The "Racing For Clean Air" Team Captain Andy Santerre
Takes Third At Adirondack
 |
BEAVER FALLS, N.Y. - Dale Quarterley didnt get mad, he got even.
One week ago, a dominant performance by Quarterley yielded only a 15th place finish at Watkins Glen. Saturday night. Martin Truex Jr. took the role of dominator, but Quarterley staged a charge from the back of the field after a pit stop to win the Dealmaker 150 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch North Series race at Adirondack International Speedway. Ironically, it was pit stop timing that cost Quarterley a win seven days earlier, but it was a perfectly-timed stop and a vital chassis adjustment that led to victory at Adirondack.
Truex, who won the Bud Pole and led first 140 laps with little challenge, had nothing left for Quarterleys final assault and settled for second, .32 seconds behind after the race was extended to 156 laps by a late caution. Andy Santerre, the winner at Adirondacks inaugural event one year ago, was third, but came away with an increased point lead due to rival Mike Stefanik 12th place finish.
|
Mike Olsen and Matt Kobyluck were fourth and fifth, with Paul Wolfe, Dave Dion, Ryan Moore, Brian Hoar, and Eddie MacDonald completing the top ten. Quarterley averaged 60.700 miles per hour through eight caution periods for 54 laps. He qualified twelfth and appeared to have about a car capable of running on the fringe of the top ten until he made the bold choice to pit under caution at lap 67, making a quarter-inch track bar adjustment while on pit road. Rejoining at the back of the field, he methodically worked his way back to tenth by lap 90. On a restart 25 laps later he was fifth, and the capacity crowd began to notice.
Once in the top five, Quarterley was relentless. He passed Olsen for fourth on lap 116, Ryan Moore for third on the 120th circuit, and Santerre for second on lap 122. Still, it appeared Truex was out of reach until Kelly Moore slowed on the track to create a restart with ten laps remaining. Quarterly wasted no time, charging under Truex as the first green flag lap was completed. When Eddie MacDonald spun after contact with Tom Carey, the race went into overtime, but it made no difference to the outcome.
Quarterley earned the PowerAde Power Move of the Race Award for his eleven-plae improvement from start to finish, while Ryan Moore was the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Race. Truexs Bud Pole qualifying effort of 17.306 seconds, 104.010 miles per hour was well short of the track record. Santerre extended his point lead from 50 to 88 over Stefanik, while Kelly Moore remained third, now 115 point behind Santerre.
After two weeks in New York, the Busch North Series returns to New England next Saturday night for the Irving Oil 150 at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine.
|
|