WEST ALLIS, Wis.
Mark McFarland took the lead for the final time on lap 111 and pulled away from rookie Drew Herring and Cale Gale to win the Sears Auto Center 150 at The Milwaukee Mile Saturday afternoon.
McFarland, driver of the No. 81 Sears Auto Center Chevrolet, started 10th in the 40-car field and moved to the point on lap 63. After giving up the lead during a cycle of pit stops, McFarland charged past Benny Gordon and never looked back.
“Wes [Ward] made a really good change on the tire stop and tightened me up a little so I could get off the corner better,” said McFarland, who won $11,600. “I knew right when we went back green the car was going to be really good.”
And it was. McFarland turned his best lap of the race on lap 127.
Herring, driver of the No. 22 Black’s Tire & Auto Service Ford, came up 1.12 second short of his first Hooters Pro Cup victory, but second place was still his best finish in his first four starts.
“This is the run we needed,” said Herring. “We definitely would have liked one more position, but we needed a nice, solid finish today, and we got that. This is a great confidence builder, and hopefully we can carry this into the next few races.”
Gale, subbing for Hunter Robbins, had a solid showing in his first Hooters Pro Cup event. After starting in the rear due to the driver change, Gale overcame the lost track position and a mid-race spin to finish third.
“We ended up third, but I wish we would’ve waited a little later to put tires on,” said Gale. “Being that we had to go to the tail end [of the field at the start], we really didn’t have a good strategy. We did what we had to do and salvaged third.”
Caleb Holman, driver of the No. 75s Food Country Chevrolet, finished fourth and Brad Rogers, driver of the No. 29s Chevy Racing Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Mark McFarland, Chevrolet, 150, $11,600; 2. Drew Herring, Ford, 150, $8,200; 3. Cale Gale, Ford, 150, $5,000; 4. Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, 150, $4,000; 5. Brad Rogers, Chevrolet, 150, $4,200; 6. Ray Love, Jr., Chevrolet, 150, $2,800; 7. James Buescher, Chevrolet, 150, $3,100; 8. Brandon Ward, Ford, 150, $3,400; 9. Jeff Agnew, Ford, 150, $2,800; 10. Woody Howard, Chevrolet, 150, $2,600; 11. Benny Gordon, Ford, 150, $3,300; 12. Derek Kale, Chevrolet, 150, $2,400; 13. Michael Ritch, Ford, 150, $3,400; 14. Beau Slocumb, Chevrolet, 150, $1,800; 15. Tom Hessert, Chevrolet, 150, $1,700; 16. Matt Carter, Ford, 150, $2,600; 17. Jay Fogleman, Ford, 150, $2,500; 18. Carl Long, Ford, 150, $1,600; 19. Wade Day, Ford, $2,000; 20. Bobby Gill, Ford, 150, $2,600; 21. Mikey Kile, Chevrolet, 150, $1,400; 22. Billy Bigley, Jr., Ford, 150; 23. Derrick Kelley, Ford, 150, $1,400; 24. Travis Miller, Ford, 149, $1,400; 25. J.P. Morgan, Chevrolet, 148, $1,400; 26. Kirk Leone, Ford, 148, $1,200; 27. Matt Merrell, Chevrolet, 148, $1,200; 28. Tim Bainey, Jr., Ford, 148, $1,200; 29. Matt Hawkins, Ford, 148, $1,600; 30. Gary St. Amant, Chevrolet, 147, $2,700; 31. Clay Rogers, Chevrolet, 125, $2,100; 32. Dusty Williams, Ford, 115, $1,200; 33. Brett Butler, Ford, 99, $1,200; 34. Ronnie Souders, Chevrolet, 93, $1,200; 35. Danny Jackson, Chevrolet, 92, $1,600; 36. Mike Hampton, Ford, 83, $1,900; 37. Sam Fullone, Chevrolet, 64, $1,600; 38. A.J. Frank, Chevrolet, 52, $1,600; 39. Bryan Silas, Ford, 43, $2,000; 40. Allen Purkhiser, Ford, 3, $1,200.