For Immediate Release

April 2, 2007 Hendersonville, NC  

DiBenedetto takes The Fairborn Equipment 150 at Concord in Style

Melling Select Rookie Matt DiBendetto has hit the UARA-STARS like a flash.  At a whopping 15 years old, this young gun finished 5^th in his first UARA start two weeks ago at Hickory.  He then turns right around and comes to Concord winning the Sunoco Pole and coming home as the RE Suspension Winner of the Race.  DiBenedetto has everyone just watching in awe of his style.

He drove a clean race with the rest of the field looking at the rear bumper cover of his ARP Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS built by Marlowe Racing Chassis powered by a Danny Cox engine.

Matt at his young age has 8 years of racing under his belt as an outlaw kart driver followed by legends, Pro-4’s and Limited Late Models.  The stats on DiBinedetto are something to behold having over 150 wins, 2 Most Popular Driver Awards, over 100 pole awards and 7 track records.  It is already evident he will be adding to those statistics while running with the UARA-STARS during 2007. 

The day began with 42 cars on hand to take the 28 starting positions in the Fairborn Equipment 150. During the heat race lap 8 finds the car of Melling Select Rookie contender Scott Bishop suffering mechanical problems ending his hopes for the day.  Series regular Josh Hale was having problems as well having to pit on lap 16 of the 25-lap heat also ending his hopes for the feature.  Lance Gatlin, Brandon Weber, Clay Greenfield and Shane Bradford were the transfer drivers. 

Bill McBrayer of Fairborn Equipment was the honorary starter of the race.  When the green flag dropped DiBenedetto took the lead and set the pace leading the first 30 laps followed by Roger Lee Newton.  Brandon Dean and Davin Scites battle for positions early in the race but Dean’s hopes will falter when on lap 28 the car shows some heavy smoke coming out of it.  Lucas Ransone puts the move on Kevin Leicht for position and Mark Setzer and Zeke Shell run head to head for a position as well.  Coming out of turn two Setzer gets a nose under Shell and Jake Crum falls right on his tail wind to pass Shell as well.   

The cars of Alex Yontz and Tommy Lemons make contact causing some serious sheet metal damage but they both continue under the green.  Meanwhile DiBenedetto charges on like a shooting star.  Payne Pickles taps Tommy Lemons but they continue on.  DiBenedetto begins lapping cars on lap 18.  Zeke Shell, Ross Furr and B.J. Mackey put the show on during lap 23 with Furr coming out first during this position struggle.  On lap 30 Roger Lee Newton gets a burr on his foot and puts the move on DiBenedetto when they come up on the car of Lance Gatlin. Newton takes the lead followed by Davin Scites.  A little further in the field Jake Crum, Mark Setzer, B.J. Mackey and Jeff Melton are all working for positions.

Jake Crum appears to be the car on the move on lap 41 smoking the tires on his way.  The Davin Scites car falls off the pace and goes to the pits then returns two laps down.  Caution one comes out on lap 53 when the cars of Johnny Gottsacker, Brandon Weber, B.J. Mackey and Clint Mills all spin in turn two.  Brandon Weber’s day will end there.  During the caution the Robbie Ferguson machine suffers a flat tire.  The field goes back to green and race leader Roger Lee Newton has problems during the restart and comes to a halt on the backstretch.  He will be penalized a lap for causing an intentional caution.   He comes to the pits and changes the right front tire.  DiBenedetto regains the lead followed by Jake Crum.  Lap 68 finds the car of Jeff Melton spinning in turn 4.  Alex Yontz hits him when there is no where to go and the brakes are locked down.  Both of these drivers are finished for the night.  

DiBenedetto charges on followed by Crum, Ross Furr, Kevin Leicht and Mark Setzer until the caution falls again on lap 78 when the cars of Daniel Pope II, Zeke Shell and Clint Mills spin in turn 4.

Lucas Ransone hits the turn two wall hard on lap 95 possibly having a flat tire or some kind of mechanical failure.  Lucas was transported to the local hospital but later released.  When talked to on Sunday Lucas said, “I’m fine just have a headache but will be at Kenly” which is our next event. During this caution Zeke Shell goes to the pits feeling sick from exhaust fumes.

He is checked out by the medical staff and returns to the race.  The cars are back to green on lap 106 followed quickly by a caution on lap 109 when the cars of Roger Lee Newton and Jake Crum have contact on the backstretch sending Crum hard into the wall ending his fantastic run there. 

DiBenedetto takes the green on lap 120 and sets sail once again followed by Ross Furr, Mark Setzer, B.J. Mackey and Kevin Leicht.  Mackey passes Setzer on lap 128 then Leicht goes by Setzer on lap 129.  Davin Scites makes the Tri County Graphic Solutions “Smooth Move of the Race” at this point passing the leader during green flag laps and regaining one of his laps lost earlier in the race and he also had received the Lucky Dog and made up his second lap leaving him to finish on the lead lap earning him the Holley Performer of the Race Award as well. 

Lap 133 finds the car of Jeffrey Earnhardt spinning in turn two with what appears to be a broken track bar.  The field restarts with the caution flying once again when the car of Matt Leicht spins in turn four after contact from Roger Lee Newton’s machine.  Newton will be blacked flagged penalized a lap at this point for rough driving.  The final caution will fall on lap 145 when Lance Gatlin finds the wall in turn two.  This caution will bring the field to a Green, White, Checker

Finish but DiBenedetto will come home out front with on fantastic run for the young driver. 

Heat RACE Results

Pos	Car	Name
1	74	Lance Gatlin
2	7	Brandon Weber
3	84	Clay Greenfield
4	03B	Shane Bradford
5	42	Todd Goble
6	11	Barry Andrews
7	47	John Staton
8	99	Dennis Queen
9	00	Ryan Salomon
10	22	Casey Holt
11	84W	Brian Weber
12	29	Josh Hale
13	0	Scott Bishop

 

Fairborn Equipment 150 RACE Results

Pos	Car	Name
1	41	Matt DiBenedetto
2	25	Ross Furr
3	12M	BJ Mackey
4	32	Kevin Leicht
5	27	Mark Setzer
6	84	Clay Greenfield
7	77	Tommy Lemons Jr
8	16	Daniel Pope II
9	05	Payne Pickles
10	06	Davin Scites
11	23	Matt Leicht
12	28	Mikey Kile
13	44	Robert Ferguson
14	61	KC Cunningham
15	74	Lance Gatlin
16	33	Roger Newton
17	57	Zeke Shell
18	1	Jeffrey Earnhardt
19	92	Jake Crum
20	21	Lucas Ransone
21	77M	Clint Mills
22	91	John Gottsacker
23	55	Alex Yontz
24	6	Jeff Melton
25	7	Brandon Weber
26	03B	Shane Bradford
27	99L	Brandon Dean
28	53	Lee Tissot

Special Awards:

Sunoco Pole: Matt DiBenedetto

Brisco Outside Pole: David Scites

Melling Rookie of the Race: Matt DiBenedetto

Holley Performer of the Race: David Scites

ARP Hard Luck: Lucas Ransone

Sonic Most Lap Lead: Matt DiBenedetto

Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Danny Cox

Race Weekly Hard Charger: Clay Greenfield

Tri-County Graphic Solutions-Smooth Move of the Race: David Scites

Our support divisions of the Redneck Racers and The Fast and Furious preceded the feature event.  The Redneck Racers put on quite an exciting show for the fans on this sunny day.  Shawn Mangum came home the eventual winner.  Mike Stroupe fell by the wayside after loosing a tire on the first lap.  Jeff Blackwelder spun on lap 2.  Lap 3 finds the car of Bob Dilner spinning as well.  The field returns to green until lap 13 when the cars of eventual winner Shawn Mangum and Jeff Blackwelder crash.  Mangum proved to be the man with the power for this event. 

Following the Redneck Racers were the Fast and Furious drivers who ran a caution free event with Tracy Mullis winning followed by Jake Simpson, Chad Miller, Eric Kimrey and Dale Kimrey rounding out the top five of an eleven car field.

Press Release by: Wink Bodenhamer