CONCORD BANDOLEROS - 6/8/07
By Matt Kentfield
Surprise! Sellers Wins Outlaws
If you’ve been to Concord Motorsport Park so far this Spring season at Concord Motorsport Park, don’t be alarmed by the yellow flash that circles the quarter-mile oval. It’s just Kendall Sellers doing what he usually does – win.
Friday night was no exception, as Sellers went on to yet another Outlaw victory over Nathan Rodgers and T.J. Hicks.
“It feels real good to have this good of a car every week,” said Sellers. “It’s all about preparation in the shop week in and week out. That’s the key right there.”
LeVan's Spin Puts Hicks In Victory Lane
Benji Hicks had not been at Concord Motorsport Park since April 13th. Of course, the last time he was on the CMP quarter-mile, he was in victory lane of the Bandolero Beginner Bandit feature.
The wait was well worth it. Hicks scored victory Friday night after early leader Chandler LeVan spun by himself off the second corner on lap 11.
“I just lost it on my own,” said LeVan. “Nothing more I can say.”
Hicks’ victory came at the heels of plenty of hard work by his team, and the young driver did not fail to recognize them as he celebrated his victory.
“I’ve got to thank my mom, my dad, my brothers and sisters for always being here and supporting me.”
Bassett Checks Out for Bandits Win
Dillon Bassett checked out early in the 15-lap Bandolero Bandits feature. It appeared as if it was going to be another “Sparkplug” check-out on Friday night. The small, but speedy, driver held the lead throughout the race, but a hard-charging Matthew Linker kept digging his way towards Bassett and eventually caught him on lap 12.
Kendall Sellers (top row, second from left) celebrates his win with his friends. (LN Photo)
Dillon Bassett (front row, second from right) lets older brother Ronnie hold his trophy.
Linker’s charge had to be halted when point leaders Bodie Bellanger and Stephen Bergh, Jr. made contact behind the leaders, bringing out the yellow flag. Once the race restarted, though, nothing was going to stop Bassett.
“We had a good car and I’m really happy to get the win tonight,” said Bassett. “We’ve won a couple races here this year and I hope we can keep it up into the Summer Shootout, too.”
Of course, while Bassett takes time to chase victories at the Summer Shootout at Lowe’s, he’s also looking forward to coming back to Concord for the fall season.
“Oh yeah, I’ll be here and hopefully we can keep winning like this.”
Point Leaders Battle, But Pack Tops 'Em All
The hottest points battle at Concord so far this season belongs to the Bandolero Young Guns. Going into Friday night’s event, Robert Poole, Dylan Pack and Ronnie Bassett, Jr. were separated by only a few points atop the standings.
Dylan Pack's #89
Fittingly, those were the three main combatants for the victory Friday night. Poole led early, but on lap 10 Pack gave a nudge to Poole, allowing Pack’s bright-yellow and orange #89 to take the lead. Bassett followed Pack by Poole for second and began setting his sights on the victory.
Pack was able to hold off Bassett’s challenges, however, for the final spring season victory at CMP. The victory celebration was tame, however, as Pack felt bad about the move that won him the race.
“This was great,” said Pack. “I’ve got to thank my parents for working on my car. I feel like it was a dirty win though because I got into the back of Robert a little bit. I don’t like to race like that. I kind of think that I won it dirty, but it’s still a great win.”
The conclusion of the June 8th program for the Legends and Bandoleros at Concord Motorsport Park marked the end of the Spring season at the quarter-mile. As teams begin to switch their attention to the Lowe’s Motor Speedway Summer Shootout starting on Tuesday, CMP takes the summer months off before starting their season back up on August 17th.
Twelve CMP events made up the spring schedule, with nine left on the docket when the track returns to action. To date, the Bandolero Bandits and Young Guns have the best points battles to resume in August.
In the Bandits, Bodie Bellanger holds a narrow four-point margin over June 8th winner Dillon Bassett, 1104 to 1100. Right behind them is Jordan Stillwell with 1092 points. Christian Thomas and Noah Triplett (registered as a Beginner Bandit) round out the top-five in points.
The Young Gun points had a bit of a shakeup on Friday night, as previous point leader Robert Poole dropped to third and Ronnie Bassett, Jr. took the top spot with 1126 points. Dylan Pack is second with 1,111 markers thanks in large part to Friday night’s win and Poole currently sits with 1,106.
“When we come back here in August, we’ll definitely have something for Robert and Dylan,” said Bassett. “I’m looking forward to the Shootout and then coming back here to go after the championship.”
With the momentum from Friday’s win, Pack is also excited about coming back in August.
“I’ll be focused on the championship, but we just come out here to do our best and go for wins,” said Pack. “Once you start worrying about the points, that’s when something bad happens. We’re going to come out here and try to win and let the points go where they do.”
Even though Kendall Sellers has been dominating the Bandolero Outlaw division, Nathan Rodgers has been right on his heels every week. That’s why Rodgers goes into the summertime break 48 points behind Sellers.
“Every single thing I try, it seems like he keeps getting further away,” said Rodgers. “I do everything I can to try to get ahead of him and nothing seems to work. I’m looking forward to the Shootout, though, and hopefully when we come back here I can keep working on the car so that we can come out here and beat him.”
Bandolero Beginner Bandit Results
1. #21 Benji Hicks
2. #70 Noah Triplett
3. #8 Chandler LeVan
4. #4 John Holleman
5. #61 Jeffrey Stanton
dns #38 Aaron Beaver
Bandolero Bandit Results
1. #44 Dillon Bassett
2. #06 Matthew Linker
3. #70 Stephen Bergh, Jr.
4. #52 Jordan Stillwell
5. #48 Bodie Bellinger
6. #99 Tyler Lester
7. #57 Justin Carroll
8. #7 Christian Thomas
dq #35 Sean Shalvoy
Bandolero Young Gun Results
1. #89 Dylan Pack
2. #04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
3. #97 Brandon Lynn
4. #25 Robert Poole
5. #17 Casey LaJoie
6. #11 Brett Pepicelli
7. #57 Daniel Gobeille
8. #14 Andy Brown
Bandolero Outlaw Results
1. #6 Kendall Sellers
2. #42 Nathan Rodgers
3. #21 T.J. Hicks
4. #22 Brett White
5. #36 Kayla Turner
6. #38 Chris Beaver
Bodie Bellanger continues to show the way in the Bandits
