KOBYLUCK CONTINUES CONNECTICUT DOMINATION

“It feels great to get another one here in my home state,” said Kobyluck, “especially here at a road course where we’ve wanted one so bad. We’ve been so competitive here at Lime Rock in the past, so to finally pull one off is awesome.”

Kobyluck found himself in the right spot all race long, as he won the pole position in qualifying on Friday and only relinquished the lead after a fuel-only green flag stop.

Only 12 laps following his pit stop, Kobyluck was back in the top spot and never looked back. If he did look back, however, he would’ve seen a lot of carnage behind him.

Lime Rock Park’s sharp first corner, a right hander known as “Big Bend,” was treacherous territory

throughout the race for contenders such as Brian Hoar, Ryan Moore, and Mike Olsen, who were all involved in incidents there while running in the top-5. Kobyluck saw it all out of his rear view mirror.

“It was pretty uneventful for me, which was great,” said Kobyluck. “It’s nice to see that stuff happen behind me if it has to happen at all.”

Kobyluck’s luck wasn’t quite so good earlier in the week. During an open practice session at the 1.53-mile Lime Rock road course on Tuesday, two deer found their way onto the track. Kobyluck wasn’t able to avoid them, causing severe damage to the team’s road course car. The team spent the rest of the week transforming one of their short track cars into a road course special. Their hard work was rewarded with their fourth win of the season.

“Anytime you can rebound from something like that and wind up in victory lane just a few days later you know you’re doing things right,” said Kobyluck.

Kobyluck did have to earn the victory in the closing laps, as Mike Olsen posed a serious threat for the win after rebounding from a mid-race chain reaction spin on a restart in “Big Bend.” Olsen pitted for left side tires following his off-course adventure and it was a move that almost paid off in the end. He closed to Kobyluck’s bumper over the final five laps but could not find lane to make a move.

“I had fresher tires and better side bite, but I had to figure out what to do,” said Olsen. I figured I could just knock him out of the way, but I didn’t want to do that. I planned to make a run at him on the last lap. He went into the turn and threw up some dirt. I had a shot at him then but I messed up and hit the curb and killed my momentum. It was still a good run for us that’s for sure.”

A strong fourth place finish for Andy Santerre kept him atop the BNS point standings with just one race remaining next Saturday at the Thompson International Speedway. Santerre finished one spot higher than his teammate Mike Stefanik, who capitalized on Ryan Moore’s disappointing 13th place finish at Lime Rock to leapfrog to second in points. Santerre is now up 75 points over Stefanik and 94 over Moore, leaving him focused on capturing his fourth straight BNS championship at Thompson.

“I wish I could race for the win at Thompson, but I’m up 75 points and I have to be smart too,” said Santerre. “I really want this championship and if we can just go there and race and have the car stay together for us we’ll be in pretty good shape. I will race to win if I have the car that’s capable of doing it but we’ll just have to play it lap by lap.”

LIME ROCK 200

Lime Rock Speedway

1 40 Matt Kobyluck, Mohegan Sun Chev, 82, 71037 mph, $11,025

2 61 Mike Olsen, Little Trees Chev, 82, $6,425

3 8 Joey McCarthy, Tech Air Chev, 82, $5,625

4 44 Andy Santerre, Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth Chev, 82, $4,975

5 55 Mike Stefanik, Burnham Hydronics Chev, 82, $3,575

6 77 Eddie MacDonald, One Stop Toy Shop Chev, 82, $3,375

7 99 Bryon Chew, Buzz Chew Auto Group Chev, 82, $2,675

8 0 Bill Penfold, VIP Charter Coach Chev, 82, $1,750

9 15 Dale Shaw, Waste Management Chev, 82, $3,325

10 5 Sean Caisse, Casella Waste Systems Chev, 82, $2,175

11 4 John Murphy, Murphy Racing Pontiac, 82, $1,500

12 63 John Salemi, Salemi Racing Pontiac, 82, $2,100

13 74 Ryan Moore, RC Moore Transportation Chev, 82, $2,050

14 06 Ryan Seaman, ERS Fleet Repair Chev, 82, $2,025

15 30 Jeff Anton, Anton Racing Chev, 81, $1,950

16 13 Todd Souza, Blanco Basura Chev, 80, $1,300

17 09 Joe Masessa, N. Jersey Dermatology Chev, 76, $1,900

18 96 Mike Johnson, Johnson Lumber Ford, 75, $1,875

19 92 Doug Krpata, Island Trees Automotive Chev, 72, Engine, $1,225

20 26 Scott Bouley, Shorty's Towing & Recovery Chev, 72, Accident, $1,825

21 45 Brian Hoar, Goss Dodge Chev, 72, Rear End, $1,800

22 38 Anthony Demonte, Long Island Business Solutions Chev, 72, Radiator, $1,150

23 2 Laine Chase, Hot Tubs and More Chev, 75, Accident, $1,750

24 32 Dale Quarterley, Bully Hill Vineyards Chev, 34, Accident, $1,725

25 16 Kip Stockwell, Sabil & Sons Service Chev, 23, Rear end, $1,700