York wins Baileys 300

BY
Published: September 28, 2008

MARTINSVILLE — Jason York only led six laps en route to winning the Baileys 300 on Sunday, but they were some tough ones.

Battling the waning daylight, York had to fight off a hard charge from former Baileys winner and Martinsville master Dennis Setzer, who was directly behind him during the final green-white-checker restart. On the final lap, Setzer bumped York coming out of turn two, but rather than getting loose, York got a strong run out of the corner and carried the momentum to the finish line.

“I just cleared my mind and did what I had to do,” York said. “He bumped me a few times but he was going to have to do a lot more than that to get around me.”

Setzer, who finished second, tried everything he could to get around York but admits his options were limited due to a new rule that dictates double file restarts for the entirety of the race.

“There wasn’t much we could do there,” Setzer said. “I gave him some bumps but he drove hard and he won the race. ”

York had to plan his race strategy around the controversial restart rule.

“We knew it would be crazy,” York said. “We didn’t push too hard at very beginning. We just tried to keep around the top five.”

Despite winning the race, York was a non-factor until the final few laps.

Early on, veterans Setzer and Phillip Morris both showed the advantage of having experience on the track.

Morris moved around pole sitter Davin Scites on lap two to take the lead. He would lead until lap 11 when Setzer overtook him on the outside following a restart.

Setzer would go on to lead the next 57 laps until Andy Loden spun in turn four on lap 68. Morris was able to capitalize on a Setzer slip-up on the restart by going around on the inside to take the lead. Mark MacFarland was also able to get around Setzer, sending the defending race champion back to third.
That’s the way the top three would stay until the pit break and field inversion at lap 100.

During the break, it was decided that the top six cars would be inverted, sending Matt DiBenedetto to the point and dropping Morris back the sixth. Setzer would restart in third and Macfarlane rolled off in fifth.

The eighth caution of the day flew only two laps after the restart because of a multi-car accident involving MacFarland and South Boston Speedway champion Wayne Ramsey, who had worked his way into the top five after starting seventh.

Matt McCall, who finished third, made contact with MacFarland to set off the incident.

“It was just good hard racing,” McCall said. “I wasn’t going to back to anybody.”

Setzer and Morris restarted third and fourth, respectively. But it didn’t take long for the seasoned short track veterans to work their way back to the top of the pack.

Setzer took the lead from Tommy Lemmons Jr. on lap 122 and held on to it until rain brought the race to a halt on lap 176.

After the rain delay, Setzer led until a competition caution at lap 190 set up a 10-lap shootout. Setzer and Morris restarted in first and second, and Morris was trying to get around the outside of Setzer in turn three when York saw his opportunity.

“I saw Phillip crowding Dennis,” York said. “They got loose and made a hole. I stuck it in there and took advantage of it. That put us in the lead.”

Setzer sees the incident with Morris, which ultimately resulted in Morris spinning bringing out for the 13th and final caution of the day, as nothing more than an example of hard racing.

“Phillip and I raced hard,” Setzer said. “We both got loose down there and we banged. Unfortunately a few cars got by us. I knew he would try to pinch me down, and I knew I couldn’t hit the curb. We were just racing hard.”

York was in disbelief after the race.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” York said. “I finished second here 10 years ago and I just haven’t had the luck since. It just hasn’t hit me yet. It’ll hit tomorrow.”

Setzer may have led a lot of laps, but York never counted himself out of the race.

“They’ve been outrun before,” York said. “Dennis was awesome. He didn’t win the race tonight though. We did.”

This win was special for York, and he already has big plans for his a trophy; the traditional grandfather clock given to all Martinsville winners.

“Jobs are low and the economy is bad,” York said. “We couldn’t afford to run every week this year. We didn’t get to run a lot last year because my wife and I were building a house. The clock is going to look great in my living room.”

Kell Kingery finished fourth and Butch Hamell rounded out the top five.

First Qualifier
The first 25-lap qualifying race was a wild one, featuring four cautions and a dramatic comeback by South Boston regular Justin Johnson.

Forrest Reynolds started on the pole and led for most of the race, but was overtaken by Sam Yarborough in the late stages. Yarborough went on to win the race, while Reynolds was second.

David Quackenbush crossed the stripe in third followed by Matt Jaskol and Johnson.

Johnson spun out four laps in the race and had to battle back from restarting at the back of the pack. In the final lap he edged out Curtis Truex for the final advancing spot.

Second Qualifier
Despite a few early cautions and close racing, Cliff Daniels dominated the second qualifier by leading all 25 laps in the second qualifier.

The race started out with a series of crashes, including one involving South Boston regular Jonathan Cash.

On the second lap of the event Cash made contact with another car and slid head-on into the SAFER barrier in turn three, ending his chances of making the field and finishing the race.

Terry Carroll was the runner-up, C.E. Falk III finished third, Ryan Robertson finished fourth and Butch Hamlett rounded out the top five.

Third Qualifier
Heat three started out rough with a caution in the opening lap, but that was pretty much the extent of the excitement.

Bruce Anderson (South Boston, Va.) spun in the first corner to bring out the yellow, completely restarting the race. Then David Tripplett Jr. took over.

Tripplett lead the entire 25-lap race and took the victory. Michael Rouse was second, Joey Coulter was third, Craig Oliver was fourth and former race winner Alex Yontz crossed the line in fifth.

Fourth Qualifier
The fourth and final qualifying race was marred by cautions the whole way through, including two before the first lap was counted. In all, the race featured seven cautions.

Stephen Berry was able to survive not only the accident-prone nature of the race but a late charge from Jamie Yelton to win the final qualifying race of the afternoon. Stacy Puryear led the first 17 laps of the race before succumbing the Berry following a restart. He eventually finished third.

Travis Jarrett finished fourth and Jamie Byrd came in fifth, rounding out for the field for the 200-lap feature.