The Spooktacular at Lowe's Motor Speedway - 11/3/07
By Celita Turner
CHAD FINCHUM SCORES SPOOKY VICTORY IN THE YOUNG GUNS
The Bandolero Young Guns put on a great show during Saturday’s “Spooktacular” at the 1/5th-mile track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The 100-lap race, broken down into two 50-lap segments, was full of action and dominated by Chad Finchum, Nick Stroupe, Brandon Lynn and Ronnie Bassett Jr. The four drivers were at the front of both segments, battling for the lead nearly every lap, but it was Finchum taking the overall Young Guns victory.
Bassett got the short end of the stick when it came to selecting starting positions for the first segment.
“When we first got here you had to bob for apples for your position,” said Bassett. “That didn’t work out to good. My dad didn’t even get one out. That made us start toward the rear and we had to work our way up through the field.”
Chad Finchum celebrated his win with a spooky friend.
Once at the front, Bassett stayed there through both segments.
During the second segment, it was still the Finchum-Bassett-Stroupe-Lynn show. Stroupe and Lynn had a strong battle going for much of the race. They were side by side swapping third and fourth position for several laps, but contact on the track caused a little friction between the two drivers.
“I wasn’t even supposed to race this race,” Stroupe said. “I decided to come back and it turned out to be a pretty good day over all. [Lynn] drove me dirty a little bit, but you can’t do nothing about it really.”
Lynn was excited about his day, and didn’t think too much about the contact with Stroupe.
Blake Jones drove his Mountain Dew #80 Bandolero to his first victory on the 1/5th-mile LMS track. (LN Photo)
So many Bandolero Bandits showed up for Saturday’s “Spooktacular,” one of the most popular Bandolero races of the year, the field was broken up into two 50-lap heat races. The top ten from each race advanced to the last 50 lap segment and when the dust settled, it was Blake Jones taking the overall Spooktacular Bandits victory.
The first heat race was dominated by Dillon Bassett and the second was won by Jones, after an intense battle with the No. 23 of Corey Gordon.
“In the first race our car was really good,” Jones said. “I believe our car was better when the track was hotter.”
During the first race, Jones was sent to the back when another car spun after contact. It wasn’t long before he was right back on the bumper of Gordon.
“I thought I was gonna get in another wreck trying to pass the cars,” Jones said.
The wins by Bassett and Jones put them on the front row for the final 50 laps, where they both stayed for the majority of the race. However, once the leaders got bogged down in lap traffic, they also started having to dodge spinning cars.
Bassett nearly got into an accident when several cars spun in front of him. It was that accident that set him back.
“I was killing them and then there was a big wreck that I had to go in the grass to miss,” Bassett said. “I guess it messed up the toe or something because then my car got real loose.”
After that, Bassett was fighting for every position he could get. When the checkered flag fell, he was in third.
“It’s not too bad. I just wish we could’ve won it,” Bassett said. “Our car was good all day.”
Jones was able to avoid all the accidents, hold off a hard charging Kyle Benjamin and get a Halloween treat a little late.
“It feels real good to win the 100 lapper,” Jones said. “We’ve never won here before,. I’m excited to bring home the checkered.”
Benjamin, while holding off Bassett, just wasn’t able to get to Jones.
“It was a hard race,” said Benjamin. “I had a tough battle at the end with Dillon Bassett. I was going as hard as I could trying to get up to the front.”
SCOTT BEAVER VICTORIOUS IN TWO-CAR OUTLAWS DIVISION RACE
The Bandolero Outlaws division only had two competitors show up for Saturday’s “Spooktacular” at the 1/5 mile at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Since there was a poor division turnout, officials raced them with the Young Guns. When the racing action concluded, Scott Beaver drove his No. 38 Bandolero to the Outlaws victory over Marcus Limehouse's No. 88.
Limehouse and Beaver weren’t really disappointed with the turnout, they just wanted to race.
“This is my first time racing so I just wanted to race,” Beaver said. "It ain’t fun though getting beat by all them young kids.”
Limehouse felt out of place more than anything.
“It makes me feel old,” said Limehouse. “I’m the last of the original group I started with five years ago.”
With the Mason-Dixon Meltdown just a few short weeks away at Conord Motorsport Park (NC), it remains to be seen if more Outlaws will show up to race or if the division will continue to suffer low car counts.
[Editor's note: Initially we had Marcus Limehouse winning the Outlaw feature, when it was Scott Beaver. We apologize for the error.]
“We’re glad to get fourth today,” Lynn said. “The car at the end got really tight. Me and Stroupe battled for a while for position and one time when he passed me and I passed him back we got together. It’s just racing, stuff happens sometimes.”
Bassett and Finchum were battling for the lead every lap of the race. Rarely were they not on one another’s bumpers. Finchum’s last pass for the lead proved to be too much for Bassett to overcome.
“Me and Ronnie’s been racing like that for a few races now,” Finchum said. “It’s really exciting when he gets up beside me and I see that 04 in my rearview mirror.”
Bassett’s just couldn’t get back Finchum’s bumper in time to take the checkered, but he still had fun trying.
“I don’t mind racing with [Finchum],” Bassett said. “He was good and I was good, but he has a little more motor going down the straightaway. It was a lot of fun. I wish I would’ve won since it was the last race in the Bandos for this year.”
Finchum was confident in his car all day and was there at the end to sweep both segments.
“The first half of the race we had a pretty good car and then at the end it started pushing a little bit and we kept having cautions and I got worried a little bit,” Finchum said. “Then we came into the second segment with a pretty good car, it got better and better and we got the win, so I’m happy.”
BLAKE JONES DOES THE DEW-TY; TAKES THE BANDITS WIN
