BOWMAN GRAY LEGENDS - 6/8/07
By Matthew Dillner
"Downtown" Goes Uptown with Big Stadium Semi-Pro Win
"Downtown" Michael Brown had to beat out a few hungry drivers to take the Legends Semi-Pro win at Bowman Gray Stadium. Luckily for Brown, hose Hungry drivers ate each other up in his mirror.
Brown passed Gene Kirila for the lead on the third lap of the event. Kirila followed in tow but saw his chances for a win dissolve on a late race restart. When the field came around turns three and four to take the green, contact between Kirila and Parker Hammons sent Kirila’s #55 spinning.
“The 24 was pounding on me for the last few laps. I don’t know what got into him. You figure he would at least let it go green and try to pass me. That was just unfair. He didn’t run a smart race and came in there and hooked me right around and we didn’t even take the green yet. It wasn’t right of him to do. He’s a rough driver and nobody really likes him for what he does.”
Hammons said he didn’t turn Kirila and blamed the incident on Kirila himself.
“The 55 (Kirila) just missed a shift there and that is just racing,” said Hammons. “I knew we were going to get all checked up there because they brought us down pretty slow.
Kirila's #5 spins on the restart while the #06 of Michael Brown checks out for the win. (LN Photo)
Kirila made his displeasure known as Hammons pulled into the pit area.
“He missed a shift. Everyone does it and it’s nothing to be mad about. I’ve done it leading a race at the Shootout with four-to-go. If you are going to be mad about it at Bowman Gray don’t go to the Shootout because you will kill yourself. My best advise to him would be to chill out and relax.”
Daniel Hemric battled his way to the front but couldn’t get by Hammons and wound up third.
“I think the 24 held me up a bit but I am pretty happy coming from 16th to third. I’m not too happy with him but that is short track racing and we will just go to the Shootout on Tuesday (Lowe’s Motor Speedway) and see what we can do there.”
“Everything got checked up on that restart there. I had a great driver behind me in Daniel Hemric and was lucky to hold him off,” added
Hammons. “I’m sure I was holding him up a little bit there but that is just Legends racing. You win some and you lose some and my hats off to Michael Brown.”
Brown, who hit the wall during last year’s race at Bowman Gray, was proud to put on the Bowman Gray winners hat in victory lane.
“It’s good to win a race at a place so historical,” said Brown. “I’m going to wear this hat to death or put it up on my trophy case.”
Legends Pro Division Drivers Handle Bumping Like Pros
To bump or not to bump? That is the question.
Thomas Hartensveld decided to bump. But the style of that bump he used did not rub Nick Carey the wrong way.
Hartensveld uses the bumper to get by Carey's #33.
“Thomas got on my bumper going in to turn-one there and pushed me up the track enough to get under me,” said Carey, who ended up third. “There is nothing wrong with that, it’s just racing.”
“I thought I was a little bit better up off the corner there for most of the race,” explained Hartensveld of his winning move. “I had to drive in there and give him a shot. He chopped me off at the beginning when I got underneath him. There is only a little bit I can take before I take it into my own hands. I gave him a little shot and was able to move by him there.”
Hartensveld, who won at the Stadium last year, held off a hard-charging Chris Buescher for the win. On the final lap, he had to defend a duplicate of the bump-and-run move he used to win.
Legends Semi-Pro Results (Top-Three)
1. #06 Michael Brown
2. #24 Parker Hammons
3. #48 Daniel Hemric
Legends Pro Results (Top-Three)
1. #36 Thomas Hartensveld
2. #06 Chris Buescher
3. #33 Nick Carey
Legends Masters Results (Top-Three) - Ran with Pro Feature
1. #8 Larry Friddle
2. #5 Donnie Tilley
3. #28 Charles Kiser
Hartensveld's #36 leads Buescher's #06 through lapped traffic on the tight 1/4 mile bull ring.
“With the fans here its great. I definitely think we should run here weekly and the show we put on is awesome. They don’t even get this amount of cars at Concord. If they would run here more often I think it would be a real good show.”
“I think it was a great example of how to get into someone but do it clean. At the end Chris got into me a little and didn’t wreck me and got me a little loose. It’s just a great example of short track racing.”
Buescher clearly had a faster car than Hartensveld, but didn’t have time to get around him at the end. Lapped traffic proved to be a key to winning and keeping the lead.
“I definitely used traffic to my advantage. I tried to get in front of them and clear them as fast as I could where he would be underneath them in the corner scrubbing speed off. I used it to my advantage and came home with the win.”
Hartensveld and several other drivers in the Legends and Bandolero ranks said that they would like to race at Bowman Gray more often. With 33 Legends cars and 26 Bandos, the car counts provided some entertaining racing for the thousands of fans in attendance.
