MANSFIELD, Ohio — After building leads of more than two seconds in the final 100 laps, Jeff Agnew’s No. 73n Team 7 Ford sputtered on the final lap, allowing Derek Kale to sneak by in turn four and pick up his first Hooters Pro Cup victory in the Greased Lightning 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park Saturday night.
The way the race ended perplexed both the Agnew and the beneficiary of his troubles.
“I don’t know how we could run out of fuel,” said a disheartened Agnew. “We’re going to check it and see if it was a pick up problem. I’m tickled to death about how this old car ran, but I hate it for our guys. They work so hard. We were 50 feet away from winning this race. What can you say about something like that?”
Kale was nearly speechless, too.
“When he slowed up, I thought I had miscounted the laps in my head and that the race was over,” said Kale, driver of the No. 22n Heritage Equipment Ford. “Then they came over the radio and said, ‘Go, go, go!’  When we came off (turn) four, I knew we had it. I’m kind of speechless right now, but I came to the line hollering on the radio to my guys. They all did a great job, and we stayed in the right position to win the race.”
For most of the night, that position was inside the top five for Kale. The 2006 Miller Lite Rookie of the Year qualified sixth in the 32-car field and moved to the point on lap 111. Although he was on older tires than many of the cars behind, Kale settled into second after Agnew took the lead on lap 153.
Mark McFarland, driver of the No. 81s Sears Auto Center Chevrolet, pressured Kale all the way to the finish line, but came up a car length short of taking his second win in as many races. Gary St. Amant, driver of the No. 7n Jegs.com/Speedco Chevrolet, was the last of the leaders to take tires and charged back to finish third.
Benny Gordon, driver of the No. 66n Samuel Metals Ford, rallied from two unscheduled pit stops to take fourth, maintaining his lead in the Sears Auto Center Northern Division standings. Sam Fullone completed the top five in the No. 48n Fullone Trucking Chevrolet.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed, money won: 1. Derek Kale, Ford, 250, $11,400; 2. Mark McFarland, Chevrolet, 250, $6,000; 3. Gary St. Amant, Chevrolet, 250, $6,500; 4. Benny Gordon, Ford, 250, $6,200; 5. Sam Fullone, Chevrolet, 250, $3,400; 6. Jeff Agnew, Ford, 250, $3,300; 7. Tim Bainey, Jr., Ford, 250, $2,600; 8. Ray Love, Jr., Chevrolet, 250, $2,400; 9. Mikey Kile, Chevrolet, 250, $4,100; 10. Joey Coulter, Ford, 250, $2,200; 11. Allen Purkhiser, Ford, 249, $2,100; 12. Mike Hampton, Ford, 249, $2,700; 13. A.J. Frank, Chevrolet, 247, $1,900; 14. Joe Harrison, Jr., Chevrolet, 239, $2,300; 15. Tim Kerr, Ford, 228, $1,700; 16. Ronnie Souders, Chevrolet, 227, $1,600; 17. Jay Fogleman, Ford, 203, $3,000; 18. Michael Kidd, Chevrolet, 202, $1,600; 19. Travis Miller, Chevrolet, 168, $1,600; 20. Mike Held, Chevrolet, 156, $1,600; 21. Scott Leach, Chevrolet, 123, $1,400; 22. Matt Merrell, Chevrolet, 120, $1,400; 23. Brett Butler, Ford, 107, $1,400; 24. Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 94, $1,800; 25. Brandon Ward, Ford, 88, $2,400; 26. Derrick Kelley, Ford, 75, $1,200; 27.Danny Jackson, Chevrolet, 73, $1,600; 28. Lonnie Rush, Jr., Chevrolet, 60, $1,200; 29. Vince Fanello, Chevrolet, 51, $1,200; 30. Danny Abold, Chevrolet, 41, $1,200; 31. Tom Hessert, Chevrolet, 39, $1,200; 32. Dwayne Tatman, Chevrolet, 34, $1,200.