Woody Howard Wins Soy Biodiesel 250
by: By Paul Warner

NEWTON, IA (Sept. 15, 2006) - When the white flag waved for the Soy Biodiesel 250, Woody Howard was running fourth. But when checkered flag flew, Howard eked his No. 55 Dean Motorsports Chevrolet across the finish line .064 seconds ahead of Daniel Johnson to win the inaugural race at Iowa Speedway.

"My car owner, Jim Dean, said he didn’t care if we only led one lap all night as long is it was the last one," said Howard, who led for the first time on the last lap. "I don’t even remember which way I made the pass; I was just going where it was open. I’m just glad it all worked out."

Coming to the white flag, Johnson, driver of No. 3 Charlotte Check Cashers Pontiac, looked like he would be the first one to christen Iowa Speedway’s Victory Lane.

After a late-race caution set up a green-white-checkered finish, Johnson nudged Mardy Lindley out of the lead on Lap 258. The contact allowed Howard to get a run on the leader going into Turn 1 on the final lap. Howard and Johnson went side-by-side for the final lap, banging off each other several times. But in the end, Johnson, who led a race-high 82 laps, fell short of his first Hooters Pro Cup Series win.

"This is an awesome place, and it felt so good running up front here," said Johnson. "I really wanted to win, but this is one of the best runs I’ve had. We almost didn’t make this race due to lack of funds, and this definitely helps us out."

As Johnson and Howard fought for the top spot, Justin Hobgood also joined the fray on the final lap. Hobgood, driver of the No. 16 Naturally Fresh Ford, made it three-wide coming to the checkered flag, but the Winnsboro, S.C., driver finished .129 seconds behind in third.

"There’s just so much grip out there," said Hobgood, who was the highest-finishing rookie. "We were three and four wide out there. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to be doing, but it was time to go."

Johnny Rumley, driver of the No. 80 Champion Chevrolet, finished fourth, while Mardy Lindley, who led coming to the green flag with two laps remaining, slipped to fifth.

The Soy Biodiesel 250 featured 26 lead changes among 13 drivers and was slowed 11 times for 93 laps of caution.

Unofficial Results

1. Woody Howard
2. Daniel Johnson
3. Justin Hobgood
4. Johnny Rumley
5. Mardy Lindley
6. Lonnie Rush Jr.
7. Clay Rogers
8. Dange Hanniford
9. Mart Nesbitt
10. Jim Crabtree
11. Shane Wallace
12. Shelby Howard
13. Kirk Leone
14. Derek Kale
15. Benny Gordon
16. Brett Butler
17. Matt Carter
18. Trevor Bayne
19. Mike Herman
20. Bobby Gill
21. Jeff Fultz
22. Sam Fullone
23. A.J. Frank
24. Wayne Willard
25. Jody Lavender
26. Jack Bailey
27. Ken Butler III
28. A.J. Fike
29. Michael Ritch
30. Eric Corbett
31. Jeff Agnew
32. Jay Fogleman
33. Gary St. Amant
34. Chase Pistone
35. Tim Bainey Jr.
36. Joey Logano
37. Michelle Theriault