Dodson Fourth at ORP

Greenfield driver pilots Edwards' Silver Crown car

The final 30 laps of Thursday's J.D. Byrider 100 could only be described as a drive-away for Brownsburg's Bobby East. East, a 23-year-old who drives for A.J. Foyt, was lapping other cards and building a lead that nobody could overcome. "The car was awesome from the time they dropped the green flag," East said after the race. "Last year was the first year in my career without any wins, and I worked hard in the offseason to stay focused on the process of racing." Pablo Donoso, East's A.J. Foyt Enterprises teammate, finished in second place. Tim Barber took third, and Greenfield's Cameron Dodson took fourth. He was the last car to finish on the lead lap.

Dodson started in the third spot on Thursday night, and he battled with several different drivers before giving up the spot to Barber on lap 81. "We started off with the fastest car," Dodson said, "but it was just so loose."

Dodson fought handling issues all evening. Even before the green flag dropped on the race, Dodson was concerned. "We've only driven 40 laps and the tires are already going away," he said after a short practice session and a two lap qualifying effort.

During the first half of the race, Dodosn's efforts to move up from second or third were frequently stalled. His car get loose in the turns, and other cars spun in front of him, bringing out the yellow flag.

While Dodson was frustrated with the outcome, his car's owner, Carl Edwards, who leads the points race in the NASCAR Busch Series, was pleased.

"He is a fine racer," Edwards said of Dodson. "It was just tough to carch East." Edwards, who will race Saturday night in the Busch race at ORP, said he was pleased with his No. 199 Silver Crown car finished toward the top. That's something Dodson has been able to do on several occasions this season.

The other Hancock County-based driver in Thursday night's event spent most of his evening battling more serious problems than handling issues.

New Palestine's Brad Armstrong finished 17th in the 18-car field after suffering ignition problems all night. "We changed a coil at about lap 50 and missed 30 laps," Armstrong said while accepting a hug from his daughter, Sydney. Armstrong started the evening with some trouble.

"We are having some fuel mixture troubles," he said after an afternoon practice run that left him at the back of the field.

His car was then subject of a quick service job in the pits as his crew tried to get the engine's fuel mixture right.

"We gave it some (anti-gas) which may help," he joked after his qualifying run when his car sounded like it was flooding. The coil change on lap 50 and two additional pit stops left him behind and unable to catch up to the speeding East.

The engine problems did not, however, wipe the smile off Armstrong's face. "We are talking about running it again," he said at the end of the event. "Maybe we can have it together for the race in New Hampshire."

The O'Reilly Raceway Park staff provided information for this story.

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Original Article:

Greenfield Daily Reporter.

By Eric North - Staff Writer