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Johnny Rumley Wins Lucas Oil 250
By Paul Warner
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Jennerstown, Pa.—Hard work does pay off.
Johnny Rumley and Mark Huff reunited this season with one
goal in mind: win races.
After going winless in their first stint together in 1999
and 2000, Huff and Rumley won two poles in the first three
races this season, but their first win together was still
just out of reach. Tonight, the seemingly unobtainable
victory finally came.
Rumley, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford, took the lead
away from Brian Ross, driver of the No. 42 U.S. Truck
Insurance Group Ford, on Lap 142 and checked out on the
field, beating Jeff Agnew to 6.596 seconds and picking up
his first ProCup win in the Lucas Oil 250 presented by
Murray’s Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star at Jennerstown
Speedway on Saturday night.
"Relief!" shouted Mark Huff in Lance Kelly Designs’ Victory
Lane. "It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had a lot of
opportunities to win races, but it didn’t work out that way.
Tonight, it did."
Rumley echoed Huff’s sentiment.
"With about 40 to go, I was praying that we didn’t have a
caution," said Rumley, who also won $1,000 for being the
Advance Auto Parts Pole Award winner. "That’s something that
I never do, because I take that seriously. I needed it to
finish under green, and it did. I just need to thank God for
that one."
Rumley needed the race to finish under green because Jeff
Agnew was turning comparable times to Rumley in the second
half of the race. But after a bad pit stop, Agnew, driver of
the No. 73 NGA/Hooters Tour Chevy, restarted fifth with 111
laps remaining.
"The pit stop definitely cost us tonight," said Agnew, who
led the first 133 laps of the race. "It’s too hard to get
behind all of these cars and then come to the front. They
will race you harder for 10th than they will for the lead."
They also race hard for third.
Agnew moved into fourth on Lap 142, but Benny Gordon, driver
of the No. 66 Predator Performance Ford, wasn’t going to
give up third easily.
Agnew started pressuring Gordon for the podium spot with 100
laps to go and finally made it past on Lap 172.
By that time, Rumley held a seven-second lead over Agnew.
Agnew tracked down Eric Corbett, driver of the No. 75 Larry
and Sons Ford, and moved into second on Lap 192, but Rumley
was gone.
"I finally got to second, and Johnny was like six seconds
ahead," said Agnew, who picked up $1,000 for being the Lucas
Oil Products Halfway Leader. "I couldn’t catch, so I was
just hoping for a caution."
It never came.
Gordon made his way around Corbett to take third at the
finish. Corbett finished a season-best fourth. Kertus Davis,
driver of the No. 68 N-ergy Beverage Ford, also picked up
his best finish of the season, coming home in fifth.
J.J. Pack, driver of the No. 06 Phillips Seafood/Naturally
Fresh Chevy, posted his best finish of the season. Pack
finished ninth and grabbed $1,000 from Miller Lite for being
the Rookie of the Race.
Complete Race Results |
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