LONG POND PA (6-9-07) - He spent the entire race working his way back to the front, but in the end the battle was well worth it for ARCA RE/MAX Series veteran Chad McCumbee, who came from one lap down to win the Pocono 200 Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway.
McCumbee, after an unscheduled pitstop, earned his lap back inside of 15 laps from the finish and passed Dexter Bean with four laps to go to earn the hard-fought victory in the Victory Junction Gang Petty Enterprises Dodge. The race served as a warm-up for McCumbee's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series debut in the next-day Pocono 500.
"I can't thank everybody enough from Petty enterprises," said McCumbee.
These guys are unbelievable. It's pretty awesome to be here in victory lane. This was easy on my part; this was all these guys. Now tomorrow, that's where I'm going to have to work a little bit harder. The confidence is up but the goals aren't changing. I just want to learn as much as I can. I just want to run the whole race and try to finish on the lead lap."
McCumbee started fifth and quickly worked his way up to the lead before cutting a left front tire on lap 18, which caused him to fall one lap down.
Bean, who led the most laps with 19 laps-led, settled for second in the No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet despite late-race pressure from SIM Factory Pole Award winner Tim Andrews.
"We brought a good piece here this weekend," said Bean. "We showed up a little late to come here but it was definitely worth the wait. We had a little bit of bad luck here last year. We blew six motors including the first race here last year while we were leading."
Andrews finished third in the No. 4 Dodge Motorsports-Cunningham Motorsports Dodge.
"That was a really cool race," said Andrews, whose father, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series veteran crew chief Paul Andrews, served as his crew chief for the race. "I want to apologize to Mario again. I didn't mean to get into him there. Mario is a great racecar driver and I just went down in the corner he gave me a bunch of room and I slid into him. I feel horrible about doing that to him. I always love working with my father; he's a valuable asset there on the box."
Jeremy Clements finished fourth in the One Stop Convenience Chevrolet ahead of Mario Gosselin, who finished fifth in his own DGM Racing Chevrolet.
The race was action-packed throughout with continual side-be-side racing including 11 lead changes among nine drivers.
Other lap leaders included Bryan Silas, who led twice for 15 laps and Michael McDowell, who was next on the lap-leader board with 13 laps-led. Additional lap leaders included Justin Marks (11), Andrews (8), Frank Kimmel (3), Phillip McGilton (3) and Gosselin (2).
Jason Hedlesky earned the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for his 11th place finish from the 28th starting position. McDowell finished sixth and was the highest finishing rookie.
From Pocono, the ARCA RE/MAX Series steers to Brooklyn, Michigan for the ARCA RE/MAX 200 at Michigan Int'l Speedway. The race marks the sanctioning body's 26th appearance to Michigan Int'l Speedway since 1980. Tickets are available by calling (800) 354-1010. The race will be aired LIVE on SPEED beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, June 15, 2007.
Top-10 ARCA RE/MAX Series Points After The Pocono 200 at Pocono Raceway (6-9-07)
1) Frank Kimmel 2395; 2) Justin Allgaier 2285; 3) Bobby Gerhart 2260; 4) Dexter Bean 2240; 5) Michael McDowell 2145; 6) Phillip McGilton 2080; 7) Justin South 1990; 8) Justin Marks 1880; 9) Bryan Silas 1805; 10) Patrick Sheltra 1800; 10) Jason Hedlesky 1800.
McCumbee, after an unscheduled pitstop, earned his lap back inside of 15 laps from the finish and passed Dexter Bean with four laps to go to earn the hard-fought victory in the Victory Junction Gang Petty Enterprises Dodge. The race served as a warm-up for McCumbee's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series debut in the next-day Pocono 500.
"I can't thank everybody enough from Petty enterprises," said McCumbee.
These guys are unbelievable. It's pretty awesome to be here in victory lane. This was easy on my part; this was all these guys. Now tomorrow, that's where I'm going to have to work a little bit harder. The confidence is up but the goals aren't changing. I just want to learn as much as I can. I just want to run the whole race and try to finish on the lead lap."
McCumbee started fifth and quickly worked his way up to the lead before cutting a left front tire on lap 18, which caused him to fall one lap down.
Bean, who led the most laps with 19 laps-led, settled for second in the No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet despite late-race pressure from SIM Factory Pole Award winner Tim Andrews.
"We brought a good piece here this weekend," said Bean. "We showed up a little late to come here but it was definitely worth the wait. We had a little bit of bad luck here last year. We blew six motors including the first race here last year while we were leading."
Andrews finished third in the No. 4 Dodge Motorsports-Cunningham Motorsports Dodge.
"That was a really cool race," said Andrews, whose father, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series veteran crew chief Paul Andrews, served as his crew chief for the race. "I want to apologize to Mario again. I didn't mean to get into him there. Mario is a great racecar driver and I just went down in the corner he gave me a bunch of room and I slid into him. I feel horrible about doing that to him. I always love working with my father; he's a valuable asset there on the box."
Jeremy Clements finished fourth in the One Stop Convenience Chevrolet ahead of Mario Gosselin, who finished fifth in his own DGM Racing Chevrolet.
The race was action-packed throughout with continual side-be-side racing including 11 lead changes among nine drivers.
Other lap leaders included Bryan Silas, who led twice for 15 laps and Michael McDowell, who was next on the lap-leader board with 13 laps-led. Additional lap leaders included Justin Marks (11), Andrews (8), Frank Kimmel (3), Phillip McGilton (3) and Gosselin (2).
Jason Hedlesky earned the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for his 11th place finish from the 28th starting position. McDowell finished sixth and was the highest finishing rookie.
From Pocono, the ARCA RE/MAX Series steers to Brooklyn, Michigan for the ARCA RE/MAX 200 at Michigan Int'l Speedway. The race marks the sanctioning body's 26th appearance to Michigan Int'l Speedway since 1980. Tickets are available by calling (800) 354-1010. The race will be aired LIVE on SPEED beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, June 15, 2007.
Top-10 ARCA RE/MAX Series Points After The Pocono 200 at Pocono Raceway (6-9-07)
1) Frank Kimmel 2395; 2) Justin Allgaier 2285; 3) Bobby Gerhart 2260; 4) Dexter Bean 2240; 5) Michael McDowell 2145; 6) Phillip McGilton 2080; 7) Justin South 1990; 8) Justin Marks 1880; 9) Bryan Silas 1805; 10) Patrick Sheltra 1800; 10) Jason Hedlesky 1800.
