SUMMER SHOOTOUT: Rounds 4 & 5 Leftovers - 7/3/07 & 7/4/07
By Jason Buckley, Matt Dillner and Celita Turner
VANWINGERDEN OK AFTER CAR GOES UP IN FLAMES; FIRE GLOVES NOW MANDITORY
Thomas VanWingerden is always hot on the track, running up towards the front of the field and snagging wins in the Legends Pro division at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Tuesday night he was just a little too hot when his car burst into flames at the end of the Pro division feature.
Thomas VanWingerden lit up the night when fire erupted from his car. (photo by Fastrac Images)
With just a few laps to go in the race, VanWingerden wheeled his Legends car across the timing line and immediately a huge fireball shot out from the car. He was able to get stopped and get out of the car in turn one, but the ride and intensity of the fire was immense.
“It was crazy,” said VanWingerden. “I think we broke an oil fitting and it was right there next to the exhaust. It caught on fire and it kept on pumping as the motor was spinning. Luckily I had the steering wheel off and out the window before the car stopped. I just saw a lot of yellow and a sign in front of me that said ‘get out as fast as you can’, so I got out right when it stopped.”
On Wednesday, Director of Events Roger Slack informed all drivers that next week racing gloves would be mandatory, something that was only suggested before. VanWingerden was wearing gloves, but that wasn’t always the case over the years.
“I wear gloves and a three-layered uniform,” explained VanWingerden. “I do not wear a head sock though, but we put a thicker firewall in the car to help out the safety of the car. Luckily nothing happened to me.
“I have had my stage where I didn’t think I needed gloves, but that right there will make you always grab them.”
THE JERSEY SHORE COMES TO RACE IN THE TAR HEEL STATE
The July 4th and 5th Summer Shootout doubleheader attracts a big car-count and also some out-of-staters to compete at LMS. One group of three New Jersey racers, who normally compete at the Garden-State’s Wall Stadium, made the trek to see how they would fare at what some consider to be the elite place to race.
“I came down here just to have the experience and run the track,” said Ken VanWickle, who is competing in his first year of Bandolero racing. “It’s amazing just to think we’re racing on a real Cup track when we’re at home racing on a smaller track. It’s pretty amazing to think about it. When you’re out there, you see all the fans in the stadium. It’s crazy.”
Danielle Ostrander's Legends car was damaged after the flip. (LN Photo)
Danielle Ostrander and her brother Greg are the other two drivers in the three-pack of Jersey invaders. Danielle was in awe as soon as she got ready to roll out on the track.
“I was really excited,” admitted Danielle. “I was kind of nervous. I wanted to pee in my pants before I went out there. I was really scared, but everyone is nice around here letting me know what to do and stuff like that. I’m just learning. I’m having fun.
“The competition is ridiculous. I’m just here to have fun. I don’t care if I win or lose. I’m just here to get some track time and learn what I’m doing so I can go back to Wall and maybe win some more up there.
Brother Greg agreed that the competition at the Summer Shootout is incredible.
“The drivers down here are the best in the business,” said Greg. “I came down here just to have fun, but these guys are amazing. They have a lot more cars and experience than us. I came here just to have fun and get experience.”
VanWinkle goes back to the north with a 22nd and 24th place finish in the Bandolero Young Guns division. Greg Ostrander, running the Bandolero Outlaws division goes home with two 12th place efforts. Greg’s sister Danielle had a tough go of it. She flipped her #86 on Wednesday. Although she rode in the car back to the pits, she later decided to get checked out at the hospital. Besides being sore, her team told LegendsNation that everything checked out ok.
PICTURE THIS!
If you’ve seen Jon Burchette walking around at Summer Shootout and thought he looked familiar, it’s because he does. Burchette shoots photos at Concord Motorsport Park’s ¼ mile track regularly. The Greensboro resident has recently started shooting at Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s Summer Shootout and has his photos available on his website www.fastracimages.com.
“SUPER D” SPLITS CARS ON-TRACK AND TIME BETWEEN TRACKS
Davey Matthews has been improving in the Bandolero Bandit ranks at Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s Summer Shootout. He got some great racing experience battling his way up to a second-place finish on Tuesday night while enjoying some wild-three wide racing.
They call him "Super Davey". (LN Photo)
“The first time when we went three wide it was crazy,” said a pumped up Matthews. “We all hit and we got loose and it was crazy. When you get loose, the thing you gotta do to not wreck is don’t hit the break, just let off the gas.”
Davey chose to go race the first night of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder on Wednesday night. But the team did have their car running at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Nick Drake took over behind the wheel of the #41 Bandolero. Nick finished 8th.
Davey’s trip down to Atlanta paid off with a win in the first night of double-header action at the Georgia track.
DIRTY DRIVERS TOLD TO CLEAN IT UP
When Lowe’s Motor Speedway made improvements to the infield garages a few years back for the NASCAR drivers and teams, it also benefited the Legends and Bandolero drivers during the Summer Shootout.
The track officials decided a few years back to allow the competitors to use the enclosed NASCAR garage stalls to pit their cars and stay out of the weather elements. Along with the use of the garages came the responsibility to keep them clean during and after the racing events. Unfortunately, some teams were not responsible as the others last year as the officials locked everyone out of the garages due to the trashed nature they were left in after a few events.
This week in the driver’s meeting Roger Slack once again addressed the issue. After last week’s events, some trash within the garages were not picked up by teams as well as oil spills and other materials were left for the track workers to clean up. Specifically, Slack called out the Nick Pistone Racing corner of the garage, claiming that was the worst area for trash and debris.
Slack warned all drivers to clean up their messes, or they might possibly lose the privilege to use the garages again this season.
TEAMS GET TOGETHER TO UNWIND AFTER SHOOTOUT
A lot of teams go without eating during the hectic nights of the Summer Shootout. Some do it because of nerves, others lack of time. After the final checkered flag falls each night, over 200 race teams and many grumbly tummies leave the facility in search of eats.
Drivers and teams are hungry after a long night of racing action at the track. (LN Photo)
The area around Lowe’s Motor Speedway is not only a “Mecca” for Motorsports; it’s also a haven for places to eat. On Speedway Blvd alone there are over 50 places to eat. If you go to any of the restaurants open after the races let out, you are bound to see crowds of crews, drivers and families eating together and talking about the night’s racing.
“You’re really tense at the track and then you get to come here and get something to eat,” said Legends driver Kyle Hall while dining at Quaker Steak and Lube. “You get good food. You get to talk about the night and stuff. It just relaxes you and pretty much prepares you for the next day of racing. I don’t think you can have the full racing experience without coming here, relaxing, and taking you mind off of racing for a while. The whole team comes here. It’s a team effort.”
Make sure to check out the LegendsNation.com Restaurant Guide for great places to dine during the Summer Shootout (click here).
LARGE CROWD MAKES SHOOTOUT DOUBLE A SUCCESS
The Fourth of July Shootout double appeared to be a success in 2006, so the officials brought it back again in 2007. Once again it appeared to be another successful two-day show for Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Over 250 cars entered the track on Tuesday for the first night of racing action with close to the same amount returning Wednesday.
Outside of the packed garage were fans, and a whole lot of them. The front stretch stands were filled with cheering fans as the racing action hit the track and the fireworks lit up the night.
That makes two successful double shows in two years, but will the Speedway go for three in a row?
FROM MICKEY MOUSE TO BRUTON SMITH’S BIG HOUSE
Donovan Ponder and his mom discuss racing. (LN Photo)
Some families head to Disney World, or to visit family somewhere during the July 4th Holiday Weekend. The choice of vacation spot for Donovan Ponder and his family? Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The family made the trip from Orlando, Florida to compete at the Shootout. Ponder finished both night’s of the double-header in 21st position in the Bandolero Young Guns feature.
“It’s just our vacation,” said Ponder. “We end up coming here almost every year. I like the speed. It makes you do good in school because most parents won’t let you race if you have bad grades.”
And Ponder, who has now made the trip to race at LMS three times, had fun making the grade in the tough Young Guns division and in front of a very impressive crowd.
“I don’t worry about the crowd, but it was cool having so many people there because we normally only have 15 people in the crowd back at home.”
RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING SUCCESS A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR THE WALLACES
For years in the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series, Mike Wallace has been known as the restrictor plate ace. His performance at Daytona International Speedway (FL) and Talladega Superspeedway (AL), the two tracks NASCAR requires a restrictor plate on the engine, has been top notch, obtaining multiple top-five finishes and even a win against some of the Cup Series drivers in a Busch Series race.
This weekend Wallace will be racing his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and Busch Series cars at Daytona in a weekend double and the pressure is on to perform, but this time from within the Wallace family.
Matt Wallace has been all smiles this year in the Bandits division. (LN Photo)
Matt Wallace, Mike’s son, has been racing Bandoleros for the last few years at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC). The younger Wallace has had mediocre success; that is until this season during the Summer Shootout.
Restrictor plates are being used on the Bandolero Bandits division for the first time in Shootout history this year. Ever since the plates made it onto the cars, Matt Wallace has been wicked fast. In the first five rounds Matt has finished 13th, sixth, fifth, fourth and third with the last two finishes coming this week in the double header. His solid finishes has placed him third in the series points chase out of 44 drivers.
With Matt running his restrictor plate double this week and Mike running his weekend, there is a bit of a family rivalry going on in the Wallace camp on who can obtain the best restrictor plate finishes this week.
“We are just trying to figure out who is better now,” said Matt Wallace with a smile. “We actually just figured out our car this year and we are coming on strong.”
While Mike Wallace is enjoying watching his son run well, he knows the pressure to perform this weekend is on now.
“We love racing out here (at Lowe’s Motor Speedway) with Chrissy and Matt. Of course Matt is running really well in the Bandits series this year. He is putting a lot of pressure on me.
“I have always run well in restrictor plate races. I never did think about the restrictor plate stat until you brought it up but he has run awful well this year ever since they put the restrictor plates on the cars. I hope I can step up to his expectations. We will be practicing and qualifying both our Busch and Cup car down there.”
While Mike was watching and cheering on his son Matt race Tuesday and Wednesday at Lowe’s, Matt will be watching and cheering his father on at Daytona Friday and Saturday. What will happen if Mike also obtains two top-five finishes like Matt did earlier this week?
“We are going to have a party probably,” said Matt. “Hang out and have a lot of fun.”
COTTON PULLS OUT SEDAN TO RACE ON NIGHT-TWO
Cotton Spry (left) had to go to his backup car. (LN Photo)
On Tuesday, Masters Division driver Cotton Spry was driving his familiar #16 Coupe-style Legends car. On the second-day of the double-header, Spry had to hop in his back up car, a sedan racecar, to compete. Cotton did more than just compete; he raced that car to a second-place finish on Wednesday night.
“Last night I was in third and I started to pass the second place guy and he cut over on me,” said Cotton of Tuesday night’s race. “He tore everything off the back end. He broke everything. I had to get up at 5:00 this morning and work so I didn’t work on the car. I had to bring out my back-up car. I haven’t been in it for three years.
“Clay runs a Sedan and he is always in the front. I run a Coupe and I am most of the time in the front. There’s a whole lot of weight difference on the back of the car. All I can get in the Coupe is something like 48.9% (weight percentage). The Sedan, without doing anything to it is like 50.2%. The way the roll bars are out on the backside I reckon it puts more weight back there. I guess that’s the reason they are better on bigger tracks.
But don’t look for the coupe to be back too soon says Cotton, “I’ve gotten used to the Coupe so I like it, but I am going to run the Sedan for a few weeks.”
ALL THE WAY FROM CALIFORNIA…SERIOUSLY!
The Sloan family from California are a long way from home. (LN Photo)
Jim Sloan towed his family, which includes son (Bandolero Young Gun driver) Eric Sloan, and car all the way from California, yes California, to race in the Summer Shootout Series.
“It was a long trip,” said Jim, who did the driving. “We decided to let them come out and race with some off the other Bandolero drivers all over the country. We made the trip out here some 2500 miles, so we’ve been looking forward to it.
“We took four days to come out here. Some 13 hour days. We got in locally on July 1st, so we had a day to rest. We came out to practice on the second (July 2nd) and have raced the last two days.”
Eric raced his way to a win during the Monday practice-day “rookie race” and then finished 19th and 17th on Tuesday and Wednesday. Proud-papa, Jim Sloan, enjoyed watching his son race, but was even more pleased with how easy the trip-east went.
“Getting here without any problems was the highlight of my trip. You never know if you will have a flat tire or something like that, but we got here unscathed.”
Let’s just hope the ride home to California is safe for this family of dedicated racers.
