2008 CW East
Race 11 |
New Hampshire
Motor Speedway
Loudon, NH - 1.058 mile
Saturday, September 13th |
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EDDIE
WINS AGAIN!
Passing Steve Park with two to go! Matt Kobyluck
is 3rd!
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EDDIE COMPLETES SWEEP OF HELUVA GOOD SERIES AT NHMS |
Eddie
won the Heluva Good Fall 125 after a one-day rain delay
at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on a last lap pass to
clinch both races at the “Magic Mile” this season. As in
the June race, the NEMO/Grimm sponsored Chevy was the
dominant car from the green flag in the NASCAR Camping
World Series East event.
Eddie started third after qualifying Thursday with a
time of 30.190 seconds (126.161 mph) and wasted little
time to take the lead on the first lap on the Friday
morning start. A planned early pit stop for gas on a lap
18-caution gave up the lead but the Rowley, Mass. driver
surged to regain the top spot on lap 38.
“This win is huge for us and the reason is the car was
so good right away. After our practice session we were
ninth fastest but crew chief Rollie LaChance made the
right changes and we qualified well,” said a very
pleased driver in Victory Lane. “The car was so fast and
handled great in the turns, I was able to work my way
back through the field.”
Eddie easily maintained a three to four car length lead
on the #1 car with the #55 closing then eventually
taking the lead on lap 77. Slipping back to third, Eddie
got his wish on caution lap 91.
“I was worried because halfway through, I started
getting real tight, then I lost the lead to Leighton. I
was hoping Rollie was going to call me in for tires and
fuel, When he did, I was worried then because we were a
good ways back with not many laps to go. It was a little
tight at the end but it really helped us run on the
outside. Then it got really good the last ten laps and I
could get on the throttle and get a good run down the
straight. I was able to pick the cars off one at a time.
If we didn’t take tires we were probably a third place
car. The tires made all the difference”
On lap 97 Eddie ran fifteenth and by lap 113 moved into
fifth place. With seven laps to go the #44 hit the wall,
the #55 ran out of gas, and the #4 went to the pits
leaving Eddie to chase down the #35 of Steve Park for
the win. With the white flag waving, Eddie powered by
the #35 to take the checkers for the second win at New
Hampshire Motor Speedway.
A jubilant driver said afterwards, “This win is just as
good as the first one here in June. The first one was
awesome because it was our first here and then to come
back and do it again means a whole lot to this team. It
has really helped us in the points because we had a
couple of bad runs with blown engines. Today, everything
worked in our favor. Hopefully we can go to Dover next
weekend and do it again.”
A smiling Rollie said in Victory Lane, “I was really
happy with the car right off the bat. We peaked again to
early and I was praying for a caution earlier because I
wanted to take tires on. We were just trying to peak
again but the tires weren’t the greatest so Eddie had to
make up the difference and he did.”
Rob Grimm, owner of Grimm Construction Racing team said
of the win, “Unbelievable! It really is to win two in a
row at Loudon. This is our biggest event and to win it
twice is huge. Rollie called the shots taking tires at
the right time and Eddie gets up on the wheel and gets
the job done. You can’t ask for anything better than to
get it on the last lap and the fans got a good show. We
have had a couple of tough weeks so we are looking
forward to Dover and Stafford. They have been good
tracks for us.”
New England Mechanical Overlay sponsor Ron Bennett
shared his feelings saying, “Huge, huge, absolutely
huge, I am very happy for Eddie, his family, and the
crew. I don’t even know what to say. I am very happy. To
do it on the last lap was incredible. He looked good
early then went back a little but he did it.”
Eddie summarized the win saying, “ None of this would be
possible without Rob Grimm, Ron Bennett, Dirlam Lumber
Co., Waymart Building Center, R.B. Fries, my crew, and
all the other people who have stepped us to help this
team win. This victory is a result of all their
support.”The team
pocketed $5,000 for winning the Air Gas fund for the
driver with the highest point total for both Camping
World Series East races at NHMS. Eddie holds the
distinction of winning the first-ever race at the
renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June and now
adds to the honor as the only successive two-time winner
on the Magic Mile.
The Camping World Happy Camper award also went to Eddie,
along with the Featherlite Most Improved Driver award
for gaining the most positions from the Mansfield race
where he finished 21st.
The win at NHMS gave Eddie 190 points, plus ten bonus
points to move the team to seventh in the points from
eleventh. The NEMO/Grimm Chevy also lead the most laps
with sixty of the 125 laps. Eddie, Rollie, and the team
won the race with driving and strategy. One New
Hampshire paper called the win luck but this win was
earned. Eddie started out fast, pitted for fuel on lap
19, pitted twice for fuel and right side tires on lap
91. Eddie had to restart the race in the fifteenth
position with only 28 laps to go. Other front-runners
chose not to pit for fuel and/or tires and the gamble
did not pay off. Even with tires that were not great,
Eddie drove inside and outside skillfully to get to the
front. The race was won with fantastic driving and
excellent pit strategy.
The team now moves on to Dover and the series finale at
Stafford that have been good tracks with solid finishes.
The team will participate in the prestigious Toyota All
Star Challenge in Irwindale, California in January.
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EDDIE THIRD IN TIME TRIALS
with a strong 30.190 @ 126.151 mph
Pole for Peyton Sellers with
a 30.124, 2nd to Steve Park with a 30.177.
Rain on Friday afternoon moves the race to Saturday
morning at 10:00 AM. |
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