Catchfence

VENUE: IOWA SPEEDWAY

CIRCUIT: USARACING PRO CUP SERIES

RACE: IOWA 150 (RACE 8 OF 14)

DATE: JULY 30, 2010 (150 LAPS)

START: 3RD

FINISH: 3RD

Though the skies in Newton, Iowa were cloudy and gray, they didn’t reflect the mood or outcome of Logan Ruffin’s second-career USAR Pro Cup Series race at the driver-friendly Iowa Speedway.

Scattered thunderstorms pre-empted the day’s time trial session, rewarding Ruffin with a third-place starting spot (based on owner points) for the 150-lap event Friday night.

Delayed an hour-and-a-half by rain and track-drying procedures, the race was stalled early due to three separate accidents (one of which saw rival competitor Benny Gordon and Ruffin make contact while side-by-side on the entry of turn three, sending Gordon for a spin). Each accident required a complete restart.

Following the official start, Ruffin battled with colleague J.P. Morgan for the third spot in the running order, which foreshadowed the running theme of the evening for the 16-year-old Ruffin.

Ruffin’s defense of the third-place (and at times, fourth-place) position provided some of the more entertaining racing of the evening’s Blue Ox 150 as he guarded the spot from all-comers, including fellow rookies Chase Elliott and Ryan Heavner in the race’s later stages.

While Ruffin maintained his average running position throughout the race, his Turner Motorsports crew kept his No. 31 Chevrolet as formidable as possible, with back-to-back pit stops for tires and fuel after a caution on lap 51. As Ruffin lost two spots on pit road in a strategic, fuel-packing move, he made up the spots on the track, retaking the third-place position.

Though the car’s handling was primarily neutral throughout the race, Ruffin experienced brake chatter in the closing laps that prevented him from any offensive gain on the leaders. As defense was the theme of his race, Ruffin protected his position all the way until a caution on lap 113 for poor visibility due to low cloud cover.

The race was called official on lap 121, giving Ruffin the third-place finish, his fourth consecutive top-five finish, and his fifth top-five score of the season.

Veteran and former Roush Fenway Racing driver Clay Rogers earned his sixth win of the season.

FAST FACTS:

· Ruffin maintained his second-place position in the driver standings and increased his Raybestos Rookie of the Year point lead as a result of his fifth “Rookie of the Race” award of 2010.

LOGAN RUFFIN QUOTE:

“Today went well. I’m proud of how this Turner team did. We fought the weather all day and weren’t able to qualify, but we started third and were able to maintain that position. The stops on pit road were good. It was tough holding onto third toward the end of the race with the 14 (Heavner) and 9 (Elliott) on top of us. I had to keep pushing. The caution came out at a good time for us, so we’ll take the third tonight.”

- Turner Motorsports Press Release</strong>