Kobyluck Requests Scoring Recheck After Holland Fiasco

The unofficial Busch East Series, Grand National Division finish lists Matt Kobyluck, driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet, ninth on the rundown. However, the Uncasville, CT-driver has asked NASCAR to do a scoring recheck after a malfunction in the electronic transponders caused officials to think he was a lap down. The confusion took him out of a top-five run and put him at the tail end of the field with only ten laps remaining in the Fucillo Auto Park HUGE 150 at Holland International Speedway Saturday night.

“I honestly think there were some really good parts of the race, and there were some other parts of the race that were absolutely terrible and just unprofessional,” said Kobyluck. “Unfortunately, that’s how the race came down and the way it ended leaves a cloud over the entire event instead of a finalization that the fans and teams expect. At lap 140 by the scorecard, we were in the fourth position. A happy ending for me would be for NASCAR to place us in the fourth position in the finish. At this point, that’s the best I can hope for. That’s where we were when NASCAR took the race away from us. At Lake Erie Speedway last year, there were similar circumstances with Andy Santerre, and at the finish of the race, Santerre appealed it. The official finish was revised to ninth from 14th so there is a history of changing a

Kobyluck races his #40 in a pack with Charles Lewandoski (#01) and Mike Olsen  (#61).

(Ken Spring Photo)

finish. I think it is a realistic expectation for NASCAR to correct the mistake they made and give us the fourth spot back. You have to fall back on past history, past occurrences… that’s all I’m asking for.”

Kobyluck started the event from the fourth position, but fell back to fifth in the opening laps, and despite falling back to eighth by lap 20, he was still confident for a strong run. His determination became evident by lap 50, when Kobyluck turned up the heat, and powered his Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet to fifth. Kobyluck was looking to advance further through the field when, at lap 62, he got turned around in turn two.

Kobyluck lined up eighteenth for the restart at lap 73 and immediately began picking off cars as he headed back towards the front. Running mid-pack, however, has its risks, and at lap 88, got caught up in a wreck in turn three. Kobyluck headed for the pits at lap 91 so the team could make adjustments to his mangled up machine, but headed back to the track almost immediately.

“The crew banged out the hood so I could see, pulled the sheet metal away from the left front tire and changed the left front tire,” said Kobyluck. “I was upset as any driver would be on both occasions. I got spun and then I got in the wreck, but we rebounded. I was back up in the top-five running in the fourth position. I was happy that we could salvage what we could out of what potentially could be a bad day. After I thought all the controversy was over, it got a little worse.”

Following the wreck, Kobyluck was again at the tail end of the line and running 22nd in the order, however, he was more determined than ever to move through the field and get back to his top-five caliber. By lap 140, Kobyluck had done just that and was running fourth. What happened next was beyond the team’s comprehension. NASCAR radioed to the crew chief that Kobyluck would be the beneficiary. He would gain a lap back. However, the team’s scorer reported to officials that they weren’t a lap down. When NASCAR failed to analyze the situation, Kobyluck had no choice but to pass the pace car and position his Mohegan Sun Casino Chevrolet at the back of the field once again.

At the conclusion of the race, Kobyluck went straight to NASCAR to explain his dilemma. The team had not been a lap down. After careful review, they agreed that a mistake had been made, but awarded him only a ninth place finish.

“Basically, the score cards were reviewed, and it was determined that a mistake was made by NASCAR that put us a lap down. The electronic scoring system malfunctioned and that’s how it happened. We tried to get them to review it while we were under caution, but it didn’t happen, so we had to take the beneficiary. At that point, we were actually a lap ahead of the field. Now the situation is that NASCAR has to correct it. Per the NASCAR rulebook, the scoring has to be rechecked by appealing to section 11.2. It is currently under review, and they are telling me it will probably be a week before there is an official decision on the race. Until then, the results from the race are unofficial.”