Caisse Wins BES Finale at Dover; Logano Crowned Champion!
Dover, DE — Joey Logano (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Driven Chevrolet) finished second but became the NASCAR Busch East Series’ first rookie champion in the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway Friday afternoon.
Sean Caisse (No. 44 Casella Waste Systems Chevrolet) took the race lead from Logano with just eight laps to go, and then withstood a final charge by Logano to win by a car length.
Pole winner Jeffrey Earnhardt (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet) gained new northern fans and turned heads with a contending run to finish third. It was the 18-year-old Earnhardt’s best finish of the season and his fourth top-five finish over the last six races of the season.
Jesus Hernandez (No. 4 Allstate Chevrolet) placed fourth, followed by Tim McCreadie (No. 31 Camping World/RVbank.com Chevrolet.)
By virtue of NASCAR’s lower age limit of 16 starting this year for its touring series, Logano is also the youngest champion of the series as well. Logano turned 17 on May 24. His base second-place prize money of $9,361 pushed his season race winnings to $100,786.
Logano, hired as a development driver by Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2007 season, revealed uncommon talent by leading the series point standings all but one week during the early season, and drove on to five wins and 10 top-five finishes in 13 races. That set a new record for races won by a rookie. The previous record was two-win seasons by three different rookie drivers.
Logano praised his teammates in sharing the title.
“My crew chief Mike Sibley is one of the greatest out there. Everyone on the team has worked so hard, and it paid off. Every time we went to the race track we had a chance to win. But there are ten teams who could win every single week. The NASCAR Busch East Series has great competition.”
Chase Austin (No. 99 HomeLife Dodge) posted his rookie season’s best finish of sixth followed by Marc Davis (No 92 WHUR 96.3 Chevrolet), Steve Park (No. 54 Waste Management/Recycle America Chevrolet), Peyton Sellers (No. 83 Strutmasters.com Chevrolet) and Max Dumarey (No. 16 Bodycoach.net) Chevrolet.
DOVER, Del. — Results for Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, from the Sunoco 150 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series race at Dover International Speedway, showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, manufacturer, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won.
1. (3) Sean Caisse, Pelham, N.H., Chevrolet, 150, $13,500.
2. (2) Joey Logano, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $10,661.
3. (1) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Mooresville, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $10,000.
4. (19) Jesus Hernandez, Fresno, Calif., Chevrolet, 150, $7,500.
5. (21) Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $7,000.
6. (8) Chase Austin, Eudora, Kan., Dodge, 150, $6,000.
7. (15) Marc Davis, Mitchellville, Md., Chevrolet, 150, $5,700.
8. (18) Steve Park, East Northport, N.Y., Ford, 150, $4,600.
9. (5) Peyton Sellers, Danville, Va., Chevrolet, 150, $4,700.
10. (7) Max Dumarey, Gent, Belgium, Chevrolet, 150, $5,000.
11. (24) Richard Gould, North Brunswick, N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $3,700.
12. (20) Jerry Marquis, Broad Brook, Conn., Dodge, 150, $4,150.
13. (27) Jeff Anton, Russell, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $4,100.
14. (11) Rogelio Lopez, Aquascalientes, Mexico, Chevrolet, 150, $4,000.
15. (25) Mike Olsen, North Haverhill, N.H., Chevrolet, 147, $4,550.
16. (28) Dion Ciccarelli, Severn, Md., Chevrolet, 146, $3,900.
17. (9) Ruben Pardo, Mexico City, Mexico, Chevrolet, 140, $3,850.
18. (6) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., Chevrolet, 139, $3,800.
19. (29) Scott Bouley, Wolcott, Conn., Chevrolet, 137, $3,750.
20. (26) Michelle Theriault, Bristol, Conn., Chevrolet, 136, $3,725.
21. (13) Matt Kobyluck, Uncasville, Conn., Chevrolet, 116, accident, $3,700.
22. (16) John Freeman, Huntersville, N.C., Chevrolet, 115, suspension, $3,675.
23. (17) Ryan Seaman, Toms River, N.J., Chevrolet, 113, accident, $3,150.
24. (33) Jonathan Smith, Beacon Falls, Conn., Chevrolet, 112, electrical, $3,600.
25. (12) Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y., Chevrolet, 92, accident, $3,500.
26. (22) Tim Andrews, Mooresville, NC, Chevrolet, 85, engine, $3,000.
27. (10) Antonio Perez, Mexico City, Mexico, Chevrolet, 84, accident, $3,000.
28. (14) Jamie Hayes, Norlina, N.C., Chevrolet, 64, accident, $3,500.
29. (4) Brian Ickler, Poway, Calif., Chevrolet, 42, suspension, $3,000.
30. (23) John Salemi, Nashua, N.H., Chevrolet, 73, engine, $3,500.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 47 minutes, 14 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.172 second.
Fastest Qualifier: Earnhardt (151.413 mph, 23.776 seconds).
Caution Flags: 8 for 54 laps.
Lead Changes: 11 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: Logano 1-14, Caisse 15-21, Logano 22-65, Chew 66-68, Freeman 69-72, Caisse 73-86, Hernandez 87-91, Freeman 92-102, Hernandez 103-105, Caisse 106-120, Logano 121-143, Caisse 144-150.
Standings: Logano 2123, Caisse 1957, Sellers 1862, Kobyluck 1840, Earnhardt 1736, Olsen 1721, Lopez 1671, Hayes 1661, Davis 1654, Anton 1630.
Sunoco Rookie Standings: Logano 112, Earnhardt 82, Lopez 78, Hernandez 74, Hayes 72, Davis 65, Theriault 53, Austin 52, Smith 44, Dumarey 39, Schendel 31, Pritchard 17, Jarvis 14, Quiroga 5.
Next Race: Oct. 20, Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.
Sources: NASCAR BES PR