Kobyluck Finishes 11th At South Boston

South Boston, Va. (May 31, 2009): Mohegan Sun Racing driver Matt Kobyluck is not coming to terms with his finishes so far this season easily. The defending 2008 NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion completed the first third of the season with an 11th place finish at South Boston Speedway Saturday night, a track he’s had a lot of success on in the past. For some, that finish would have been considered a good day, but not for the 39-year-old driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet.

“We didn’t just win the championship last year. We ran well, and we ran well everywhere we went. We dominated short tracks, we dominated road courses, and we ran well at the speedways,” he said. “We are trying the same things we had success with last year and its not working. I guess we’re going to have to try something different.”

Kobyluck was forced to a back up car at South Boston after hitting the wall when he blew a right front tire in the first practice. After thrashing to get everything switched over, the team went out and posted the tenth fastest time of the day in final practice. It was promising results.

In qualifying, things only got better. Kobyluck turned a lap of 16.308 seconds (88.300 mph) to earn a fifth place starting position.

The first half of the race reinforced the team’s optimism with Kobyluck being a solid top-five contender. By the 20th circuit, Kobyluck had moved up to fourth and it seemed nothing was going to slow him down.

The field was tightened up by caution at lap 40 and racing resumed at lap 46. Kobyluck moved up to third and was holding off the challenges of Sean Caisse by lap 50. Caisse went low and got up to Kobyluck’s door for an intense side-by-side battle. The duo battled it out for two full circuits before Caisse got the advantage in turn two. Caution came out at lap 55 and set the field up for a restart at lap 60.

When racing got back underway, Kobyluck got caught up in the high groove and was relegated back to eighth before getting down on the bottom groove. He continued to fall back in the field as the handling went away on him. At lap 102, Kobyluck brought the Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet down pit road for an adjustment.

“The right rear just went away on me and I had no grip,” Kobyluck said. “We tried tightening it up and it doesn’t have any effect on the car. We’re not just trying to tighten it up a little bit. We are going to extremes and the tires are just not responding to that.”

Kobyluck made up some ground before the checkers fell, but settled with a disappointing 11th place finish.

“We want to race to win – not run around somewhere in eighth or tenth. I can understand if that’s all you are capable of, but we know we are capable of more. We’ve proven that. That’s what is frustrating about it. We have got to get it figured out,” he concluded.

Kobyluck returns to the site of his first win last season – Watkins Glen International road course – next week for the running of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on June 6th.