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Kobyluck Rules The Road

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Matt Kobyluck won the East 125 at The Glen Sunday in the NASCAR Camping World Series East race at Watkins Glen International, his first victory at the 2.45-mile road course. Kobyluck (No. 40 Mohegan Sun Resort Chevrolet) took the lead from Marc Davis on the restart green-white-checkered finish and led the final two laps.

“This is just incredible. When we found out we were coming back to the Glen I was as excited as hell. I told the guys to pay special attention to this race because I wanted to win it. They really did a great job putting an awesome car underneath me. They deserve a lot of the credit here today.”

The two-lap dash to the finish was necessitated by a late-race blown engine and stretched the race from its scheduled 51 laps to 55. Marc Davis (No. 18 Slim Jim Toyota) led a total of 32 laps of the event and led the field to its final restart.

Kobyluck was fastest in responding to the green flag. Third-place Antonio Perez (No.12 Chivas Racing/Telmex Dodge) joined the fray after the start-finish line, and all three cars made contact. Kobyluck led the field into the first corner, while both Davis and Perez limped their damaged cars around the circuit. Perez, who won the Coors Light Pole Award, finished 10th and Davis finished 13th.

“Marc (Davis) said he had a left front tire going down. There was minor impact on my end. Just a little bit of rubbing. Nothing out of the ordinary when you are going for a green-white-checker,” said Kobyluck. “This is pretty exciting for us. A win at Watkins Glen was truly what I felt like would classify me as a top notch road racer. Its one thing to win at the same track twice, and it’s another thing to go to Watkins Glen and win. I was able to back up what I’ve been able to do the last three years at Lime Rock.”

Pouncing on the opportunity, a trio of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolets pushed Kobyluck for the win until a caution flag came out on the last lap.

The DEI trio swept the next three spots behind Kobyluck, with Jeffrey Earnhardt in second, rookie Trevor Bayne in third, and Jesus Hernandez in fourth. Steve Park (No. 35 Waste Management Recycle America Dodge) rounded out the top five.

It was Kobyluck's second straight NASCAR Camping World Series East roard course win. He also won at Lime Rock Park, and has two wins and a runner-up finish in the last three races at the Connecticut road course. Kobyluck's previous best finish at Watkins Glen was fourth, in both 2001 and 2004 - the last time the series ran at The Glen. 

The victory at The Glen also earned Kobyluck a secured spot in the postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, scheduled for Jan. 24-25, 2009.

Points leader Austin Dillon was 12th, while second-place Brian Ickler suffered mechanical problems and finished 24th. Dillon leads Ickler by 55, Park by 57 and Kobyluck by 63.

Bryon Chew finished sixth, followed by Jason Holehouse, Tim Cowen, rookie Ricky Carmichael, and Perez. Perez led 20 laps in his first NASCAR Camping World Series East start of the season.

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