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  *Comments on the 1995 Dodge Dealers 200:*
  View the most recent comment <#8> | Post a comment <#post>


  1.   Unser1 posted:
  03.13.2011 - 5:41 pm
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Road course ace Butch Leitzinger's only Busch North win of 1995, this
wasn't a one-off he actually ran a part-time schedule that year in the
#91 Ford.


  2.   Kevin Nauta posted:
  01.07.2017 - 5:53 pm
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Oma Kimbrough qualified the #60, but Jeff Spraker took it over for the
race when Spraker's own car failed to qualify.

Source: Howie Hodge
http://www.racerhub.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=103647


  3.   nascarman posted:
  02.05.2017 - 9:12 am
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Leitzinger had to pass alot of cars to win this race.

"In 1995, Leitzinger needed to compete in a 15-lap qualifying race to
earn a spot in the back of the starting grid. In the qualifying race, he
was running last on three occasions in the first nine laps before
finishing second to nab the final qualifying spot.

As for the race, Leitzinger soared to the front of the field, only to be
sent to the rear of the grid by NASCAR officials as a penalty for
entering a closed pit lane. He would eventually rally back to win the
race."


  4.   nascarman posted:
  10.15.2020 - 7:47 am
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Harry Gant was grand marshal for this race


  5.   MSportRev posted:
  10.15.2020 - 8:15 am
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Joe Bessey relieved by John Preston.
Jeff Spraker relieved by Oma Kimbrough.
Jamie Aube relieved by R.J. Valentine.

Source: Ultimate Racing History.

Based on that ^^ the driver change @2 mentioned makes sense.


  6.   JSPorts posted:
  10.15.2020 - 8:55 am
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Why were there so many driver changes in this race? Just cause it was a
road course? It was only an 83-lap race that lasted just 1h 37m.


  7.   MSportRev posted:
  10.15.2020 - 10:10 am
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That's a good question. Also, based on those notes, and the DNQ list as
it stands, it looks like there were more driver changes. Jamie Aube
DNQ'd in his original No. 41 and Joe Bessy from his original No. 1.


  8.   Jeff posted:
  10.22.2020 - 2:50 pm
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It wasn't likely a matter of "relief" in the traditional sense, but more
likely choice. A lot of Busch North drivers simply weren't great road
racers. And in other cases, drivers would start a secondary car to earn
points, then hand the car back to its original driver as a courtesy. I
believe Herb Drugg did the same thing in Scott Bouley's car a couple
years later at Watkins Glen.

Also of note, this race was postponed by a few weeks due to rain - and a
rain-delayed Thompson race was slotted in before the rescheduled Lime
Rock race. So that may have necessitated some car/driver changes as well.

What I'm not sure is if they qualified before the rains came, or if they
ran the whole event in November.

Bessey was in his own Tony Vecchio #1 Pontiac for the race, except it
was renumbered to #72 (and not using Preston's numbers or duct tape). If
we look back to Thompson, John Preston had a mechanical issue that ended
his day.

Total speculation based on this says (a) Preston actually broke after
qualifying and Bessey took his place with his renumbered #72, or (b)
Preston qualified, then broke at Thompson, and Bessey went to Lime Rock
with #72 on his door.

He likely let Preston finish the race as a thank-you. Bessey won at
Watkins Glen and was a capable road racer in his own right. But by
getting credit for the race it probably benefited him in the driver
standings (and there was probably money at hand if he did so).

So it generally wasn't relief for fatigue, so much as those drivers who
made the starts had more to gain from getting credit for the start. They
just didn't want the other driver to lose the opportunity to race
altogether.


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