Eric Wilson Wins the ISCARS Peggy Torbert Memorial 150

Eric Wilson Wins the ISCARS Peggy Torbert Memorial 150

Topics: Peggy Torbert Memorial 150, Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson Wins the ISCARS Peggy Torbert Memorial 150

Tony Stevens/ISCARS PR
September 3, 2006

Eric Wilson drove the No. 4 Huntington House/John Boy & Billy Pontiac to his fourth win this season and extended his point lead to 65 over Danny Bagwell with only three races remaining.

FLORENCE, SC (Sept. 2, 2006) -- Tropical Storm Ernesto had already passed by the Florence, South Carolina, area on Thursday, but on Saturday night there was a storm brewing in the same town just off of I-95. The ISCARS Dash Touring Series held the Peggy Torbert Memorial 150 presented by 5 Brothers Produce at Florence Motor Speedway and amidst a storm of fender banging, hard nosed, short track racing, Eric Wilson was in the right place at the right time positioning himself on top of the leaderboard for the fourth time this season.

Jake Hobgood sat on the pole for the event, but Wilson jumped to the lead using the outside lane in the first corner. Hobgood quickly overtook Wilson to retake the lead, but it was short lived. After the restart on lap 8 for a spin by Scott Krehling, Hobgood pulled to the inside on the backstretch and unable to continue courtesy of a broken panhard bar.

After two quick cautions, the field restarted once more on lap 26 and Johnny Chapman took full advantage of Eric Wilson in turn one. Chapman put his No. 24 AlarmSouth/US Restoration Pontiac to the point and refused to look back at the No. 4 of Wilson. Meanwhile, Danny Bagwell, in the 5 Brothers Produce/Torbert Trucking Mercury, passed Wilson for second and soon set his sights on Chapman.

Spins by Mark Howard and Davis Myers, respectively, in turn four brought another two cautions and a restart on lap 47. Bagwell powered by Chapman on the bottom of the race track exiting turn two and led lap 49. Chapman and Wilson saw the deficit grow consistently until the halfway break loomed in sight. Chapman challenged for the lead on Bagwell but the Alabama driver held off the challenges of the former series champion. During the halfway break, the Bagwell team found a leaking left rear tire which they were permitted to change before returning to action on lap 85.

Scott Krehling quickly moved up to second after the green flag. Eric Wilson, driving the Huntington House/John Boy & Billy Pontiac, got into Johnny Chapman in turn two, nearly spinning Chapman and opening up the bottom two lanes. Krehling applied the pressure to Bagwell for laps on end until a caution for debris in turn two on lap 106.

The restart came on lap 110 and Bagwell quickly shot five car lengths ahead of Krehling and Wilson. On lap 113, Bagwell succumbed to a leaking right rear tire and spun in front of the field exiting turn four. No one made contact with Bagwell, but his team was forced to change the tire and start at the back of the field with less than thirty laps to go.

The caution came out again on lap 127 for Davis Myers who spun in turn number four. Krehling and the No. 1 Cypress Corp. Pontiac led the field to the lap 131 restart and nearly lost his lead to Eric Wilson in turn one. With the bottleneck, Danny Bagwell was able to move up to second and set his sights on leader Krehling. The No. 10 got sideways in turn two a few laps afterwards and was battling side by side with Eric Wilson for second when Robert Bruce slid off of the track in turn one and ended up on top of the berm outside of the track, bringing out the red flag.

A miscue on the lap 141 restart cost Scott Krehling a possible victory. Krehling, in contention for a win for the first time in his nine year Dash Series career, mistakenly passed the pace car on the restart and was put to the rear of the field on the ensuing retry. This put Eric Wilson on point for the second time with a very fast Danny Bagwell on his tail.

Bagwell wheeled his No. 10 Mercury the best he could in an attempt to catch Wilson, but it was to no avail. The Hickory, NC, driver took his fourth win in five races and extended his point lead over Bagwell and Jake Hobgood heading into the final three races of the ISCARS season.

“I knew Bagwell could get us on those restarts. He had the car to beat all night long,” said Wilson in victory lane. “Everyone saw him come from the back. It was a lot of fun to race with him and it makes this one that much more sweet. It's amazing how we hadn't won one before this year and now this is the fourth one this year. Danny is an animal and a lot of fun to race with. This one is for Tommy and all of the Torbert family.” (Peggy Torbert passed away in July).

“I think Rocky was in there driving it with me,” joked Danny Bagwell after the race in reference to Rocky Glenn, the ISCARS Chaplain, and what Bagwell felt was divine intervention during his race. “Honestly though, I think we just raced a little too hard to start with and burned the right rear tire off of it. It doesn't work as good with three tires as it does with four. I really wanted to get this one for Tommy and the guys. I hope they're satisfied. I know we put on a good race for the fans.”

Scott Weaver posted his best finish of the year since coming home second at Hickory in the season opening event. Weaver had not been in attendance during the past two ISCARS events at Nashville and Shenandoah, but made a strong return to action at Florence.

“Some of these guys have gotten pretty good since I've been here. We'll have to go home and do a little homework and see if we can't get better and come back to beat them,” said a smiling Weaver. “The way the rest of the night went, I was waiting on the two guys in front to crash. The car was good early but after the first few laps they'd get away from me. I could only run with them in the first couple of corners. I was just hoping they'd get to racing and give us a shot at it, but we'll take third and come back next week and try again.”

The ISCARS Dash Touring drivers will have ample time to cool off from the festivities at Florence as the next event is on October 2 at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina, the ISCARS Dash 150. Eric Wilson will attempt to repeat his feat from April and take home victory once again at his home track with the rest of the field clawing to get a piece of the glory before the 2006 season is over.

For more information on ISCARS, visit www.iscarsonline.com, and be sure to catch the latest episode of ISCARS Full Throttle on local Comcast, America One, and Cox Communications affiliates. If those providers aren’t available, current and archived shows are always available around the clock at www.theautochannel.com.

OTHER NOTES OF INTEREST:

SELLER'S REMORSE?: Polesitter Jake Hobgood had high hopes coming into Florence, a track only an hour from his home in Winnsboro, SC. Unfortunately, his car had a mechanical failure less than ten laps into the race that sidelined him for the night. Ironically, his former car was purchased and driven by Scott Krehling in this event. Krehling visibly had the car to beat for most of the night, possibly leaving Hobgood wondering about his decision to sell his old ride.

LONG TIME, NO SEE: Davis Myers is a name known to long-time Dash Series fans, but it's been years since he was in competition. Myers, from Batesburg, SC, got bit by the "racing bug" again and came out to compete in the Dash Series event at Florence for the first time in nearly five years. Despite a mechanical failure late in the event, he still pulled off a respectable 11th place finish.

WHAT A RIDE: Robert Bruce didn't contend for the win on Saturday night, but he certainly wowed the fans when on lap 139, his No. 99 Rexel/Robertson Homes Pontiac lost traction in turn one and slid off of the racing surface. The car ended up backwards on the dirt berm about fifty feet off of the racing surface at a very awkward angle. Thanks to hard work by the Florence Motor Speedway safety crew, a red flag, and a lucky dog pass, Bruce was still able to finish in eighth spot, one lap down.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Velocity Management, Inc., the parent company of ISCARS sponsor GoFastBeSafe.com, gives three awards each race to drivers for their performance during the night – race winner, hard charger, and the committee-decided safe move of the race award. After 13 caution flags and not a single car coming home with significant damage, the panel decided that Johnny Chapman’s save in turn two midway through the event was the safest move of the race and awarded Chapman the GoFastBeSafe.com Safe Move of the Race Award.

Int’l Sport Compact Auto Racing Series (ISCARS) Dash Touring
Florence Motor Speedway
Peggy Torbert Memorial 150
Race Date: Saturday, September 2, 2006

FIN(ST),#,Driver,Hometown,Laps,Status
1 (2) 4, Eric Wilson, Hickory, NC, Huntington House/John Boy & Billy, 150
2 (4) 10, Danny Bagwell, Cordova, AL, 150
3 (7) 2, Scott Weaver, Shelby,N C, 150
4 (5) 17, Mike Watts, Davidson, NC, 150
5 (3) 24, Johnny Chapman, Stoney Point, NC, 150
6 (8) 1, Scott Krehling, Naples, FL, 150
7 (11) 53*, Joey Jones, Fredericksburg, VA, 150
8 (12) 99, Robert Bruce, Melbourne, FL, 149
9 (13) 88*, Perry Nantz, Mooresville, NC, 142
10 (9) 9, Ned Combs, Newton, NC, 134, Engine
11 (15) 20, Davis Myers, Batesburg, SC, 134, Engine
12 (14) 34*, Joe Seago, Aberdeen, NC, 129, Fuel Line
13 (6) 7, Mark Howard, Randleman, NC, 51, Oil Line
14 (10) 01*, Bert Belter, Calera, AL, 21, Overheating
15 (1) 64, Jake Hobgood, Winnsboro, SC, 10, Track Bar
*Denotes Rookie of the Year Contender

6 Lead Changes Among 5 Drivers: Hobgood (1-8), Wilson (9-25), Chapman (26-48), Bagwell (49-111), Krehling (112-144), Wilson (145-150)

13 Cautions and 4 Red Flags for 58 Laps: 4-8; 11-25; 27-30; 36-39; 42-47; 52-56; 67-69; 82-85; 107-110; 114-121; 128-131; 139-142; 143-147

Polesitter: Jake Hobgood 18.013 seconds/79.942 mph

Rookie of the Race: Joey Jones