of the season and more importantly valuable points in the standings. Fogleman will officially be credited with a 32nd-place finish and last-place money.

The race was an exciting event at the tight .400-mile facility which saw five drivers lead the race at various times with Gosselin leading the most laps at 100.

The race was slowed 13 times by caution for 83 laps with the final caution of the night given to the field on lap 245 when Danny Sammons spun in turn two to set up a green-white-checkered finish for Fogleman and Gosselin.

Derrick Kelley finished second after returning to series competition for the first time since May at Hickory Motor Speedway.

“ We had a very good run in our Discount Auto Parts car,” added Kelley.“ We would love to have gotten the win but we’ll take second and get ready for Lakeland.”

Jason Sarvis finished third to win the Miller Lite Rookie of the Race Award and collected another top-five finish. Jon Kerley followed in fourth for his second consecutive top-five finish and won the W.J. Plemons Investments Hard Charger Award by advancing from 24th position during the race. Bobby Gill rebounded from an early accident to finish fifth and maintain his lead in the Southern Division by 68 points over Hal Goodson.

Goodson was collected in a three-car incident with Mike Luaghlin, Jr. and Lee Tissot on lap 102. Goodson was forced to the pits for repairs and later returned to the race many laps down. Goodson finished 22nd.

Tissot started on the outside pole alongside Gosselin, who won his third consecutive Lance Snacks Pole Award during qualifying. Tissot passed Gosselin on lap eight and remained in front until Gosselin regained the top spot on lap 32.

Gosselin remained in front until Stacy Puryear gave his hometown fans something to cheer about when he took the lead on lap 68 and led the next three laps. Puryear was later collected in an accident but rebounded to finish ninth.

“ We had some bad pit stop strategy that costs us some track position and then we got collected in an accident on the backstretch,” Puryear said.“ It was great to run good in front of my family and friends, but we really wanted to win here at my home track.”

The accident Puryear mentioned took place on lap 192 when Chuck Bown spun in turn two and collected Steve Christian, Kevin Sasser and Puryear. The accident ended the night for Bown who was running in the top-10 for most of the race after starting a Hooters ProCup Series career-best third in qualifying.

Shane Huffman finished sixth while Kertus Davis finished seventh. Carl Long was eighth and Puryear followed. Don Satterfield completed one of his best runs of the season and collected his first top-10 in a new car at South Boston.

Gosselin collected a total of $12,000 for the win adding the Lucas Oil Products Halfway Leader Award to his first-place prize money and Lance Snacks Pole Award prize of $1,000.

The Southern Division Championship can be clinched by Gill if he finishes 12th or better at USA International Speedway in two weeks.

NEWS & NOTES

* A total of 37 drivers attempted to qualify for the Naturally Fresh Dressings 250. Four drivers were unable to qualify. Among those were Chad Mullis, Forest Urban, Robert Turner, and Larry Barrett. Scott Hall originally qualified for the event, however, Hall became ill and was forced to withdraw his entry which opened the door for Shane Wallace to make the race on time.

* Finishing ninth in front of his howmetown fans wasn’t the only reason Stacy Puryear celebrated Saturday night at South Boston. The Naturally Fresh Dressings 250 was the first race he competed in as a married man. Puryear wed longtime girlfriend Lori Hite and spent his honeymoon in Mexico before the race.

* Mike Williams, a former competitor at Hickory Motor Speedway, qualified for his first-ever USAR Hooters ProCup Series start at South Boston. Williams qualified a very respectable ninth and finished 25th after mechanical problems forced him to park after 181 laps.

* The have now been 72 drivers collect points in the USAR Southern Division Points Standing so far this season.

* The final race of the Southern Division regular season will take place at USA International Speedway in two weeks in Lakeland, Florida. The top-25 finishers in the points standings will advance to the Four Champions Championship Series to determine the overall national champion.

-USAR-