Local guy holds off Cup stars to win Southwest event at Sonoma The Associated Press SONOMA, Calif. - Local driver Tom Dyer held off four Nextel Cup regulars to win his first NASCAR Southwest Series event Saturday.
Dyer, of Corte Madera, Calif., outraced his car owner, Eric Holmes, to take the Blue Lizard Australian Suncream 200 by about five car lengths at Infineon Raceway, where he is an instructor at the Jim Russell Racing School. Dyer qualified seventh, but dropped to the rear of the 42-car field after a pace-lap pit stop to repair problems with his radio. He also weathered a last-minute scramble to put together a pit crew. "It was definitely a time when I just needed to remain calm and hope for the best," he said. Bryan Gerome, also competing in his first Southwest race, was third.
Kenny Shepherd and Chris Cook, also making their first starts, rounded out the top five. Nextel Cup drivers, at Infineon Raceway for Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350, struggled. Kyle Busch, who had dueled for the lead, finished ninth and Travis Kvapil wound up 12th. Boris Said crashed with Greg Pursley on the 14th lap. Dave Blaney retired 27 laps into the 64-lap race after his transmission failed. Fourteen of the 42 entrants were knocked out of the race by accidents or mechanical failure.
That was quite a feat for him, starting last and beating them! I see from the above excerpt that there were mechanical problems there as well, one including a transmission.