Leighton Picks Ups Third Place Finish At Waterford
Waterford, CT — In a surprise visit, Brad Leighton made his first American-Canadian Tour appearance of the season at Waterford Speedbowl Saturday night, and stood on the podium with a third place finish for the Irving Oil race team. Leighton’s start in the Nutmeg 100 will replace a scheduled appearance at White Mountain on June 28th.
Leighton’s weekend kicked off with the team scrambling to find a motor issue – a problem that would plague them for the rest of the day.
“We initially thought it was the carburetor, but it turned out to be a fuel pump,” said Leighton. “That made the car go better, but it still wasn’t 100 percent. There was still something missing. It didn’t have the power it should have.”
Despite the mechanical problems the team faced in practice, Leighton finished second in his qualifier and earned an eighth place starting position.
The race came down to the final three restarts. Leighton was third behind Scott Payea and Waterford Speedbowl regular Bruce Thomas. Leighton knew if he was going to have a shot at the win, he’d have to get them on the restart.
“I was better on the short run, but they were both faster than me on the longer run. After a few laps they’d pull away. If I could have gotten the Irving Oil Ford Fusion in front on one of the restarts I think I would have had a shot at the win.”
Overall, Leighton and his Irving Oil race team were pleased with a top-three to kick off their season.
“We brought the car home in one piece and had a top-three finish. That’s impressive for our first start of the year, and even better considering we were beating and banging on a short track. We’ll take this and hope it gives us momentum heading into New Hampshire Motor Speedway.”
Leighton will return to action in the NASCAR Camping World Series East where he will attempt to return to victory lane in a series where he earned two championships.
“It’s no secret that New Hampshire is my favorite track,” said Leighton. “We’ve had a lot of success there, and nothing would thrill me more than to go there and win it.”
Sources: Penny Aicardi/Irving Oil Racing PR