Legends Nation ... And Justice For All

Concord Motorsport Park 2007 Champions - Who Won The Titles

by Jason Buckley

Eight drivers were crowned as track champions in eight divisions of Legends and Bandolero racing at Concord Motorsport Park (NC) after the track held its final two events of the season. Some divisions already had the top spot locked in before this past weekend while others weren't determined until the final checkered flag flew.

While winning any track championship is considered an honorable feat, only a few championships were decided by drivers racing all season events. The majority of the divisional championships were decided due to the number of races the winner entered versus the rest of the field, especially in the Legends divisions. All it would have taken for some of the top spots to be different is attendance rather than performance. Still, the drivers who entered, raced and ended up at top earned their titles, regardless of the circumstance.

James Stanton won two races en route to his Masters championship. (LN Photo)

LEGENDS MASTERS DIVISION: #33 JAMES STANTON

He might not have taken home many first-place trophies, but James Stanton showed up to race 20 of the 21 race events to win the Masters division championship. Stanton drove his #33 Legends car to victory once in March and again in August, but the main factor for his championship was being there to race.

Charles Kiser ended up second in the overall Masters standings, 138 points behind Stanton. Kiser put his #28 car in victory lane a few times during the season, but only competed in 18 of the 21 races during the season. If he would have raced the same total of races as Stanton or raced all of them, the championship would have likely gone to him.

Final top five:

POS

DRIVER

James Stanton

Charles Kiser

Larry Friddle

Carlos "Mercury" Moore

Todd Spears

RACES ENTERED

LEGENDS PRO DIVISION: #19 JORDAN ANDERSON

When Jordan Anderson showed up to race at Concord, he usually ended up in victory lane. Unfortunately, Anderson only showed up to 17 of the 21 races due to his focus on the National title, choosing to race at other facilities on occasion.

A late-season controversy came to light in the Pro division as Ken Harris, the points leader, was determined to not have an INEX Pro division license. If he would have been licensed, he would have been the Pro champion due to the total number of races entered and points he acquired over Anderson, but instead his season points were completely stripped off the charts, making Anderson the true legal champ.

Steven Daniels finished second to Anderson in points, but was well over 500 points back. Most was due to only racing 13 of the 21 races this season, four less than Anderson. Still, even if he would have matched Anderson’s starts and obtained the most points he could each event, Anderson would have still come out on top.

Final top five:

LEGENDS SEMI-PRO DIVISION: #1 STEVEN ROSS

It might have taken three different looks and car numbers to do it, but Steven Ross claimed the Semi-Pro division championship at CMP. Ross raced his #88 car earlier in the year, but a wreck during the final race of the Summer Shootout sidelined his primary car for a few months. Ross used his brother’s #38 Legend to compete at CMP and other tracks until the final few races of the season at CMP when his car was back together and able to race, however his car still had not been repainted or redecaled, so the team taped a number “1” on the door and ran that number for the rest of the races.

Ross ran 20 of the 21 races, finishing ahead of Jamie Smith by 108 points. Smith competed in one less race than Ross, but if he would have run all the races this season, the title would have been his. Kyle Pierce finished a distant third, but that was due to his late-season move from the Chargers to the Semi-Pro division.

Final top five (excluding SP Chargers):

LEGENDS CHARGERS DIVISION

Kyle Pierce had the Chargers division title wrapped up, but decided to move up to the Semi-Pro ranks, which took him out of the points lead for the inexperienced division. This paved the way for Devin Layser to claim the Chargers title by competing in only 11 of the 21 races of the season.

Robert Marmino also competed in 11 of the 21 races, finishing second in points to Layser. Josh Turner ran nine events in 2007, putting him in the third points position. In contrast, Pierce completed 19 of the 21 races during the season. If any Charger driver would have shown up to race like Pierce did, the title would have definitely gone their way.

Final top five:

BANDOLERO OUTLAWS DIVISION: #6 KENDALL SELLERS

Unlike the Legends divisions, a couple of the Bandolero divisions had some drivers showing up at all 21 events to support the track and the racing action. In the Outlaws, Kendall Sellers and Nathan Rodgers raced in all 21 events throughout the season, putting them two head to head for the track title. With the most wins and top finishes of the season, Sellers was able to race his way to the track championship by 77 points over Rodgers.

Kayla Turner competed in 18 of the 21 events heading into the final two events of the season. While she raced Friday, her car didn’t hit the track Saturday to compete. The lead that the front two drivers had and the gap that she had on fourth-place driver T.J. Hicks had her locked in the third-place spot after Friday’s event, so no matter where she would have finished Saturday, it wouldn’t have changed the position one way or the other.

Final top five:

BANDOLERO YOUNG GUNS DIVISION: #04 RONNIE BASSETT, JR.

Ronnie Bassett, Jr., Dylan Pack, Robert Poole and Brett Pepicelli competed in all 21 Young Guns races of the season, making it the tightest points battle amongst the most drivers that supported the CMP racing all season across all divisions at CMP this year. From first to fourth, the margin was a mere 116 points, with just 17 points separating first and second.

The final half of the season was dominated by Bassett and Pack, whom seemed to swap wins every weekend. It was only fitting that the two drivers ended up on the top of the points chart with Bassett taking the track championship over Pack. Poole snuck his Bandolero into victory lane during the final weekend while Pepicelli was consistently there the whole season.

Final top five:

BANDOLERO BANDITS DIVISION: #44 DILLON BASSETT

Bodie Bellinger, Jordan Stillwell and Christian Thomas put their cars in the Bandits field for all 21 events during the season, but unlike the other divisions at CMP, the champion didn’t come from a driver that raced at the track more than everyone else.

Dillon Bassett raced in 20 of the 21 events throughout the season and was even involved in some late-season incidents that damaged his car and dampened his championship hopes. However Bassett was more consistent in his finishes, and that along with his multiple victories scored him the track championship despite missing an event.

Final top five (excluding Beginner Bandits):

BANDOLERO BEGINNER BANDITS DIVISION: #70 NOAH TRIPLETT

Only one driver raced in all Beginner Bandits events during the season. Noah Triplett’s #70 car was at CMP every weekend, which helped give him the championship over Chandler LeVan, who missed two races during the season. Even if LeVan would have entered those races, the points he would have acquired wouldn’t have put him in the lead.

John Holleman finished third in the points, but the position doesn’t tell the story. With six straight victories during the second half of the season, Holleman was the driver to beat. The only problem was his race entries as he made 14 of the 21 events. If he would have been at the track all season, it is a good possibility he would be sitting atop the Bandits points chart.

Final top five:

POINTS

1829

1691

1536

1287

1152

POS

DRIVER

Jordan Anderson

Steven Daniels

Thomas Hartensveld

Kyle Beattie

Brandon Temple

RACES ENTERED

POINTS

1661

1117

839

752

543

POINTS

1662

1554

1396

1367

997

RACES ENTERED

DRIVER

Steven Ross

Jamie Smith

Kyle Pierce

John Stancill

Daniel Hemric

POS

DRIVER

Devin Layser

Robert Marmino

Josh Turner

Travis Payne

Johnny Lovero

RACES ENTERED

POINTS

806

726

647

579

562

POS

DRIVER

Kendall Sellers

Nathan Rodgers

Kayla Turner

T. J. Hicks

Josh Turner

RACES ENTERED

POINTS

2040

1963

1708

1171

476

POS

DRIVER

Ronnie Bassett Jr.

Dylan Pack

Robert Poole

Brett Pepicelli

Brandon Lynn

RACES ENTERED

POINTS

1990

1973

1918

1874

1476

POS

DRIVER

Dillon Bassett

Bodie Bellinger

Jordan Stillwell

Christian Thomas

Tyler Lester

RACES ENTERED

POINTS

1960

1908

1870

1743

1642

POS

DRIVER

Noah Triplett

Chandler LeVan

John Holleman

Jordan Plummer

Aaron Beaver

RACES ENTERED

POINTS

1517

1304

960

804

733

Jordan Anderson was the top licensed Pro driver, winning the divisional championship. (FASTRAC Images)

Steven Ross started the year in his #88 Legends by winning races. (LN Photo)

Devin Layser took the Chargers division by storm in the fall season. (FASTRAC Images)

Kendall Sellers enjoyed celebrating his wins with all the kids. (LN Photo)

Ronnie Bassett, Jr. enjoyed racing and winning at CMP in 2007. (FASTRAC Images)

Dillon Bassett was all smiles after this win late in the season. (FASTRAC Images)

Noah Triplett (#70) didn't end the season on the track the way he wanted, but still won the title. (FASTRAC Images)