Sunday
Weather Doesn’t Stand A Chance Against Clay Rogers At Iowa Speedway
Press Release
Rogers, a Mooresville, N.C. native, led all but 28 of 121 laps at the 0.875-mile track after earning the pole position as qualifying efforts were a wash out. This win places Rogers third in most wins in the USAR Pro Cup Series, behind Bobby Gill (46) and Benny Gordon (31).
“This win is right up there in the top two or three,” Rogers said after the race. “I’ve been fortunate enough to win at three tracks I consider to be the tracks in our series, Bristol, Rockingham and here.”
Second-place finisher, A.J. Frank, of Bluffton, S.C., was less enthusiastic about Rogers’ first Iowa Speedway win.
“It would be nice to come to a place like Iowa Speedway and make it to Victory Lane,” said Frank, driver of the No. 56 Speedco Chevrolet. “It’s one of the biggest tracks we go to. It’s like our Daytona 500.”
Frank, who led the only practice session on Friday, came home just short of the win after leading 28 laps before Rogers regained the lead on Lap 82.
Frank wasn’t the only driver in the field who would have liked a win at Iowa Speedway. Rookie points leader, Logan Ruffin, settled for a third-place finish in the Blue Ox 150 after his fiery crash in Turn 2 last year.
“It was a really good night for us,” said Ruffin, driver of the No. 31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet. “I was happy to finish third and maintain our position tonight.”
According to Rogers, Iowa Speedway is one of the premiere tracks on the USAR Pro Cup circuit, but Friday’s weather proved to be less than perfect. Rain washed out much of the day’s schedule, allowing only one practice session and little qualifying. The field was set according to owner’s points as per the USARacing Pro Cup Series Rulebook.
The race finally went green at 10:29 p.m. local time, just over two and a half hours behind schedule because of rain. With a decidedly green racing surface and little to no practice time on the track, things were racy from the drop of the green flag.
Clay Rogers brought the field to green three times before Lap 1 could be completed. The first attempt saw former race winner, Benny Gordon in his No. 66 Samuel Metals Ford Fusion, spin in Turn 3. Next, the middle of the field had a major collision taking the green collecting the No. 41 of Chris Clark and the No. 51 of Stephen Nasse.
As the laps clicked away, a blanket of dense fog began to roll over the speedway. On Lap 111, race control began to worry about visibility on the track. The caution flag came out on Lap 112 and the cars logged 10 more caution laps before being red flagged at 11:40 p.m. CDT.
Rookies Ryan Heavner, of Linclonton, N.C., and Chase Elliott, of Dawsonville, Ga., battled their way to a fourth and fifth-place finishes respectively. Reigning race winner, J.P. Morgan, of Charlotte, N.C., brought home a sixth-place finish in his No. 23 Phil Morgan Pottery Chevrolet.
There is one thing that USAR Pro Cup Series drivers aren’t soon to forget, the weather. After a day of trials and tribulations with Mother Nature, second-place finisher, A.J. Frank summed it up when he said, “You know, when I look back at this day, I’m gonna say it was a foggy day from start to finish.”
- USAR Pro Cup Series Press Release
Article Tags: A.J. Frank, Benny Gordon, Blue Ox 150, Bobby Gill, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott, Chris Clark, Clay Rogers, Daytona 500, Iowa Speedway, J.P. Morgan, Logan Ruffin, No. 16 USG Sheetrock Ford Fusion, No. 23 Phil Morgan Pottery Chevrolet, No. 31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet, No. 56 Speedco Chevrolet, No. 66 Samuel Metals Ford Fusion, Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway, Ryan Heavner, Stephen Nasse, USARacing Pro Cup Series
