MILLBRIDGE - 8/26/07 BANDOLEROS

By Matt Kentfield

OUTLAWS & YOUNG GUNS – Rodgers' Weekend Sweep Not So Easy

Nathan Rodgers was on cloud nine after the Bandolero Outlaws feature event at Concord Motorsport Park on Saturday night.  Finally, after finishing behind Kendall Sellers numerous times between Concord and Lowe’s Motor Speedway during the Summer Shootout, Rodgers got the best of Sellers in the Outlaw feature Saturday at Concord.

The win was met with displeasure by some other competitors in the Concord pit area, but Rodgers didn’t mind.  He was going to keep his car just as it was and show back up for the next race at Concord and hopefully duplicate it.

Nathan Rodgers is getting used to this winning thing after the stellar weekend he had.  (LN Photos)

“I wasn’t even going to race today because I had my car ready for Concord.  I wasn’t going to change a thing because my car was flying.  I was here earlier in the day and went up and talked to Rob.  He was saying I was scared to run on dirt.  I said ‘hey, I’ve won the last two races out here.’  I came out here and showed him I could win three in a row.’

Rodgers (#42) dominated over Ronnie Bassett, Jr. (#4)

Even though it didn’t take long for Rodgers to take the lead from eventual second-place finisher and Young Gun winner Ronnie Bassett, Jr., Rodgers might have just been running on the non-stop high he was on since beating his rival Sellers at Concord on Saturday.

“I finally got a win at Concord last night by a little bit over Kendall, then to come out here and win again for my third-straight win, this is awesome.  I’m real happy.

“It’s a lot of fun coming out here and running on dirt, having fun.  I’m not getting any National Points out here, it’s just more for fun.  I had a lot of fun with Ronnie, too.  I had a good race with his dad out here at the beginning of the season, so it was cool to have him out there too.”

Now that Rodgers has the hot streak, there’s only one thing left for him to do.

“Hopefully now I can go out and keep up the streak next weekend.”

BANDITS – Stillwell Stays Unstoppable

After last weekend’s Bandolero Bandits race at Millbridge Speedway, track and race officials jokingly threatened to force Jordan Stillwell to run his Bandolero with the Legends Cars in future events.  As fast as Stillwell has been at Millbridge recently, who can blame them?

Stillwell has the dirt figured out at Millbridge

Stillwell has been the driver to beat throughout the Bandits schedule at Millbridge and even though the competition may change from week to week at the tough track, Stillwell can count on the competition remaining in his rear-view mirror.

A dominating performance Sunday put Stillwell in victory lane over Dillon Bassett and Jacob Harrell.  Early caution flags slowed Stillwell’s smooth ride to the win, but once the field got a good green flag run to the checkers, nobody was going to catch Stillwell’s #52.

“First of all, I have to thank Dillon and Jake for coming down here and giving me some competition today,” said Stillwell.  “They ran me clean.  I knew the cautions were killing me.  They would get me on the starts, but after that I would get hooked up through the center. 

Of course, when you dominate a heat race, then the feature and beat a rival at Concord, why not keep up that streak?

It took a little nudging from Hurricane Racing and Millbridge Legends and Bandolero director Rob Sparkes’ part to convince him, but Rodgers was at Millbridge Speedway Sunday afternoon to keep up the domination.

It wasn’t easy, as the chain popped off Rodgers #42 machine in the heat race, forcing him to start at the rear of the four-car Outlaws and Young Guns combination race, but he quickly worked his way to the front and checked out from the rest of the field for his third-straight win at Millbridge.

“It was fun coming up through the pack,” said Rodgers.  “This was the first time in a long time that I had to start at the back because I broke a chain in the heat race.  I had a big lead in the heat when that happened, too.  But I’m glad I was able to overcome that and win the race.

“I have to thank my dad, my cousin and my brother.  They really gave me a great car today.”

Stillwell has been a strong competitor on asphalt tracks around the region as well as on the dirt of Millbridge.  Even though he’s still young, he’s got racing on dirt figured out and it showed on Sunday.

“You just have to stay smooth.  That’s why Jake and Dillon are good, because that’s why they were able to stay close.  I was kind of messing up a little bit and wasn’t hitting my marks all the time, so that’s when they would catch me because they stayed smooth. 

“On dirt, it’s so much harder than running on asphalt, but it’s a lot more fun.  We only needed one more car to make it worth full National Points.  I wish there was that one more car, but it was still fun.”