Sellers Wins Stafford After Controversial Finish by Penny Aicardi
Ted Christopher Spins Out of the Lead With Two Laps to Go
First, he was going to be shut out due to some late-race contact with Ted Christopher. They were going to give the win to Trevor Bayne.
As his team discussed it with NASCAR, Sellers sat in his car and thought about the season opener at Greenville, where he lost the win. NASCAR halted all victory lane celebrations while they hashed it out.
In the end, NASCAR agreed with Andy Santerre Motorsports. Sellers would get to celebrate his first career win in the NASCAR Camping World Series East.
“I guess when Ickler went high – he (Ted Christopher) stopped a little more and he was just stopped in front of me. I just couldn’t see a thing because my windshield was covered in oil. I got into him. I definitely would not have done it on purpose because I almost wrecked myself in the process.”
Ted Christopher avoids the spinning Ickler, later Christopher would go around for spin of his own. (Ken Spring Photo)
Peyton Sellers didn’t know what to think after the Carquest Fall Final 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway. He took the checkers in front of everyone, but NASCAR had other plans for victory lane.
Team owner Andy Santerre talks with a NASCAR official after the race. (Ken Spring Photo)
The ending of the race was one of the most controversial in some time.
It began following a lap 143 restart when Brian Ickler, who was leading, spun. It appeared as if Ickler spun his tires on the restart, but the driver says otherwise.
“The 31 was loose and spinning tires all day on the restarts. We both got a little sideways and he just door-slammed me and put me in the dirt. NASCAR didn’t do anything about it.”
Ickler went to the tail of the field with no caution being thrown. Christopher inherited the lead. Ickler slowed his pace dramatically as Christopher caught up to him, and Christopher slowed down as he got closer and closer to Ickler.
With only two laps remaining in the race, the crowd was at their feet. An altercation was imminent, and everyone knew it. But on lap 149, it was Sellers who made contact with Christopher that resulted in Christopher spinning out of the lead.
“I hate it for Ickler because he had the best car, but the best car doesn’t always win. I got a good run on Teddy there and I could run with him. If he had run that line I couldn’t have caught him because he had been letting it drift up there in the center all day long. I couldn’t catch him through the middle. He got to use a lot of brakes and keep it on the bottom. He was protecting his position like he’s supposed to do,” said Sellers.
It wasn’t the first time during the race that Sellers had taken the lead away from Christopher. On a lap 46 restart, Sellers had the upperhand and moved into the lead for the first time. A long green flag run allowed the leaders to catch up to lapped traffic, where Christopher used that to reclaim the lead at lap 85.
“The lapped cars got by me and they were jamming us in there and not giving us a lot of room. I was trying to be smart and keep both fenders on the car, but obviously, Teddy isn’t as patient as I am. I just lost the lead due to that. I knew they were catching me a little bit each lap, but lapped traffic allowed them to get to me a little quicker.”
Ickler led for a total of three times over the day and was clearly the car to beat. He finished 18th while Christopher finished 20th.
DEI teammates Trevor Bayne and Jesus Hernandez finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The Carquest Fall Final 150 at Stafford marked Sellers final race for Andy Santerre Motorsports.
“It’s a good day for everybody here and for Casella. I hate to win one like that, but I hate to lose one like that too,” said Sellers. “I’m just glad to go out on a good note. I’m hoping this will get us a couple more looks.”
2008 NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion Matt Kobyluck finished the race in seventh to conclude the season with a 210 point lead over runner-up Austin Dillon, who also locked up the Rookie-of-the-Year title.
NASCAR Camping World Series East-CarQuest Fall Final 150 Results
Sunday
At Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Springs, CT
Lap length: 0.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (8) Peyton Sellers, Danville, VA., Chevrolet, 150 laps, 64.439 mph, $8,000.
2. (9) Trevor Bayne, Knoxville, Tenn., Chevrolet, 150, $4,315.
3. (18) Jesus Hernandez, Fresno, Calif., Chevrolet, 150, $4,500.
4. (11) Austin Dillon, Lewisville, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $2,500.
5. (23) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $2,300.
6. (5) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,600.
7. (6) Matt Kobyluck, Uncasville, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,900.
8. (14) Jody Lavender, Hartsville, S.C., Chevrolet, 150, $1,700.
9. (20) Jamie Hayes, Norlina, N.C., Chevrolet, 150, $1,100.
10. (16) Ricky Carmichael, Clearwater, Fla., Chevrolet, 150, $1,525.
11. (15) Ryan Truex, Mayetta, N.J., Chevrolet, 150, $1,475.
12. (2) Mike Olsen, North Haverhill, N.H., Chevrolet, 150, $1,425.
13. (13) Marc Davis, Mitchelville, MD., Toyota, 150, $1,400.
14. (24) Dustin Delaney, Mayfield, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,350.
15. (12) Craig Goess, Greenville, N.C., Toyota, 150, $825.
16. (3) Kevin Swindell, Germantown, Tenn., Dodge, 150, $800.
17. (25) Alan Tardiff, Lyman, Me., Chevrolet, 150, $775.
18. (1) Brian Ickler, San Diego, Calif., Chevrolet, 149, $3,800.
19. (7) Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y., Chevrolet, 149, $725.
20. (4) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn, Chevrolet, 148, $725.
21. (22) Jeff Anton, Russell, Mass., Chevrolet, 148, $1,225.
22. (19) Alan Purkhiser, Moore, S.C., Chevrolet, 148, $725.
23. (26) Jonathan Smith, Beacon Falls, Conn., Dodge, 148, $725.
24. (17) Mike Johnson, Salisbury, Mass., Ford, 136, $725.
25. (28) James Pritchard, Wharton, N.J., Chevrolet, 115, $700.
26. (10) Steve Park, East Northport, N.Y., Chevrolet, 104, brakes, $1,200.
27. (21) Charles Lewandoski, Stafford Springs, Conn., Toyota, 58, ignition, $700.
28. (27) Scott Bouley, Wolcott, Conn., Chevrolet, 41, radiator, $700.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 9 minutes 50 seconds
Margin of Victory: .593 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: . ( mph, seconds)
Caution Flags: 8 for 30 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B.Ickler 1-36; T.Christopher 37-45; P.Sellers 46-85; T.Christopher 86-111;
B.Ickler 112-135; T.Christopher 136; B.Ickler 137-142; T.Christopher 143-148; P.Sellers
149-150.
Peyton Sellers celebrates in victory lane.
(Howie Hodge/NASCAR photo)
