Kobyluck Extends Point Lead With Runner-Up Finish At Mansfield

Matt Kobyluck battled back from an early-race flat tire to challenge for the win in the Mansfield 150 NASCAR Camping World Series East race Saturday afternoon, but settled with a runner-up finish after eventual race-winner Brian Ickler held off the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet on the final green-white-checker restart. The finish was enough to extend Kobyluck’s point lead to 176 over Jesus Hernandez with only three races remaining in the 2008 season.

“We had some bad luck early, but the guys in the pits did a great job and kept us on the lead lap. We had a great car. Unfortunately, I had to use up a little bit more of the right front to get back to the front,” Kobyluck said after the race. “Brian (Ickler) had a little bit better of a car than we did. I gave it one last shot, but big-picture wise there was no sense in my slicing and dicing it in there.”

Kobyluck started fourth and moved up to third on lap seven after a brief three-wide battle. Kobyluck stayed a fixture in the top-three until lap 34 when he suddenly fell off the pace. On his way to the pits, the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet spun in turn two and brought out the caution.

“I felt it right as I was going back green. I couldn’t pull off because we were going green right then,” Kobyluck said. “We found a puncture in the tire so I must have run over some debris.”

Kobyluck headed to the pits and the crew feverishly changed the left rear tire and got him back on track without going a lap down. He would, however, have to start at the tail of the field. The team rose to the challenge. By halfway, Kobyluck was back in the top-10, and by lap 100, he was in the top-five.

Patiently, Kobyluck put himself in a position to challenge for the lead. On a restart at lap 125, Kobyluck outraced Ickler by a nose at the start/finish line after an intense side-by-side battle. As soon as he took the lead, the caution came back out and put the two together once again for a restart at lap 134.

Again, the two put on a fierce battle with Ickler getting the advantage at the line. On lap 141, Kobyluck went underneath Ickler heading into turn three and the two made contact. Ickler got sideways and Kobyluck let off the throttle allowing Ickler to keep the lead.

Caution tightened the duo up once again and extended the race distance to allow for a green-white-checker finish. Ickler beat Kobyluck off the restart and to the checkers by .370 seconds.

“It just wasn’t our day. We had a good enough car to be in victory lane, but Brian had a little bit better. He saved a little bit at the end and I had used mine up a little bit coming back up through after the tire,” said Kobyluck. “This track is great and I always look forward to coming here because it lends itself to a lot of side-by-side racing.”

An enhanced replay of the Mansfield 150 will be broadcast on SPEED on September 12th at 1 PM ET.