September 24, 2005 (Jennerstown, PA)
Forty-four USAR Hooters ProCup teams showed up at the Jennerstown Speedway for the Charlie Campbell Memorial BFGoodrich Tires 250, the first of the five Championship Series races Saturday, September 24. USAR officials expanded the lineup from 36 to 38-cars to include two more teams into the race.
After having a successful test at the speedway the week before, Ken Butler III and his crew found themselves toward the bottom of the list after the first practice and needed to pickup speed before qualifying to make the race. Only 1-second separated the fastest car from the 41st car, so all of the teams were very competitive.
Crew Chief Danny Crafton ordered several chassis changes before qualifying, and KBIII was determined to make this race. As the 17th car out to take his two qualifying laps, Butler did pick up over ½-second from his practice time and made the field starting 33rd. By the time qualifying was over, less than ½ second separated Benny Gordon’s pole-winning time from the 36th place car.
When the green-flag fell, KBIII patiently worked his way forward, dodging a couple of spins ahead of him and keeping out of trouble. Midway through the 250-lap event, Butler found himself in the top-15 and was keeping pace with the lead pack cars. Late in the race, Ken broke into the top-ten and was looking for his best finish of the season. However, with only 12-laps to go, KBIII was tapped from behind coming out of turn-two and brushed the wall, sending him to the pits for minor repairs.
Butler would go on to finish 20th, disappointed about the incident and not getting that top-ten finish. “The car was pretty good and the crew made it better during out pit stop.” Ken said after the race. “I was patient all night and made some aggressive moves when I felt I could pick up a spot. I hated we hit the wall so close to the end, but we had a good run. We’ll see if we can get that top-ten in Mansfield in a couple of weeks.”
Joe Gaita held off rookie Joey Logano by .342 seconds en route to victory in the Charlie Campbell Memorial BFGoodrich Tires 250. "You just couldn’t have written a better script," said Gaita, who picked up his third Pro Cup win. "It means a whole lot to win in the Hooters Pro Cup Series, but to win in the Championship Series is extra special."
KBIII’s twentieth place finish moved him from 31st in the Championship points into a three-way tie for 24th.
You can watch all of the race action from Jennerstown on SPEED channel Saturday, October 1 at 10:00 PM. The second USAR Championship Series race will be at the Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Mansfield, OH Saturday, October 8.
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