NickHolt Posted May 24, 2004 Report Share Posted May 24, 2004 Premier MotorSports -- San Antonio, Texas Release: May 23, 2004 San Antonio's Brandon Bendele Puts Premier Minerals Chevy on the Pole at Houston after Fast Engine Change; "Racin' Deal" Ruins the Night for Premier Motorsports Team Houston, TX -- San Antonio's Brandon Bendele and the crew of the # 8 Premier Minerals Chevrolet Monte Carlo did everything they could, but their night at Houston Motorsports Park ended in what Brandon shrugged off with a smile as, "just one of those racin' deals," as Bradley Riethmeyer of Hutto took the win in the ROMCO 125 here on Saturday night, May 22. According to Bendele, though, the Premier Motorsports crew were the real stars of the night. "We discovered an engine problem and the crew changed engines in an hour and a half to get us on the track for qualifying. They were great." Bendele responded to their effort by putting the Premier Minerals Chevy on the pole (earning himself five extra points in the ROMCO "Texas Tornado Tour" series) then had to start on the second row when the top four cars were inverted. That wasn't a problem for about half the race as Bendele held his spot, running with the leaders while he waited to make his move late in the race. "With about 50 laps to go, the leader got sideways in front of us, and I hit him. All it did was knock him straight and put a dent in his door, but it messed up the front end of the Premier Chevy and after that we were just running for points as long as we could." Bendele would end the night in 18th spot among the 29 cars that started the race. Bendele wasn't the only one of the top runners to have a bad night. Only 13 cars finished the race, and there were some new names up front. Points leader Thad Felton, only one point ahead of Bendele coming into the Houston race, finished just three spots ahead of him in 15th. "We've got three weeks before the next race, at Texas Motor Speedway," Bendele said Sunday. "That will give us plenty of time to fix the car. We're using the same car we ran in the NASCAR Elite Division race here for that race, so this one will be prepared as a backup car." Bendele finished third in the Elite Division race. It was his first Elite Division race, and his was the best finish of the Texas drivers behind winner Jason Hogan of Georgia and Jeff Fultz, who is originally from Ohio. Results, "ROMCO 125" Houston Motorsports Park, May 22, 2004 1. Bradley Riethmeyer, Hutto TX 2. Tuffy Hudson, Portland, TX 3. John Kelly, San Antonio, TX 4. Marty Castens, Jr., Broken Arrow, OK 5. Kent Baltzell, Spring, TX 6. T. Wade Welch, Houston, TX 7. Heath Stewart, Del Valle, TX 8. Michael Crofford, Houston, TX 9. Bob Garwood, Kingwood, TX 10. Raymond Pattison, Broken Arrow, OK 11. Scott Atkinson, Conway, MO 12. Colt James, Buda, TX 13. Eddy Wallace, Round Rock, TX 14. Ronnie Hall, Alvord, TX 15. Thad Felton, The Woodlands, TX 16. Greg Davidson, Pearland, TX 17. Cory Roper, Vernon, TX 18. Brandon Bendele, Adkins, TX 19. Tommy Grimes, San Antonio, TX 20. Danny Pike, Red Oak, TX 21. Tony Jackson, Jr., Lebanon, MO 22. Tom Grothues, San Antonio, TX 23. John David, Jr., Odessa, TX 24. David Lehnert, Corpus Christi, TX 25. Doug Hooks, Dripping Springs, TX 26. Michael Umscheid, Cedar Park, TX 27. Mark Chrudimsky, Hutto, TX 28. Harry Keane, Jr., Garland, TX 29. Donny Nesloney, Port Aransas, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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