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ES: Watkins Glen: Brett Moffitt race notes

Moffitt Becomes NCWS East Points Leader after Podium Finish at Watkins Glen Grimes, Iowa (June 8, 2009) -- It might seem as though Brett Moffitt has it out for Joey Logano, but that is just not true. He is simply trying to make his mark in ...

Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:48 PM

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Moffitt Becomes NCWS East Points Leader after Podium Finish at Watkins Glen

Grimes, Iowa (June 8, 2009) -- It might seem as though Brett Moffitt has it out for Joey Logano, but that is just not true. He is simply trying to make his mark in the world of professional stock car racing, too. Most recently, the sixteen -- year old Moffitt has become the youngest driver in NASCAR history to sit on the pole and to win a race, both records previously held by Joey Logano. Now, with a third place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen, Moffitt finds himself leading the NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings, and with that, Moffitt now becomes the youngest driver in NASCAR history to stand atop the point standings, another mark previously held by none other than Joey Logano.

It was somewhat of an up and down weekend for the young Moffitt, who was making his first appearance competing on a road course. When asked, Moffitt informed the media that in none of his racing experience, not even in the go-karts, had he ever raced on a road course. During practice, Moffitt at one time was the fastest on the track, but a strong odor had been reported by officials coming from the #44. The team was instructed to monitor the situation, and after an inspection of the transmission and rear end, nothing was found. Group qualifying would begin as four groups of 5-6 cars would qualify simultaneously. Moffitt, out in the third group, would be the fastest in his group and the fastest as well as those in the previous groups, with a lap time of 74.428 seconds or an average speed of 118.504 mph. That time would only hold until the fourth group went out, when Matt DiBenedetto turned the circuit in 74.259 seconds or 118.773 mph. At the end of qualifying, Moffitt's time would hold at fourth quick. Not bad for his first attempt ever to qualify on a road course. When asked what he thought of the road course, Moffitt commented, "This is quite a place. It's a really fast track, and it's a lot of fun to come and do this instead of just running in circles."

Next, one of the weekend downs would rear its ugly head. Going back to the odor that officials had reported, a leak in the exhaust system was found and had to be repaired. Due to the fact that these are impounding events, the necessary repairs would relegate Moffitt and his #44 Andy Santerre Motorsports Chevrolet to the rear of the field for the start. On that turn of events Moffitt said, "We cracked the exhaust actually, and it was right below the driver's area. It put us to the back, but with 21 cars qualified, it wasn't too far back to go."

From the drop of the green, Moffitt, displaying that cool driving style and the calm demeanor that has become his trade mark, started his charge to the front. At the end of lap two, Moffitt had already moved into eighth place. The first of many cautions came on lap six, and on the lap twelve restart, Moffitt had moved another spot, restarting in seventh. Lap fourteen was the next caution, and at the lap eighteen restart, Moffitt was in sixth. Moffitt continued to move forward, as four more caution flags would wave over the next twenty-two laps. At the lap forty-three restart, Moffitt had moved into fourth place and would race into third place through two more yellows, to finish the fifty-four lap event in third, challenging second place Matt Kobyluck on every corner of the last eleven laps. The race winner was Ryan Truex, which marks the fifth different driver to win in as many NCWS East events in 2009.

With his third place effort, rookie Brett Moffitt overtook Jody Lavender, who finish fourteenth, for the NCWS East points lead, and that also means Moffitt is the leading contender for the series "Rookie of the Year" honors.

After the race, when asked about his drive from the rear to the front, Moffitt commented, "I could not have done it without my crew. This Andy Santerre group is the best, and it showed today. There were a lot of openings to make a move. I wasn't going to make a move that I thought was going to risk the car, but where I could, I did and it paid off," Moffitt concluded.

Moffitt's next scheduled NCWS East event is the "Heluva Good! Summer 125" at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH. The event is scheduled for Friday, June 26th. When asked about his future NCWS East plans, Moffitt said, "We are going to assess what our options are after the race at New Hampshire, but without sponsorship, it doesn't look good for finishing out the season. We're really hoping that a company can see the benefit of a partnership with me and Andy Santerre Motorsports. We've been setting records and winning races, but without that partnership, we won't be able to continue doing it."

-credit: brettmoffitt.com

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