easy during the opening stages of the race in an attempt to save his tires for late in the race.

With Mercer running a conservative race strategy and a lot of the guys towards the front of the pack running their cars pretty hard, Mercer quickly dropped back to seventh in the rundown. Mercer would stay in the seventh spot for about 20 laps not pushing his car too hard and using up his tires.

Mercer decided to move his car to the high line around the track and found that the car was comfortable there and drove from seventh place all the way up into second place on the track. With about 15 laps left to go in the 100 lap scheduled distance, Mercer had closed the distance between himself and the leader from half a lap behind to within three car lengths of the leader's rear bumper.

The caution appeared late in the race placing Mercer on the outside of the leader for the restart. Mercer took advantage of having saved his tires for majority of the race and took the lead quickly upon the green flag reappearing. Mercer than declared it get up and go time as he quickly expanded his lead to nearly a full straightaway over the second place car in the closing laps.

"I have to thank David for this race because we threw a whole lot at the car this weekend and he made all the right decisions when it came down to the end," said Mercer, speaking about his brother David of Mercer Race Car Engineering. "It may have taken a few laps to come in but it was perfect at the end of the race and definitely a joy to drive."

Andy Mercer and his Mercer Racing team will return to Hickory Motor Speedway on May 8th following an off week this coming weekend to continue his campaign for a second straight Late Model Stock track championship. Mercer is back up to fourth in the points after a run of early season bad luck before reeling off two wins and a second place finish in the last three races. 
Mercer Racing is supported by Steele Rubber Products, LP Gear, Reliable Fire and Safety, Mercer Race Car Engineering, Pistone LTO, WP Racing Shocks, Harrington Race Engines, Draco, RACE22.com, Dirt Wrap, Continental Cabinents Inc., Race Com, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Ultra-Pro Synthetics.
 
To stay up to date with Mercer Racing please visit their website at www.mercerracing.com or contact RACE22.com Driver Management at (276) 613-4208.
 
About Steele Rubber Products
Steele Rubber Products is located in Denver, North Carolina. Our company manufactures and provides only the highest quality rubber parts and weatherstripping for classic cars, trucks and street rods. Steele was founded on a simple philosophy; it is less costly to "do it right the first time" than to buy inferior products that won't stand up over time or meet our customer's high expectations. For more visit www.steelerubber.com or www.springrubber.com

About Reliable Fire & Safety
Based in Gastonia, NC, Reliable Fire & Safety offers fire extinguisher sales and service, restaurant and industrial fire suppression systems, as well as emergency light testing and repair. View the full line of Safety Supplies and Services at www.ReliableFireandSafety.com