Teammates Collide; Butler Plows Past McDowell for Hantz Group 200 Victory at Toledo

By RacingNation Crew
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Updated: May 20, 2007

TOLEDO OH (5-20-07) ? Typically, teammates work together; and sometimes they even get together, and not just on holidays.

Such was the case Sunday afternoon at Toledo Speedway when Eddie Sharp Racing teammates? Ken Butler III and Michael McDowell, inside of five laps remaining, came together in turn one racing for lead. While McDowell spun completely around, Butler drove away to victory lane, winning the ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 presented by Federated Car Care. It was Butler?s career-first RE/MAX Series victory in his fourth series start.

?Man I hate it for Michael,? said Butler. ?We were racing for the lead and he checked up, and I got into him. I just want to thank all my guys, my crew chief Jeff McClure, Domino?s Pizza. Eddie Sharp Racing does an awesome job.?

Butler?s victory marked the eighth different winner in eight events so far in 2007, and sixth first-time winner of the season.

McDowell followed Butler in the remaining laps before making his move up off turn two on the 195th circuit. McDowell, without touching the eventual winner, completed the pass off turn four and led the next lap. However, his lead was short-lived when Butler plowed into the back of McDowell in turn one.

?I can?t believe it,? said McDowell. ?I passed him clean down there, and then he flat plowed into me. He didn?t just hit me; he lifted me off the ground and stayed in it until I was turned around. I want to congratulate him, but that?s no way to win a race.?

McDowell, in the Z Line-Make A Wish-Beck Dodge, managed to stay on the lead lap and finished seventh.

In the end, and without McDowell in the leader mix, Butler had to fend off Ken Schrader, who finished second in his own Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet. The margin of victory was .239 seconds.

?I just hate to see races end that way,? said Schrader, who seemed as upset as McDowell. ?That is clearly not the way to win a race; it?s just not right.?

Justin South, in the HD Supply Lumber & Building Materials Dodge, only pitted once on lap 75 and finished third on the heels of Schrader.

?We had a good racecar,? said South. ?The HD Supply Dodge was really good on long runs and I think we would have had something for the leaders if we would have had tires at the end.?

Frank Kimmel, who wrecked his primary car in practice, finished fourth in a back-up Hantz Group-Pork Ford Fusion.

?I?m pretty happy considering the weekend we had,? said Kimmel. ?We had a great car. We were really good on the long runs; just had too many restarts at the end there.?

Bobby Gerhart, in the Lucas Oil Chevrolet, earned the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award after finishing fifth from the 22nd starting position.

McDowell, who led the most laps with 59, also earned his fourth career SIM Factory Pole Award Saturday afternoon with a time of 16.544, an average speed of 108.801 mph.

In all, there were seven lead changes among six different drivers including, in addition to McDowell, Kimmel (57), Schrader (46), Butler (25), Justin Allgaier (10) and South (3).

Second-generation racers? Brian Keselowski, in the AT&T Yellow Pages Dodge, and Billy Leslie, in the Titan Tire Ford, had good days finishing sixth and eighth respectively. Mike Buckley finished ninth in the St. Croix Chippewa Pontiac with Billy Venturini trailing in tenth in the Bondo-Hawk Saw Blades Chevrolet.

The race had its share of typical short-track thrills and spills with 14 cautions for 78 laps. While there were several wrinkled racecars to load up, there were no injuries.

From Toledo, the ARCA RE/MAX Series takes a Memorial Day Weekend break but is back in action on Saturday, June 2, 2007 for the Prairie Meadows 250 at Iowa Speedway LIVE on SPEED at 9 pm ET. Tickets are available by contacting the track (641) 791-8100.

Top-10 ARCA RE/MAX Series Points after Toledo Speedway (5-20-07)

1) Frank Kimmel 1715; 2) Justin Allgaier 1645; 3) Bobby Gerhart 1630; 4) Dexter Bean 1585; 5) Justin South 1490; 6) Phillip McGilton 1470; 7) Justin Marks 1400; 8) Michael McDowell 1360; 9) Patrick Sheltra 1310; 10) Bryan Silas 1245.

Official Results

FIN STR NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS

1 6 22 Ken Butler III/Sherrills Ford NC ESR Development Team-Domino’s Pizza Dodge 200 Running

2 10 52 Ken Schrader/Fenton MO Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 200 Running

3 14 59 Justin South/Hueytown AL HD Supply Lumber & Building Materials Dodge 200 Running

4 16 46 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Hantz Group-Pork Ford 200 Running

5 22 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil Chevrolet 200 Running

6 4 29 Brian Keselowski/Rochester Hills MI AT&T Yellow Pages Dodge 200 Running

7 1 2 Michael McDowell/Phoenix AZ Z Line-Make A Wish-Beck Dodge 200 Running

8 5 18 Billy Leslie/Algonac MI Titan Tire Ford 200 Running

9 18 28 Mike Buckley/Ann Arbor MI St. Croix Chippewa Pontiac 200 Running

10 9 25 Billy Venturini/Chicago IL Bondo-Hawk Saw Blades Chevrolet 200 Running

11 8 65 Justin Marks/Rocklin CA Construct Corps Dodge 199 Running

12 11 30 Terry Jones/Amherstburg ON Jones Group Dodge 199 Running

13 31 84 Norm Benning/Pittsburgh PA Mark Peri International-3KRF.com Chevrolet 199 Running

14 2 16 Justin Allgaier/Springfield IL AG Tech Chevrolet 198 Running

15 30 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Nortrax-Holland Pump-Cozmedics Surgery Assoc Chevy 198 Running

16 13 32 Matt Merrell/Gregory TX Red Line Oil Dodge 198 Running

17 15 6 Dexter Bean/Westby WI Five Star Telecom Chevrolet 198 Running

18 27 1 Dominick Casola/Wall Township NJ A. Casola Farms Ford 197 Running

19 19 07 Billy Tanner/Newtown PA CheapCaribbean.com Pontiac 196 Running

20 17 21 Todd Bowsher/Springfield OH Jack Bowsher & Associates Ford 196 Running

21 34 06 Tim Mitchell/Fayetteville TN Star Wheels Skate Center Ford 193 Running

22 35 79 Mike Koch/Mountain Home AR K&K Racing-Karl’s Plumbing Chevrolet 193 Running

23 12 90 Gabi DiCarlo/Phoenix AZ Great Clips Ford 193 Running

24 28 20 Mark Dimitroff/Flat Rock MI Repossession Results Chevrolet 191 Running

25 23 08 Jason Hedlesky/Clinton MI Hardcore Motorsports Ford 191 Running

26 26 34 Darrell BashamHenryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 186 Accident

27 3 47 Phillip McGilton/Marion IL Midwest Equipment Ford 174 Running

28 21 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL FloraGanics-Brady Ranch Chevrolet 173 Running

29 32 26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Koolmat Ford 161 Running

30 20 23 Josh Krug/Omaha NE Bigford Enterprises-ARCASimRacing.com Pontiac 147 Accident

31 7 14 Brett Rowe/Huntington WV Owens Corning Sales-31W Insulation Chevrolet 127 Accident

32 29 4 Rob Bunker/Bridgewater NJ Dodge Motorsports Dodge 115 Accident

33 33 62 Adam Edwards/Christiansburg VA Andy Belmont Racing Ford 42 Clutch

34 24 38 Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL All Sports Armour Chevrolet 22 Transmssn

35 25 00 Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ford 1 Transmssn

SIM FACTORY POLE AWARD: Michael McDowell 16.544 (108.801 mph)
MRGN OF VICT: .239 seconds CAUTIONS: 14 for 78 laps
TIME OF RACE: 1:46:22 AVG SPEED: 56.409 mph
LAP LEADERS: Allgaier 1-10 (10); McDowell 11-68, 195 (59); Schrader 69-114 (46); Kimmel 115-171 (57);
South 172-174 (3); Butler 175-194, 196-200 (25)