NEWTON, Iowa — Benny Gordon took the lead on lap 169 of the Race2Recovery 225 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Diamond Vogel and held off late-race charges by Drew Herring and Mark McFarland to win at Iowa Speedway Saturday night.
“This might be the biggest win of my career,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 66n Samuel Metals Ford. “I’ve won at a lot of short tracks, but this is different. This place is special.”
Gordon, who started from the Awesome Awnings Pole, led the first 26 laps and the last 56 laps, but his sixth win of the season wasn’t a cakewalk.
Herring, driver of the No. 22s Titan Tire Ford, was putting pressure on Gordon for the lead on lap 180. Herring shadowed Gordon for 20 laps before coming to pit road on lap 200.
McFarland, driver of the No. 81s Sears Auto Center Chevrolet, took up the charge after Herring pitted. With 20 laps remaining, McFarland moved into second and began to trim Gordon’s lead.
“My spotter said, ‘He’s 12 cars back.’ Then he said, ‘He’s eight back,’” said Gordon. “I got a little worried. I didn’t look in the mirror. I just hammered down. I knew he was driving as hard as he could.”
McFarland pulled within a car length with just two laps to go, but he finished .324 second behind.
“My car was great when it was out front, but it was a little tight when I was in traffic,” said McFarland. “It just took a little too long to get to Benny. We had the right strategy, but we came up a few laps short.”
Michael Ritch rebounded from a DNF at Mansfield to finish third. Joey Coulter and Bobby Gill rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Benny Gordon, Ford, 225, $13,500; 2. Mark McFarland, Chevrolet, 225, $7,500; 3. Michael Ritch, Ford, 225, $5,500; 4. Joey Coulter, Ford, 225, $4,500; 5. Bobby Gill, Ford, 225, $4,250; 6. Matt Hawkins, Ford, 225, $3,500; 7. John Gibson, Ford, 225, $3,250; 8. Brett Butler, Ford, 225, $2,800; 9. Drew Herring, Ford, 225, $3,850; 10. Matt Merrell, Chevrolet, 225, $2,400; 11. Derrick Kelley, Ford, 225, $2,200; 12. Jay Fogleman, Ford, 225, $2,350; 13. J.P. Morgan, Chevrolet, 225, $2,000; 14. Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, 224, $1,900; 15. Hunter Robbins, Ford, 223, $1,800; 16. Sam Fullone, Chevrolet, 222, $1,700; 17. Dana White, Chevrolet, 222, $1,700; 18. A.J. Frank, Chevrolet, 218, $1,700; 19. Ronnie Souders, Chevrolet, 216, $1,700; 20. Mikey Kile, Chevrolet, 209, $1,700; 21. Allen Purkhiser, Ford, 201, $1,600; 22. Woody Howard, Chevrolet, 201, $1,600; 23. Bryan Silas, Ford, 201, $1,600; 24. Billy Bigley, Jr., Ford, 199, $1,600; 25. Matt Lofton, Chevrolet, 179, $1,600; 26. Derek Kale, Chevrolet, 150, $1,600; 27. Tim Bainey, Jr., Ford, 113, $1,600; 28. Jeff Agnew, Ford, 112, $1,600; 29. James Buescher, Chevrolet, 82, $1,600; 30. Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 62, $1,600; 31. Clay Rogers, Chevrolet, 38, $1,600; 32. Kirk Leone, Ford, 15, $1,600; 33. Gary St. Amant, Chevrolet, 2, $1,600.