NASCAR's Busch Series headed to Nazareth, Pennsylvania for the Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 200 for a Sunday afternoon race as the Winston Cup drivers enjoyed a day off after The Winston. The one-mile tri-oval is one of the most unique tracks on the circuit, comprised of five low-banked turns and considerable elevation changes. Often compared to Darlington, Nazareth Speedway is notoriously difficult for rookies and veterans alike.
Randy LaJoie set a new qualifying record to capture the top starting spot, joined in the front row by Stacy Compton. Point leader David Green qualified 12th. Todd Bodine, starting the race just 5 points behind the leader, started at the back of the field for a second consecutive week, this time because Tim Fedewa qualified the car as a substitute while Bodine ran in the Winston Open.
Randy LaJoie led only a handful of laps before Ron Hornaday charged to the front from his 3rd place starting position. Hornaday took the lead on lap ten, and the pair battled for several laps through lap traffic before Hornaday managed to open up a small lead over LaJoie. The first caution of the day flew on lap 58, when smoke billowed from Ashton Lewis Jr's car. Lewis headed to the garage with a blown engine as the entire field came down pit road for four tires and fuel. Kasey Kahne took the lead after missing his pit stall and deciding not to come back to pit road, followed by LaJoie and Hornaday.
On the restart, LaJoie took the lead from Kahne, his fresher tires giving him an on track advantage, and Hornaday followed. LaJoie held the top spot for only one lap before Hornaday went back to the front and began to pull away from the field. Kahne faded back through the pack as Brian Vickers worked his way up into 2nd and began to close on Hornaday. The second caution flew on lap 91 when Bill Hoff spun into the outside wall. The trouble came just in time for Kahne, who was struggling to conserve fuel and hoping not to have to make a green flag stop. The leaders stayed on the track, but several cars near the end of the lead lap headed for the pits along with Kahne.
After a strong restart, Hornaday once again opened up a small lead over the rest of the field to lead as the race came to the halfway point. Ron Young spun in turn one just a few laps later, bringing the field back together under the third yellow flag of the day. Pit strategy became the top concern as the leaders again stayed out, and several cars headed into the pits to top off their fuel tanks, hoping to make it to the finish without another stop.
Another good restart helped Hornaday hold on to the lead, but this time both LaJoie and Vickers followed close behind. A fourth caution, again for Ron Young, who cut a tire and slid up into the outside wall, brought the leaders into the pits. Trouble with a jack cost Randy LaJoie a lot of time and position, and he exited pit road deep in the field. Scott Riggs, Scott Wimmer and rookie David Stremme stayed on the track, Stremme taking the lead when the rest of the field headed to the pits. A strong restart and the quickest car on the track combined to allow Stremme to build a 1.5 second lead over the rest of the field as Hornaday battled through traffic to get back to the front.
The fifth and final caution of the race flew on lap 142, when Kevin Grubb hit the outside wall after contact with Randy LaJoie. Only a couple cars stopped for service as Grubb headed for the garage. As the race went green again, Hornaday, who restarted 2nd, dropped to the bottom of the track to pass Stremme for the lead, bringing Mike Bliss along with him. Bliss challenged Hornaday for the top spot, but Hornaday held him off and slowly opened up a lead of several car lengths between them. Todd Bodine, diving the fastest car on the track, fought his way into the 5th spot as the laps wound down. Brian Vickers once again took the second spot and began to close on Hornaday, but ran out of time. Ron Hornaday took the checkered flag with a half-second lead over Vickers. Mike Bliss, point leader David Green and Todd Bodine rounded out the top five.
Unofficial Results
- Ron Hornaday
- Brian Vickers
- Mike Bliss
- David Green
- Todd Bodine
- David Stremme
- Randy LaJoie
- Stacy Compton
- Bobby Hamilton Jr.
- Johnny Sauter
Unofficial Standings
- David Green
- Todd Bodine -10
- Ron Hornaday -83
- Shane Hmiel -104
- Scott Riggs -115
- Jason Keller -129
- Mike Bliss -135
- Johnny Sauter -160
- Brian Vickers -180
- Bobby Hamilton Jr. -252
