Moffitt Carries Momentum into Season Finale
Grimes, IA (September 27, 2011) - Brett Moffitt cruised to victory in the New Hampshire 125 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), and the No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing team again showed their championship form. The Grimes, Iowa, native took the lead on lap 16 and never relinquished it, earning his third win of the season and posting his fifth consecutive podium finish.
“To win here is a great feeling!” an excited Moffitt exclaimed. “I want to thank the team for preparing such a great car. We really needed this maximum points day to stay in the hunt for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship. Although the race was rain-shortened, we definitely had the car to beat on the long runs, and if the race had gone the distance, we would still have been there at the end. Having Michael Waltrip here to join in the Victory Lane celebration was the perfect finish to the night.”
Moffitt and the No. 00 MWR Toyota team were impressive all weekend. The team spent the practice session improving the car’s handling under race conditions and did not make a mock qualifying run during practice. Even so, Moffitt was quick enough to post the third fastest qualifying lap, with a time of 29.953 seconds (127.159 mph).
“We were extremely happy with where we qualified, because we never did try a mock run in practice,” Moffitt confirmed. “The car was so consistent and fast on old tires that we knew we would be in great shape on the long runs.”
A brief rain shower delayed the start of the race, but it didn’t take Moffitt long to mount a charge for the lead once the green flag flew. On lap 16, Moffitt was able to drive underneath the leader, and he quickly began to distance himself from the rest of the field.
“The hardest part for me was trying to save the tires and car during that long run,” Moffitt explained. “As a racer, instinct tells you to keep increasing the distance between yourself and the field, but I knew we had to save our equipment until the end.”
There was one early caution for debris at lap 33, but the race was not slowed again by caution until lap 70 for a one car accident on the back stretch. It sprinkled lightly throughout the evening, and the race became official at the half way point. While the field was under the second yellow, the rain began to pick up. The field continued to circle under yellow from laps 70-78, as the weather and track conditions continued to deteriorate. NASCAR was forced to call the race on Lap 78, due to rain and darkness.
“Under caution, the rain really started piling up,” Moffitt said. “You don’t notice the rain as much at speed, because it just bounces off the window, but at the end I could barely see. Once we lost the race track to the rain, I was fairly certain there was no way they could get the race restarted.”
Moffitt’s first win at NHMS and his third win of the season moved him within 21 points of the championship leader heading into the season finale at Dover International Speedway (DIS) on Friday, September 30th. Moffitt has visited Victory Lane in each of his two previous races at the “Monster Mile” and is the only driver in the history of the NKNPS East to earn more than one career win at DIS.
“As a team, we are confident that we can really shine in Dover,” said Moffitt. “It is our job to keep doing what we have been doing, and the points will take care of themselves.”
The New Hampshire 125 will air on SPEED TV on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. ET.
Tags: brett moffitt , new hampshire 125 , new hampshire motor speedway , michael waltrip racing
« Back
