OSCAR Freedom Cup: Truman Debuts a Winner at Talladega
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- Online Stock Car Auto Racing
The OSCAR Freedom Cup race for April 18, 2002 featured five new faces as the top drivers from the highly competitive Sportsman Division were promoted to OSCAR’s premier group. And what better place to be introduced to their new competitors than the tight bumper to bumper action that is Talladega.
Temperatures were near ideal as the field took to their qualifying laps and after all was said and done, Al Sandorff had the pole with a lap speed of 184.498, narrowly beating newcomer Nelson Rivera followed by another new entry, Brian George.
As the green flag flew, the race proceeded cautiously as drivers tried to get a feel for the track and their setups, quickly settling into single file. Points leader Cornel Schuler Jr. suffered early mechanical problems and found himself down 2 laps and would end up a disappointing 16th. On lap 16 the first of 4 cautions came out when George made contact with Don Merpaw and lost control. Previous Sportsman points leader Don Coliau was an unfortunate victim as he got caught up in the ensuing melee.
The field went green again on lap 20 and it wasn’t until lap 53 that the race saw it’s second caution when Mike Grandy came up on a damaged Brian George and took a wild spin through the trioval in an attempt to avoid the offpace car. Charlie Mone in the number 74 car was also involved in the incident. The chess match up front continued between Sandorff, Mark Thompson, Billy Price and Gary Truman until lap 84 when internet problems brought out the caution, setting the stage for a final 6 lap dash to the finish. The dash turned out to short-lived as the fourth and final caution flew when Charlie Mone and Ken Doeg came together on lap 90. Newcomer Gary Truman led the field under yellow to take the win in his first Freedom Cup race. He was followed by Billy Price, Al Sandorff and Don Merpaw. Another newcomer, Mark Thompson rounded out the top five.
Freedom Cup action resumes next week in sunny California.