ANTHONY JR. WINS FORD RACING MUSTANG CHALLENGE RACE 2 FROM POLE

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Ted Anthony Jr. got a good start to his Sunday by scoring the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge pole with a track record-setting time at Homestead Miami Speedway in the morning. But his day got even better as he led all 28 laps in round two of the 2009 Mustang Challenge championship to win his second career Mustang Challenge race.
Anthony was shadowed by fellow front row starter Andrew Caddell, who ran within one second of Anthony for most of the 45-minute race, which ran entirely under green flag conditions.
Jim Click Racing’s Mike McGovern made an encore podium appearance on the weekend with his run to third place, as Andy Lally scored fourth in his Mustang Challenge debut. Steve Phillips took his second top-five result of the weekend with his run to fifth at the checkered flag.
The race started out under sunny skies, although some south Florida rain showers had soaked the track in the moments leading up to the event. But the 18 car herd of pony power proved more than up to the changing conditions, getting off to a clean start and running the full race distance without incident despite the closely matched field.
The gap between Anthony and Caddell varied as the two sized each other up around the 2.21-mile oval-based circuit. Caddell, who was hungry to take his second win of the weekend, kept the pressure on until the very last lap of the race.
“I was hoping to carry the momentum from last season into this year, but we had a little problem with the car yesterday but the TC Motorsports guys did an awesome job and now we’re in victory lane today.” said Anthony. “I was just trying to keep my BFGoodrich r-1’s happy, and keep Andrew Caddell behind me. He was behind me the whole time, pushing me everywhere. I was trying to concentrate and focus forward but I could just feel him the whole time. It’s great to race in Mustang Challenge with all the V-8 power and the Mustang heritage, but the big thing is how close the competition is. You can not make a single mistake out there, so I’m really happy today. Thank god for Larry Miller and his passion for the Mustang and that he created this series.”
Having converted his outside pole starting position into a trip to victory circle on Saturday, Caddell was naturally looking to do that once again on Sunday. But despite not scoring another race win in round two, Caddell knows from his run to the championship last season that every point counts in Mustang Challenge.
“It was a tough race out there,” said Caddell. “I didn’t get as good of a start as I did yesterday and Ted did a great job. No mistakes. He got a pretty good gap on me early on, and I just couldn’t reel him back in. But this is still a pretty good weekend, the Kaufmann Racing guys did a great job and this is great for the points and it’s always good to get up on the podium.”
Another smart player in the championship game is McGovern, who took his Jim Click Racing machine to third in the 2008 Mustang Challenge championship standings.
“I had a good battle with Andy, he did a great job for his first time out there but I was able to hold him off,” said the Jim Click Racing driver. “We made some changes to the car after yesterday, and it was awesome, the Mustang just had a great balance. The Hyper Sport guys did fantastic, and it’s great to be back up on the podium again for the second time this weekend.”
While many in the Mustang Challenge paddock were making their first start at Homestead, a wily veteran of the south Florida facility was in turn making his start in Mustang Challenge competition as Andy Lally jumped into the No. 00 Media Car prepared by Capaldi Racing on Sunday.
“It was a blast! These guys are good, and it was a fun show. I had a good battle with the 55 [McGovern]—I was hoping I could pressure him into making a mistake, but it just didn’t happen. I love the idea of equal cars on the track, battling it out so the driver can win it, and that’s what this is. I think that’s the best thing you can ask for. Also it’s a Mustang, and that’s pretty cool. It gets up and goes, and the BFG’s hold really well, and its really competitive so I had a great time and hopefully I can be back again sometime.”