Championship Breakdown: Iowa Speedway

USAR ProCup, Paul Warner (September 14, 2007)   (Click Here for Original Article)

Myrtle Beach, SC - Round No. 1 of the Championship Series is in the books. Bobby Gill made the most notable gains in the standings, pulling to within 20 points of Gary St. Amant, but several other drivers also raced their way into championship contention at Mansfield. For several drivers, their championship hopes took a big blow at Mansfield.

Now there are just four races left to decide the overall Hooters Pro Cup Champion, Miller Lite Rookie of the Year and the recipients of over $1,000,000 in purse and point funds.

Below is the top 20 in Championship Series points, a Mansfield Review and a Iowa Preview.
 

9. Jody Lavender (Car: No. 4n Greased Lightning Ford)   Finish at Mansfield: 16th Championship Series Points: 248 Points behind 1st: 107 Points ahead of 10th: 1 Point positions gained/lost at Mansfield: -2 Season Avg. Finish: 11.2 Last Five Races Avg. Finish: 9.6

Mansfield Review
Lavender and Shane Wallace tangled during the Mansfield event. Lavender was able to keep his spinning machine off the wall and continue on, but a 16th-place finish wasn’t what he wanted to start the Championship Series. It could have been worse, though. When Lavender tangled with Chase Pistone, Pistone’s car ended up nosed into the Turn 4 wall, while Lavender spun safely to the inside of the track. He dodged two bullets and finished on the lead lap.

Iowa Preview
Lavender struggled at Iowa last year, but that shouldn’t be any indication of how he will fare this time around. He’s run better overall this season and should be a top-10 finisher this time.

Best Finish at Iowa: 25th (9/15/06)

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