All Photos by Chuck Buchanan
Story From NASCAR.com and Staff Reports
GREENVILLE, SC(April 11, 2009) — Brian Ickler is hoping to use the NASCAR Camping World Series East as a launching pad. Performances like Saturday night at historic Greenville Pickens Speedway certainly doesn’t hurt his cause, as Ickler led nearly every lap from start to finish in winning the season opening NASCAR Home Tracks 150 presented by Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet.
Ickler recorded his fourth career NASCAR Camping World Series East victory and seventh NASCAR Camping World Series victory overall.
Veteran Jody Lavender scored a career-best second-place finish, while Eddie MacDonald finished third. Josh Richards and Brett Moffitt, both making their first career NASCAR starts, rounded out the top five.
Ickler qualified second behind Coors Light Pole Award winner Moffitt. A multi-car accident in Turn 1 on the start of the race caused a lengthy red flag, and on the race’s restart, Ickler got the jump on Moffitt and quickly began to pull away from the field.
MacDonald, restarting on the outside of the front row, briefly took the lead by a nose on two restarts. Each time however, Ickler erased the lead and pulled out to a commanding lead. Ickler led four times for 146 laps. In addition, the victory gave Ickler a sercured spot in the postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown – a spot reserved for winners of the NASCAR Camping World Series events in 2009.
Patrick Long, Steve Park, Matt Kobyluck, Alan Tardiff, and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top 10. DiBenedetto was going for second position on Lavender when he was hit from behind by MacDonald and thus ending a top five run. DiBenedetto was impressive in his first start in the NASCAR Camping World East Series for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The NASCAR Camping World Series East will return to action at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, NC, on Saturday, April 25.
