CECIL, Ga. — Michael Ritch took the lead from Trevor Bayne on lap 141 and held off a slew of contenders to win the BFGoodrichTires.com 250 Saturday at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
“We’ve always been pretty horrible here,” said Ritch, who started 12th. “But, man, when the green flag dropped that thing took off. We already had a game plan [to pit early]; we stuck to it, but we really didn’t need to pit early because the car was so good.”
Ritch, driver of the No. 28s Support Our Troops Ford, pitted on lap six to make his mandatory tire stop. But the defending Greased Lightning Southern Division champion didn’t wait for everyone else to pit to start his charge back to the front.
Ritch knifed his way back to the front and caught Bayne for the lead just after the halfway mark. The two waged a fierce battle for the lead before Ritch eventually inched past.
“I was kind of sitting back there taking it easy,” said Ritch. “But my spotter told me [Wade Day] was coming, so I had to go.”
Day wasn’t the only one closing as Bayne and Ritch battled. Mark McFarland and Drew Herring made it a five-car fight for the lead. After Ritch made it past Bayne, Day and McFarland followed him through.
A slew of late-race restarts made it interesting for Ritch, but lucky for him most of close calls were behind him. Herring and Day bumped for second, with Day spinning.
Herring and McFarland tangled for second laps later and both spun.
Bobby Gill, driver of the No. 06s USG Sheetrock Ford, took advantage of the late-race carnage at the front and finished second.
“We didn’t have a second-place car, but we’ll take it,” said Gill. “We’re still a little off with this new car. We haven’t tested like these other guys, but we’re going to test at Concord.”
Bayne battled back to finish third, while Dusty Williams and Woody Howard completed the top five.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed and money won: 1. Michael Ritch, Ford, 250, $11,500; 2. Bobby Gill, Ford, 250, $7,500; 3. Trevor Bayne, Chevrolet, 250, $7,200; 4. Dusty Williams, Ford, 250, $4,000; 5. Woody Howard, Chevrolet, 250, $3,400; 6. Travis Kittleson, Chevrolet, 250, $3,700; 7. Matt Hawkins, Ford, 250, $3,000; 8. Wade Day, Ford, 250, $2,800; 9. James Buescher, Chevrolet, 250, $2,300; 10. Billy Bigley, Jr., Ford, 250, $2,200; 11. John Gibson, Ford, 250, $2,350; 12. Drew Herring, Ford, 250, $3,950; 13. J. P. Morgan, Chevrolet, 250, $1,900; 14. Kirk Leone, Ford, 250, $1,800; 15. Tom Hessert, Chevrolet, 249, $1,700; 16. Carl Long, Ford, 248, $1,600; 17. Larry Barrett, Chevrolet, 245, $1,600; 18. Mark McFarland, Chevrolet, 244, $3,200; 19. Don Satterfield, Chevrolet, 243, $1,600; 20. Hunter Robbins, Ford, 218, $1,600; 21. Matt Lofton, Chevrolet, 200, $1,400; 22. John Townley, Ford, 183, $1,400; 23. Scott Crockett, Ford, 181, $1,400; 24. Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, 162, $1,800; 25. Michael Phelps, Chevrolet, 115, $1,400; 26. Bryan Silas, Ford, 104, $2,000; 27. Joey Coulter, Ford, 95, $1,200; 28. Frank Deiny, Jr., Chevrolet, 94, $1,600.