Dustin Delaney
Delaney Perserveres To Finish 13th In CW East Opener
Greenville Race Gets 2009 Season Started
Dustin Delaney was well on his way to posting a top-10 finish in the NASCAR Home Tracks 150 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway Saturday night, but a late-race spin relegated the driver to a 13th place finish at the checkers. Despite the setback, Delaney finished the race by gaining nine spots from his 22nd place starting position.
“We were the first car for the free pass, and the 17 car wanted it I guess. He just moved us out of the way. We had to work our way back up. We were looking for a top-10. We had a strong practice and then a tough qualifying, but we knew we had a good car.”
Delaney was ninth fastest in practice, but turned a lap of 21.541 seconds in qualifying after the luck of the draw had them one of the first cars out in time trials. The entire team was confident, nevertheless. When the green flag dropped, Delaney had another hurdle to jump when he got mixed up in a 10-car pileup in turn one.
Cars just started going everywhere and I couldn’t see a thing. I got to the top and came out of it though. We were fine,” he explained.
The race was started all over again since a single lap had not been completed. Everyone, except those drivers involved in the accident, were lined up as they qualified. Delaney focused on his task at hand and began to pick cars off one by one with a patient maturity typically seen in veterans. By the halfway mark, Delaney was running 12th.
The torrid pace of eventual race-winner Brian Ickler put Delaney a lap down on the 125th circuit. The string of late-race cautions made Delaney confident he would gain the lap back through the free pass. That is, until lap 127 when the #39 Delaney Infrastructure Chevrolet spun around in turn four after contact from another competitor.
The incident brought out the caution flag and Delaney lost his chance at gaining his lap back. The field lined up for a restart at lap 133 with Delaney in the 14th position. He was able to gain one spot back before the checkered flag at lap 150 to bring home a 13th place finish.
“It’s a respectable finish, but we had a better car than that,” said Delaney. “I’m really proud of the job my crew chief Jamie Aube and the guys did to prepare this car. When you have a good car, and you’re prepared, the results will come. It also takes a little luck and respect and that’s what we were missing here tonight. It’ll come.”
Delaney will return to action in two weeks when the NASCAR Camping World Series East heads to North Carolina’s Tri-County Speedway. For more information on Dustin and his 2009 schedule, visit www.dustindelaney.com.
