A loose bolt on the A-arm mount cost Dustin Delaney a career best finish in the Heluva Good Fall 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday. Delaney, who was using a late-race pit strategy, developed the problem after pitting on lap 93 for right side tires. The Mayfield, N.Y. native recovered and finished the NASCAR Camping World Series East event in eleventh place.
“We had made it up to 12th and we had a really good car,” said Delaney. “It’s a bittersweet finish because we had a better car than eleventh, but considering we had broke, an eleventh place finish isn’t so bad. We’ll take it.”
Delaney started 20th after posting a lap of 30.856 seconds (123.438 mph) in qualifying Thursday afternoon. Persistent rain showers postponed the race until early Saturday morning. Delaney knew patience would be key at the drop of the green.
In the early laps, Delaney raced with series veteran Mike Olsen for several laps before caution slowed the pace. Delaney made some ground on the next green flag run, but when caution came out at lap 18, crew chief Jamie Aube summoned the #39 Delaney Infrastructure/Cars Under 10K Chevrolet down pit road for a splash of fuel and an adjustment.
“We loosened up the car a little bit,” said Delaney. “It helped a lot and the car handled much better.”
Delaney quietly made his way through the field and had his sights set on the top-10 when caution flew at lap 92. He brought the #39 down pit road where the crew put on a fresh set of right side tires. Delaney was confident that a career best finish was on the horizon.
Delaney restarted the race at lap 97 in 12th place and made it up to eighth when he felt the A-arm mount break. The former dirt racer battled the handling over the last 25 circuits, but still managed to pull off an 11th place finish.
“The guys gave me a great car today,” added Delaney. “Their hard work all weekend paid off in our performance. I really wish we could have come home with a top-10, but these things happen. We’ll just look to build on it at Dover.”
Delaney Motorsports will continue their three-race stretch at Dover International Speedway on Friday, September 19th and conclude the season at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut on September 28th.
For more information, contact:
Penny Aicardi
(508) 234-8684
PennyBNS@aol.com
