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ROGER SAWYER BEATS HOMETOWN BOYS

KENLY, N.C. (July 28, 2001) - Roger Sawyer of Orlando, Florida came from the eighth starting postion to collect his second win of the 2001 Goody's Dash Series, NASCAR Touring season, in the Pre-Cast Concrete "150." Southern National Speedway fans made it clear that they were cheering for hometown boys Cam Strader and Mike Conover. "I am thrilled to come here and beat these guys on their track. This is only the second time I have run here and the first was a terrible outing for me," expressed Sawyer.

Jake Hobgood earned his second Bud Pole of the season with a lap time of 15.962 or 90.214 mph. The pre-race draw shuffled the top four positions. Robert Huffman drew the top spot and Joey Miller moved up to the outside pole. On the start Huffman and Miller charged side by side into turn one. Coming off of turn two Miller got a bit out of shape. He was then tagged by Randy Humphrey bringing out the first of five caution periods. Miller was able to continue after making a two quick pit stops for repairs. Humphrey was not as fortunate. "We were so excited to be starting up near the front. My new crew chief, David Flynn, has made such a difference with my race cars. I am so disappointed. Things happened so fast and before I knew it my night was over."

On the restart Huffman, Justin Hobgood, Cam Strader, Shane Hmiel, Jake Hobgood, Jimmy Britts, and Tim Nichols were able to quickly break-a-way from the rest of the field. Justin Hobgood stayed glued to the rear bumper of Huffman until he had to begin defending his postion from Strader.

The second caution came on lap 61 for debris on the track. This allowed the leaders to make a quick stop for fuel. On the restart Kelly Sutton, Larry Caudill, and Danny Bagwell got in front of the leaders in an attempt to get back on the lead lap. On lap 69 Caudill got sideways and was tagged by race leader Robert Huffman. Nearly every car behind the leaders went spinning to avoid Caudill. Amazingly enough few made little to no contact. This brought out the caution and on lap 71 Huffman had to pit to have the right front fender pulled away from his tire. On the restart this gave Justin Hobgood the lead. Hobgood led until lap 81 when he was passed by a persistant Roger Sawyer. "I used up my tires too early in the race," said Hobgood. "I just could not hold the car on the bottom."

Over the remaining laps Mike Conover dogged Roger Sawyer's bumper. Conover was able to drive deeper into the corners, but Sawyer seemed stronger coming off the turns. "My car and Roger's were very similar tonight. I just used up my right rear while we were working the lapped traffic. I congratulate Roger on a great run," said Conover.

On the final caution of the night (Lap 134 for oil on the track) Danny Bagwell and Cam Strader got together. Strader has led the points since early in the season, but the racing gremlins have shrunk his points lead to a mere 6 points following this event.

1. (8) Roger Sawyer, Orlando, Fla., Pontiac, 150, 180, $2,710 
2 (12) Mike Conover, Greenville, N.C., Pontiac, 150, 170, $1,755 
3 (2) Robert Huffman, Claremont, N.C., Toyota, 150, 165, $2,155 
4 (3) Justin Hobgood, Winnsboro, S.C., Pontiac, 150, 160, $1,155 
5 (5) Cam Strader, Wilson, N.C., Mercury, 150, 155, $1,655 
6 (1) Jake Hobgood, Winnsboro, S.C., Pontiac, 150, 150, $1,205 
7 (16) Danny Bagwell, Cordova, Ala, Mercury, 150, 146, $855 
8 (10) Scott Weaver, Shelby, N.C., Pontiac, 150, 142, $805 
9 (7) Shane Hmiel*, Pleasant Garden, N.C., Pontiac,149, 138, $1,055 
10 (9) Tim Nichols*, Cedar Bluff, VA, Pontiac, 149, 134, $905 
11 (11) Jimmy Britts, Jacksonville, Fla., Pontiac, 149, 130, $755 
12 (18) Kelly Sutton, Crownsville, MD, Pontiac,149, 127, $705 
13 (4) Joey Miller, Wilmington, N.C., Pontiac, 148, 124, $705 
14 (17) Wayne Edwards*, Shepherdsville, KY, Toyota, 148, 121, $705 
15 (20) Bobby Dayton, Homestead, Fla., Pontiac, 148, 118, $705 
16 (14) Larry Caudill, N Wilkesboro, N.C., Pontiac, 147, 115, $605 
17 (19) Eric Van Cleef, Huntsville, AL, Toyota, 146, 112, $605 
18 (13) Scott Redmon*, Alexander, N.C., Pontiac, 86, 109, $555, Brakes 
19 (21) Scott Thornton, Jacksonville, Fla., Pontiac, 75, 106, $405, Handling 
20 (22) Greg Goodell, Easley, S.C., Pontiac, 7, 103, $555, Transmission 
21 (6) Randy Humphrey, Cornelius, N.C., Pontiac, 1, 100, $350, Accident 
22 (15) Davis Myers, Saluda, S.C., Pontiac, DNS, np, $300, DNS