Podium Finish For Kobyluck At Irwindale
Irwindale, CA (February 1, 2010): Matt Kobyluck has had the most impressive finishing statistics of any driver in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. Last weekend, he continued that streak by wheeling the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet to a third place finish in the 225-lap race, and captured his sixth top-five finish in the events seven year history.
“I’m happy with third,” said Kobyluck. “We had a better car on the longer run, but we were limited on the things we could do during the breaks and we weren’t able to correct to make a better short run car. We did everything we could for those final 25 laps to be as good or better than Logano and Pena. We would have liked to win it, no doubt about it, but third was good.”
Kobyluck started the race from the 14th position and was conservative in the first segment, which ended at lap 98 when an accident slowed the pace. During the break, the Mohegan Sun Casino race team, led by crew chief Perry Waite, made adjustments on the track bar, air pressure, and spring rubber in the left rear.
Racing resumed at lap 99 with Kobyluck breaking into the top-10 after just one lap. His biggest gain came between laps 120 and 150 when he moved up six positions and settled into fourth. By the segment end, Kobyluck had moved up to third, but dropped back to fourth to have an outside starting position for the restart on the final 25-lap dash.
“We were getting close,” said Waite. “We were getting it dialed in after fighting a little bit of a forward bite issue and it seemed to be getting better.”
But the Mohegan Sun Casino was better on the longer runs, and a caution filled 25-lap segment didn’t help matters. Still, Kobyluck was going for the win. Seven laps before the race conclusion, Kobyluck dove to the bottom and passed Sergio Pena for second place. Pena returned his challenges and kicked off a battle that last for two circuits.
“I was giving it everything I had to try and win. I tried to go to the bottom because it worked for me in the past,” said Kobyluck. “I got by Pena and then he got by me. He ran me up the track a little bit and ran me into the marbles. Once I got the tires cleaned off I was able to get back into contention, but we were so equally matched that trying to make up any ground is so hard to do.
Kobyluck crossed the line in third, a noteworthy finish for the two-time winner of the event.
“I think it was a good day. I’m really happy. I wish it would have ended up a little bit better than third, but that’s the way it goes, and that’s what makes this race so fantastic.”
For more information on Matt Kobyluck or Mohegan Sun, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.