RACE RECAP:
· Logan Ruffin carried high hopes to Langley (Va.) Speedway on Saturday night for the fifth event on the USARacing Pro Cup Series’ 2010 schedule. After recording two solid practice sessions during the morning hours, where the 15-year-old was second and third fastest on the speed charts, Ruffin knew he had a good Turner Motorsports Chevrolet.
· During the time trials to set the starting lineup for the Hampton Virginia 250, Ruffin laid down a solid lap under bright sunny skies. As soon as the Tennessee-native completed his laps, a cloud cover came over the short track, allowing the track temperatures to cool drastically. The untimely cloud helped place Ruffin in the eighth starting position.
· Rolling off from the outside of row four, Ruffin moved into sixth-place by lap 50 as the teenager showed tremendous patience early in the 250-lap race. Ten laps later, Ruffin came to the attention of his pit crew under caution for fuel only. As the No. 31 Chevrolet was exiting the pit stall, a fellow competitor blocked in Ruffin, causing the youngster to lose two positions and restart on lap 64 from eighth-place.
· By lap 100, Ruffin had worked his way back into the sixth position and was looking to break into the top-five. The teenager returned to pit road on lap 139 for fresh tires. A lightening-fast stop gained the rookie three spots under the caution to catapult Ruffin into third-place.
· Within 15 laps, Ruffin took over the second position to chase down leader Clay Rogers. For the final 90 laps, Ruffin fought off a hard-charging veteran, Jeff Agnew, to cross the finish line in second-place. This was Ruffin’s second runner-up finish of the season, as the No. 31 finished second at Hickory (N.C.) Speedway as well.
Clay Rogers won the Hampton Virginia 250. Ruffin, Agnew, Matt Lofton, and A.J. Frank rounded out the top-five finishing positions.
FAST FACTS:
· During the entire 250-lap race, Ruffin was never passed on the track for positions.
· Ruffin currently sits in the sixth position in the USARacing Pro Cup Series championship point standings, only 164 points behind leader Clay Rogers.
· In addition, Ruffin captured Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the second time this season – the other coming at Hickory Motor Speedway. Ruffin also captured the Hard Charger Award, for gaining six positions during the race.
· Ruffin and his Turner Motorsports team will take a one-week break before returning to racing action at South Boston (Va.) Speedway on Saturday, June 12th.
LOGAN RUFFIN QUOTE:
“I looked up in the mirror and I saw him (Agnew) coming. I just turned both mirrors away so I couldn’t see him so I could focus on what I was doing. It worked and I was able to stay in front of him and we had a really great race. My Turner Motorsports team is so close to winning one of these things. Hopefully, here pretty soon, we’ll break into the top. They are doing a great job and I can’t thank them enough.”
-TMS-
