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| Chase Pistone wins Naturally Fresh 250 | by Paul Warner
CONCORD, N.C. -- If the world drops in orbit by about five feet and eight inches tomorrow, it’s because it no longer rests on the shoulders of Chase Pistone. After two-plus season of near-misses, Pistone finally picked up a win in the Hooters Pro Cup Series.
Pistone, driver of the No. 54 C&C Boiler Chevrolet, led the final 66 laps of the Naturally Fresh 250 presented by Greased Lightning at Concord Motorsport Park on Saturday, April 28 en route to his first win in 26 starts in the series.
“I thought I had the ability to win in this series when I got here, but I realized pretty quick it was a lot tougher than I thought,” said Pistone. “I had some top-5s last year that got my confidence up. I just felt like all day today that I could do it. I just knew it was my day.”
Two other drivers also appeared to have things going their way until Lap 175.
Michael Ritch, driver of the No. 28 Naturally Fresh/Jackaroo Ford, dominated much of the first half of the event and cycled back into the lead on Lap 126. But as he caught the tail end of the field on Lap 178, Ritch tangled with Bill Plemons. The contact sent Plemons around and Ritch to the tail end of the field for a rough-driving penalty. The incident also caught second-place running Mart Nesbitt his position.
Nesbitt, driver of the No. 92 Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. Ford, had to stop before making contact with Plemons and blended into line in eighth.
“That’s the second week in a row that a lapped car has cost us,” said Nesbitt, who dropped to 13th at the finish. “Who knows if I had anything for Michael? My car was good on the long runs. Once I got back there and the cautions started coming, I just couldn’t go anywhere.”
Ritch was able to regain some of his lost track position, moving from 19th to eighth in the final 75 laps.
Without Ritch and Nesbitt to contend with, Pistone still needed to keep Carl Long and Richard Boswell at bay.
Long, driver of the No. 12 Romeo Guest Construction Ford, had several shots at Pistone on late-race restarts, but he was unable to pressure for the lead on a green-white-checkered finish and crossed the line 1.1 seconds behind Pistone.
“We we’re just too loose,” said Long. “I couldn’t get back in the gas. Every time I’d try, the car would wiggle. I happy; the car’s not on a rollback and we’ll head over to Peach State.”
Boswell, driver of the No. 88 Champion Chevrolet, finished right behind Long and picked up $1,000 for being the Miller Lite Rookie of the Race. Boswell’s finish was his first podium finish in six Pro Cup events.
“Even if I could have gotten around Carl, I didn’t have anything for Chase,” said Boswell. “This place is the toughest track I’ve ever been to. I have to thank Shane Huffman for coming over here and helping me test. It really helped.”
Frank Deiny Jr., driver of the No. 5 Bailey’s/Concept Mining Chevrolet, continued his strong start to his rookie season by coming home fourth.
Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 29 Chevy Racing Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.
Bobby Gill, who was second in points, dropped out with mechanical problems on Lap 60 and finished last.
Woody Howard, who was the Southern Division point leader coming in to the event, spun, flat-spotted his tires early in the event and lost five laps. Howard was able to make up all five laps and finish 14th.
RESULTS
Unofficial Results
1. Chase Pistone
2. Carl Long
3. Richard Boswell
4. Frank Deiny
5. Trevor Bayne
6. Mike Garvey
7. Shelby Howard
8. Michael Ritch
9. Brian Scott
10. Tom Hessert
11. James Buescher
12. Justin Wakefield
13. Mart Nesbitt
14. Woody Howard
15. Billy Bigley
16. Jay Fogleman
17. Caleb Holman
18. Clay Jones
19. Buckshot Jones
20. Daniel Johnson
21. Dange Hanniford
22. Gary Helton
23. Matt Hawkins
24. Mark McFarland
25. Don Satterfield
26. Wade Day
27. Randy Gentry
28. Kirk Leone
29. Mike Herman
30. Bill Plemons
31. Dusty Williams
32. Bobby Gill
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