CARS Pro Cup Series Weekly Notebook - June 28, 2012

Mooresville, N.C. — J.P. Morgan had the best car Saturday night at Caraway Speedway during the CARS Pro Cup 250 presented by CV Products, but he needed a little help in order to pick up his second victory of the season.

 

Morgan dominated the first half of the 250-lap event, but an eight-car invert during the 10 minute halftime break meant Morgan would start the second half of the race from eighth place. He worked his way through the field, but stalled out in second as Allen Purkhiser led the way.

 

At lap 200 Morgan’s luck turned as Tyler Young’s Chevrolet expired, allowing Morgan to close the gap on Purkhiser. He took full advantage on the following restart, snatching the lead and pulling away to victory. As a result of Morgan’s good luck, he has been awarded the Brake of the Race Award presented by Pro-System Brakes.

Morgan was also the recipient of the Lap Leader Award presented by U-Pull, U-Save, the Half Way Leader Award presented by Holley, the T&D Rocker Arms High Finisher Award and product certificates from Cool Shirt and Brown & Miller.

 

Before Young’s engine expired, he did pull off an amazing move. During the restart following the halfway break, Young found himself restarting behind new leader Dalton Hopkins and Ryan Heavner.

 

When the field returned to racing Young sliced his way by both Hopkins and Heavner, beating and banging his way into the lead on lap 127. That move earned Young the Koolmat Koolmove of the Race Award.

 

Speaking of Heavner, he had to overcome a lot of adversity just to start Saturday’s race. During the second practice Heavner backed the No. 77 Chevrolet owned by Bob Schacht into the fence, damaging the rear of the race car.

 

Heavner and his crew never gave up though, putting the No. 77 back together in time to start the race. At the end of 250 grueling laps, Heavner had wheeled the No. 77 to a fifth-place finish. For the hard work of his crew and his coolness under pressure, Heavner was awarded the Cool Under Pressure Award presented by FLUIDYNE.

 

Blake Jones, the 2011 CARS Pro Cup Series Rookie of the Year, made his first start of the season for Wes Gonder Racing. Aboard the No. 36 Chevrolet, Jones drove to a fourth-place finish and brought home the Staubli Highest Finisher Award.

 

Dillon Motor Speedway Tickets On Sale Now: Tickets for the next CARS Pro Cup Series race at South Carolina’s Dillon Motor Speedway on July 14 are on sale now. Fans can visit www.carsprocup.com to purchase pre-sale tickets for just $12 through July 12. Tickets will be $15 on the day of the event.

 

CARS Pro Cup on YouTube: Fans of the CARS Pro Cup Series can now see exclusive videos on the official CARS Pro Cup Series YouTube channel. The CARS Pro Cup YouTube channel will include exclusive interviews with drivers, post-race reaction and much more. Follow along at www.youtube.com/CarsProCup.

 

Also, don’t forget to follow the CARS Pro Cup Series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/carsprocup) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/carsprocup).