THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
NHMS notebook

Strong start for MacDonald

Win in shortened 125 whittles Truex’s lead

E. MacDONALD Second in points E. MacDONALD Second in points
By Michael Vega and Michael Whitmer
Globe Staff / September 19, 2009

E-mail this article

Invalid E-mail address
Invalid E-mail address

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.

  • E-mail|
  • Print|
  • Reprints|
  • |
Text size – +

LOUDON, N.H. - Eddie MacDonald loves racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The proof is in his performance.

MacDonald continued his strong run, winning for the third time in his last four races at NHMS, and taking the Heluva Good! 125 yesterday in the NASCAR Camping World Series East. MacDonald, from Rowley, Mass., is second in the points standings, and used a push on the last restart in the caution-plagued race - shortened from 125 laps to 99 - to cross the finish line under the last bit of daylight.

“This is an awesome day for us. It’s unbelievable for our team,’’ MacDonald said.

“We hung on at the end, did whatever we could.’’

Brett Moffitt finished second, with points leader Ryan Truex third. MacDonald cut into Truex’s points lead, and trails by only 20 points heading into Friday’s series finale at Dover, Del.

“Our goal when we came here was to win the pole, lead the most laps, and win the race,’’ said MacDonald, who won for the first time in 10 races this season. “We didn’t lead the most laps, but I think we got what we came here for.’’

Family matters
The Camping World Series East has attracted the progeny and siblings of some well-known racers. Among them: Kevin Swindell, of Germantown, Pa., son of World of Outlaws champion Sammy Swindell; Ty Dillon, of Lewisville, N.C., the 17-year-old grandson of Sprint Cup owner Richard Childress; Truex, of Mayetta, N.J., the younger brother of Sprint Cup driver Martin Truex Jr.; Corey LaJoie, of Concord, N.C., the 17-year-old son of former Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie; and Jarit Johnson, of El Cajon, Calif., the 30-year-old brother of three-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

Patriot parallel
Mike Skinner is no stranger to championship-caliber teams, having won the inaugural Camping World Truck Series championship driving for Richard Childress Racing. When he came aboard Randy Moss Motorsports this season, Skinner recognized the championship influence the Patriots wide receiver had on his fledgling Truck Series team, which fields Toyota Tundras for Skinner, third in the series points, and rookie Tayler Malsam.

“We were both shocked, and I think Randy was mostly shocked, at the parallels there are [between racing and football]; the dedication, the preparation, what it takes to run a race team and be competitive on the racetrack, it’s a lot like football,’’ said Skinner, who competes in today’s Heluva Good! 200. “In order to win a race, everybody on the team has to have a good day.’’

Skinner has won three times this season, including the last two at Iowa Speedway and Gateway International Raceway, but was unable to do so with Moss present. “The biggest thing is that around July he gets busy and you don’t see him anymore; he’s working,’’ said Skinner.

“My wife Angie and I really wanted to stay here and go to the [Patriots-Jets] game, but we have to go to Vegas Monday,’’ Skinner said. “We’re going to catch a game here soon. I hate to say this, but he’s been to more of my games than I’ve been to his and I’m hoping to work on that toward the end of the year here.’’

Logano’s tough start
If Joey Logano wants to pull off a Loudon double this year, he’ll need to follow a similar path: Start near the back and work his way up. Logano qualified poorly yesterday and will start 33d in tomorrow’s Sylvania 300. The 19-year-old rookie from Middletown, Conn., qualified 24th in the first race this year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then led the final 10 laps to earn his only Sprint Cup victory. “It was a little loose,’’ said Logano, who earlier had the 27th-best practice lap. “Luckily we have two practices [today] to try to get it figured out and get ready for [tomorrow].’’ . . . Pat Tryson, crew chief for Kurt Busch’s No. 2 Dodge, said his departure from the team at the end of the season won’t disrupt their chances to win a championship together. Busch starts the Chase in seventh place. “My decision had nothing to do with Kurt Busch. I just wanted to clear that up,’’ Tryson said. “I had to do things for my personal reasons. The only thing I’m focused on right now is the championship. We’ll worry about next year next year.’’

Unhappy Hornish
Sam Hornish Jr., wasn’t pleased with his qualifying effort, which has him starting 24th tomorrow. “Now we’ll have to start further back and get a poor pit box, which always makes it tough on a one-mile track,’’ Hornish said . . . Ryan Preece of Berlin, Conn., will start from the pole in today’s New Hampshire 100, part of the Whelen Modified Tour. Glen Reen of Wilbraham, Mass., 12th in points, starts seventh . . . Ron Hornaday looks to make it three in a row today in the Camping World Truck Series. Hornaday has won the past two series races here, and led 323 of the 400 laps. With six victories this season in 18 races, he has a commanding points lead.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.