Eddie MacDonald's ninth place run at South Boston (Va.) Speedway in the
Camping World Series East race resembled a return in time to the historic
track. When the power steering pump quit early in the event, MacDonald was
forced to provide his own power to get the car to turn on the 4/10ths of a
mile oval, as did the legendary drivers in the early years of the speedway
The #71 Grimm Construction Chevy established the sixth fastest time in
the first practice until the 23rd lap when MacDonald felt something break in
the rear end. The team quickly removed the rear end from the back-up car to
install it in the primary in time for some laps at the end of the second
practice. The veteran driver qualified the car in the fourteenth position
for the South Boston 150. During pre-race introductions MacDonald was
awarded the Move of the Race Award for his performance in the CWSE race at
Iowa Speedway.
In the first 30-laps, MacDonald powered the car to the 11th position in
the tight, hard to pass bullring. The car ran the low line early but was
unable to make the pass due to the trouble with the power steering with
MacDonald saying, "I can pull up on these guys but I can't get to the wall
if I run under someone. I can't cut down because the car just won't turn. It
just snaps back because I have to turn it so much."
A trip to the pits on a lap 80-caution revealed the fluid was just
boiling in the reservoir. Restarting in the 14th spot, MacDonald was able to
advance to 10th by lap 107 and was on the tail of the #39 of Dustin Delaney
but could not make the inside pass for position. For 35 laps MacDonald and
the #39 ran nose to tail until MacDonald powered past on the outside to
finally take the spot. With only eight laps remaining, the veteran racer
held on to the position to take the checkered flag.
MacDonald said after the race, "This is so frustrating because we know
we had a fast enough car to be in the top five. I don't think we had
anything for the leader but we certainly expected better. We have to finish
the rest of our races in the top five, at least, if we are going to have any
shot at the points championship. We lost one spot to go to third today so we
have to be a lot more consistent in the remaining races if we are to reach
our goal. Everyone is working hard but we just have to get a little better."
Next on the CWSE schedule is the Tioga Downs Casino 125 road course
race at the famed Watkins Glen International on June 6.