MANSFIELD, Ohio — Mark McFarland became the first two-time winner of the season in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series this season with a victory Saturday in the Greased Lightning 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park.
McFarland, a competitor in the series’s Southern Division, took the lead from Mike Garvey on lap 147 and stayed there until the finish. Both of McFarland’s victories this season have come in Northern Division stops — Mansfield and Shenandoah (Va.) Speedway.
“I just think tracks in the Northern Division fit my driving style more,” said McFarland, driver of the No. 81s Knight’s Companies Chevrolet. “At Shenandoah and here, you can just flat out run the car as hard as you can and still be there at the end.”
McFarland’s flat-out approach was evident in the winning pass of Garvey. In the span of a lap, McFarland  knifed his way through the leaders and lapped traffic, moving from third to first on lap 147.
“The leaders started jockeying back and forth, then they hit the lapped cars, and I was able to get past them,” said McFarland. “Usually, it’s real hard to pass here, but our car would turn in the middle and still come off [the corner] good. It’s not that often that you get those kind of cars. I’m just glad I could take advantage of it.”
Garvey, driver of the No. 17 JaniKing Ford, appeared to have a car capable of picking up his first triumph of the season.
He led 101 laps in the early and middle stages of the race before faltering.
Garvey held the point until McFarland blasted to the front and eventually slipped to third.
Garvey’s podium finish behind rookie Brandon Ward, who finished second in the No. 93 SupplyOne Ford just 0.291-second behind McFarland, was his best outing of the year.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Mark McFarland, Chevrolet, 250, $10,000; 2. Brandon Ward, Ford, 250, $7,900; 3. Mike Garvey, Ford, 250, $6,000; 4. Jack Bailey, Chevrolet, 250, $4,700; 5. Benny Gordon, Ford, 250, $6,500; 6. Lonnie Rush, Jr., Chevrolet, 250, $3,200; 7. Derrick Kelley, Ford, 250, $3,100; 8. Ben Stancill, Ford, 250, $2,400; 9. Brian Scott, Ford, 250, $2,300; 10. Shelby Howard, Chevrolet, 250, $2,200; 11. Frank Deiny, Jr., Ford, 250, $2,100; 12. Gary St. Amant, Chevrolet, 250, $2,400; 13. A.J. Frank, Chevrolet, 250, $1,900; 14. Clay Rogers, Chevrolet, 250, $1,800; 15. Sam Fullone, Chevrolet, 250, $2,000; 16. Richard Boswell, Chevrolet, 250, $2,000; 17. Johnny Rumley, Chevrolet, 250, $1,600; 18. Jody Lavender, Ford, 249, $1,600; 19. Chase Pistone, Chevrolet, 248, $1,600; 20. Jim Crabtree, Jr., Chevrolet, 248, $1,600; 21. Michael Kidd, Pontiac, 248, $1,400; 22. Jeff Agnew, Ford, 248, $2,900; 23. Matt Carter, Ford, 247, $1,400; 24. Shane Wallace, Ford, 246, $1,400; 25. Danny Jackson, Chevrolet, 243, $1,400; 26. Joe Harrison, Jr., Chevrolet, 241, $1,400; 27. Ronnie Souders, Pontiac, 239, $1,200; 28. Derek Kale, Chevrolet, 222, $1,500; 29. John Townley, Ford, 217, $1,200; 30. Ray Love, Jr., Chevrolet, 209, $1,200; 31. Tom Hessert, Chevrolet, 198, $1,200; 32. Jeff Fultz, Ford, 195, $1,200; 33. Tim Bainey, Jr., Ford, 185, $1,400; 34. Bill Plemons, Jr., Ford, 109, $1,200; 35. John Gibson, Ford, 84, $1,200; 36. Mike Hampton, Ford, 0, $1,200.