Sellers Strong at Adirondack; Leads Most Laps but Finishes 9th

Lowville, NY:   Peyton Sellers and the Casella Waste Systems #44 Chevrolet led the most laps and had the dominant car in NASCAR Camping World East Series The Edge Hotel presented by Casella Waste Systems 150 at Adirondack International Speedway on Saturday night but settled for a 9th place after coming from the back of the field twice.

Hundreds of Casella Waste Systems employees were on hand for the race, and their team was determined to give them a good show.  Sellers qualified fourth on the flat half-mile oval.  By lap 15, Sellers was running second. 

After a red-flag delay for rain, the former National Champion was able to make his move in a well-timed restart to take the lead on lap 38.  Sellers paced the field for the next 50 laps of the race until contact from the second place car sent Sellers spinning to the infield.  After a pit stop to fix damage on the car due to the contact, Sellers re-started at the back of the field.

Adirondack International Speedway is known for its spectacular short track racing and the East Series race was no exception.  Aggressive, side-by-side racing was found throughout the field.  Sellers was right in the middle of the short track action racing his way back through the pack inside another car and racing hard, and made contact with the #35 of Steve Park.  The contact was not intentional but NASCAR black-flagged Sellers for aggressive driving. The car that spun Sellers out of the lead was not black-flagged for aggressive driving, nor were any other drivers throughout the night.

With less than 20 laps to go, Sellers was still able to race back to 9th place when the checkered flag fell.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed”, stated team owner Andy Santerre.  “When you have a car that good you hate to see it end like this.  That seems to be the theme at ASM this year.  We have been in contention to win the last three races but haven’t finished where we have raced due to incidents outside our control.  I spoke to NASCAR officials about our penalty and the lack of other penalties and expressed my thoughts on those and other matters.  I said my peace and can’t change the past so I’m looking forward to Lime Rock Park.”

Seller’s sits 12th in the standings heading into the second road course race of the season in Lakeville, Connecticut on Saturday, August 16th. 

In addition to Casella Waste Systems, Sellers is also sponsored by Specialty Fertilizer Products, who will return as primary sponsor of the #44 Chevrolet for the Mansfield race on August 23rd.  The team also has a partnership with SkillsUSA, a national non-profit student organization for students entering the skilled trades.