The First event from the next week was the USAR Hooters ProCup season opener. No changes were made from the original timeline.
Naturally Fresh Foods 200
USA International Speedway: Lakeland, FL
The field took the green and it was pole sitter, Mario Gosselin and Brian Vickers who led them charging into turn one. They continued to battle side by side for the first 2 laps until the inside line proved to be the faster and Gosselin pulled ahead. Jeremy Bowser was able to latch on to Gosselin’s bumper and pull past Vickers as well and before the end of lap 10, Bill Plemons Jr. was also able to work his way past Vickers and into third. While this battle played out, Tom Pistone had a tire go down early and had to make a pit stop only to the pits again on lap ten, this time the team went under the hood of his Ford. The next lap, he would be joined by Scott York making an unscheduled pit stop too.
On lap 16, Jeremy Bowser made a bid for the lead on the high side of track. Bill Plemons followed him; shuffling Mario Gosselin back to third.
Just as the leaders started lapping some of the back running cars, on lap 21 the yellow came out when Michael York and Keith Woody got together and both cars spun. During the yellow, Neil Browder hit pit road and the crew popped the hood, however, they did get him back on the track. When the field took the green again, the top was Jeremy Bowser, Bill Plemons Jr., Mario Gosselin, Steven Christian, Brian Vickers, Jeff Agnew, Hal Goodson, Shane Huffman, Jay Fogleman, Regan Smith. On the lap 24 restart, Bowser and Plemons were able to open a gap and two laps later, Plemons drove around Bowser to grab the lead. Behind them, Christian managed to get past Gosselin and started to run down Bowser. On lap 36, Christian overtook Bowser and only had Plemons left in front of him. Just after that Goodson, who had slipped back to 11th, slowed with a flat right front tire. Joe Harrison Jr., locked up the tires as he checked up for Goodson and Harrison spun bringing out the caution.
Bill Plemons Jr. in the Hooters number 15 Ford led the field back to green on lap 42;
followed by Jeremy Bowser, who was awarded his spot back since the yellow came out before Christian was able to complete a lap in front of him, Steven, Christian’s Lucas Oil 16 car, Mario Gosselin, and Brian Vickers. The rest of top ten were Jeff Agnew, Shane Huffman, Jay Fogleman, Mardy Lindley, and Regan Smith. On lap 45, Hal Goodson was issued the black flag for pitting while pit road was closed to change his flat tire. The next lap, Lindley was able to get by Fogleman. Meanwhile, deeper in the running order, Bobby Gill had driven his way from 24th to inside the 15 by lap 50. On lap 52, Lindley picked off another one, getting by Huffman, while Christian moved into second passing Bowser. The next lap Shane Sieg came down to the pits to get a burnt spark plug wire changed. By lap 60, Kertus Davis had clawed his way to the top 10, replacing a fading Jay Fogleman.
The third yellow of the night came out because Brent Sherman tagged the pit retaining wall on lap 63. His mishap happened as the leaders were lapping him and Jeremy Bowser wound up sustaining some right front damage as well. Many of the leaders used this opportunity to stop for tires, fuel, and adjustments. Steven Christian, Mario Gosselin, Shane Huffman, Regan Smith, Dell Murphy, Jason Sarvis, Jabe Jones, Keith Woody, and Jon Kerley stayed out making them the top 9 on the restart. Brian Vickers was the first off pit road and therefore, rounded out the new top 10 ad they came to the green on lap 69. Kevin Sasser would take the wrong lane on the restart as a lap back car and tied up Gosselin on the restart. He was issued the black flag the next lap. This allowed Christian to open up a sizable lead.
Six laps after the green came out, the race went back to caution as Joe Harrison Jr., made contact with the outside wall. He managed to collect Brian Vickers and Bill Mowery. Don Satterfield spun taking evasive action and tagged inside wall. Also sustaining serious damage were David Pletcher and early leader Bill Plemons Jr. Clean up took several laps but, the action resumed on lap 84 with Steven Christian and Mario Gosselin at the front, while Bobby Gill was now just outside of the top 5 in sixth. Gill would continue his march to the front taking 5th from Jabe Jones in 2 laps. Jones would fade further back as Jeff Agnew and Mardy Lindley cleared Jones’s 09 car before lap 90. Within the next 7 laps Gill and Agnew dispatched Jason Sarvis as well; putting them 4th. 4th, 6th.
On lap 98, Regan Smith would be Gill and Agnew’s next victim.
Lap 100, the halfway point, saw the yellow appear again, this time of was for Dan Johnson getting into Stacy Puryear and spinning in out. Puryear is able to get turned back around with only minimal cosmetic damage on the rear of the car. During the yellow, Steven Christian, Mario Gosselin, Regan Smith, and Jason Sarvis were among those that pitted.
On the lap 106 restart, Bobby Gill, Jeff Agnew, Mardy Lindley, Jon Kerley, and Shane Huffman led the field to green. Kertus Davis, Derrick Kelley, Lee Tissot, Mart Nesbitt, and Mike Laughlin Jr. made up the second half of the top 10. Unfortunately, the race was only green for two laps before Fred Query lost the handle of his Chevy and backed it into the wall. After the clean up, the race was still led by Gill, Agnew, and Lindley. Huffman had gotten around Kerley for 4th. Davis, Kelley, Tissot, Nesbitt, and Laughlin Jr. remained in positions 6-10 when the green flew again on lap 117. By lap 120, Huffman worked his way past Lindley for 3rd. The rest of the top ten hadn’t changed but, Jerry Bowser had climbed his back to 11th. Behind him Dell Murphy, Steven Christian, Regan Smith, and Toby Robertson rounded out top 15.
Over the next 13 laps, Gill had opened up lead on the field while, Nesbitt got around Tissot. Also on the move, was Jeremy Bowser, as he passed Laughlin Jr. and Tissot too. Jon Kerley had also faded outside of the top 10 during that stretch put Steven Christian’s Lucas Oil sponsored machine in the top 10 again. The yellow came back out again on lap 133 as Keith Woody spun and made contact with the wall.
The race went back to green on lap 139. However, it was short lived as the 81 of Scott Yorke got into the wall in on lap 145 bringing the yellow back out. Yorke lost it when he got into fluid put down by Jeremy Bowser who lost a motor. During that short green flag run, Steven Christian was able to dispatch Lee Tissot. The race went back to green just prior to lap 150.
Upon the restart, Jeff Agnew mounted a challenge for the lead as he and Gill were side by side on lap 155 and went around him on lap 157. Finally, things seemed to settle down for a longer green flag run. During that stretch, Steven Christian and Derek Kelley managed to claw their way into 4th and 5th place by lap 175. Meanwhile, Agnew, Gill and Ahane Huffman continued to nail down the top 3 spots. The rest of the top 10 were comprised of Mart Nesbitt, Kertus Davis, Lee Tissot, Jason Sarvis, and a fading Mardy Lindley. On lap 180, Regan Smith had worked his way to just outside the top 10 in 11th. The rest of the top twenty were Mario Gosselin, Mike Laughlin Jr., Dell Murphy, Jay Fogleman, Chad Mullins, Stacy Puryear, Jabe Jones, Dan Johnson, and Toby Robertson. Over the next few laps, Gill began to go to work on Agnew while they lapped a pack of cars that included Jon Kerley and David Pletcher. After they cleared the lap back traffic, Agnew left the inside open for Gill and he took full advantage grabbing the lead with 12 laps to go.
The yellow flag wasn’t done flying for the day as Chris Gordon spun and caught the inside wall along the back straight, bringing out the yellow on lap 194. The race went green for a three lap shootout and it was Steven Christian in the 4th spot that got the best jump and he went to the outside of Shane Huffman in turns 1 and 2 for 3rd. Within a lap, he cleared Huffman and began working on Agnew for 2nd. Bobby Gill maintained the lead to the checkers while Christian and Agnew were door to door at the stripe.