Legends Nation ... And Justice For All

SUMMER SHOOTOUT: Round 8 Leftovers - 7/24/07

By Jason Buckley, Ashley Thomson and Celita Turner

RETALIATION AND HARSH WORDS OCCUR BETWEEN VAN WINGERDEN AND DANIELS

In the big leagues of racing, drivers hold grudges from week to week, and institute revenge on the track for something they felt was an intentional wreck or incident. In the short track lower levels of racing, the same thing happens, and on occasion it can boil over and become a major situation between two drivers ending with wrecked race cars, harsh words and suspensions.

Michael Van Wingerden races at LMS for one reason: to win. (Harold Hinson Photo)

DIVISION

BANDOLERO : Bandits Division

BANDOLERO : Young Guns Division

BANDOLERO : Outlaws Division

LEGENDS : Young Lions Division

LEGENDS : Semi-Pro Division

LEGENDS : Pro Division

LEGENDS : Masters Division

LEGENDS & BANDOLERO TOTALS >>

Rd 8

-----

179

Rd 1

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211

Rd 2

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205

Rd 3

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198

Rd 4

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222

Rd 5

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212

Rd 6

-----

200

Rd 7

-----

184

A few weeks ago in the Pro division, Michael Van Wingerden and Steven Daniels had an on-track incident that started some friction between the two drivers. That friction carried over to this week when the two once again had contact on the track, which carried over to a confrontation in the tech area after the event.

“I was doing good in the race until that last restart,” said Van Wingerden. “The 50 car (Daniels) believes in knocking people out of the way. So I went to him after the race and gave him a little hand gesture to tell him I didn’t approve of it. So he proceeded to turn right into my left rear. Then his dad comes here in the pits acting like a big baby and called me a spoiled punk. I am 30-years old and I am trying to find out how I am a punk. Maybe they will get punked next week. We will see what happens.”

In the tech area, LegendsNation.com overheard Daniels tell Van Wingerden he ‘lost his brakes’. Daniels explained the situation from his side, admitting the retaliation move.

“He tried to wreck me the week before,” explained Daniels. “I got back to him and just moved him up the race track. He didn’t like it very much. He slid back a few spots. He can be mad but he tried to wreck me and came in and said he lost his brakes, so what comes around goes around.”

Van Wingerden said he knew Daniels didn’t have brake issues and felt it was retaliation for something that shouldn’t have been an issue.

“A couple weeks ago my brakes did go out,” said Van Wingerden. “I hit him going into one and he didn’t lose position. I went to the high side and rode around for the last few laps. Amazingly his brakes started working after he hit me. Mine didn’t start working after I hit him. I had to have the wrecker to push me in so I wouldn’t run into someone in the pits. His brakes didn’t go out. He is just a punk kid that doesn’t know how to drive except to slam into people. That is why I think he has been with four different people out here. He keeps getting thrown off the team. I think he went from Dan (Dan Snyder Racing) to Clay (Clay Hair Motorsports) to Nick (Nick Pistone Racing), and now he is doing it himself. His story tells itself.”

Steven Daniels has had a rough 2007 Summer Shootout.

Daniels felt the problem went deeper than just one Van Wingerden as he said contact with Michael’s brother Thomas the week before put him out of the race.

“Well, Thomas (Thomas Van Wingerden) wrecked me last week and knocked me out of the race, which was on purpose and I’ve seen it,” said Daniels. “I guess they (the Van Wingerden group) don’t like me outrunning them. We don’t have near as much money and they spend so much money. I don’t think they like it when we outrun them.”

While the two drivers disagree on the situation, Van Wingerden feels the drivers and their fathers are racing a pipedream.

“I am a realist,” explained Van Wingerden. “I know none of these guys are going to NASCAR unless their dads are millionaires. But like I said, it is these dads that think their kid is going to be the next Jeff Gordon and his kid is not and he can’t handle it.

Van Wingerden and Daniels were told to separate in the tech area by one of the officers on duty. Daniels says he might not be back for the final two Shootout races. Initially he said it might be a decision made by officials.

“I don’t believe we will be back,” said Daniels. “We have already caused too much controversy out here. It might be the higher ups that make that decision.”

Daniels’ father, during the interview in the background, told LN they will be out of town for the final two events.

CAR COUNTS DOWN FOR THE START OF THE SIZZLER

While some drivers like Will Cagle (#24) continue to race each week, the car counts dropped off for round eight.

Round eight of the Summer Shootout was the beginning of the new three-race championship, called the "Sizzler". Round seven locked in the top-10 drivers that were eligible to have a shot at the championship per division. Many wondered what the new championship format would do to the car count at the track.

According to the official results from Lowe's Motor Speedway, round eight had the lowest car count of the season with 179 Legends and Bandolero drivers in attendance. This is significantly lower than the 211 cars from the first round and 222 cars on July 3rd, the first of two rounds on the holiday week.

Roger Slack, Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s Director of Events, stated in the round two driver’s meeting that there were 217 cars in attendance that night (total, including the Legends, Bandoleros and Roadsters), and that was 40 more than he cared to have if the racing didn’t improve after an incident-filled first round. According to the numbers, it appears Slack got his wish.

Below are the totals to date for the Legends and Bandoleros in attendance at the Summer Shootout.

Make sure to check LegendsNation.com Monday for LN Editor Jason Buckley’s take on the change this season to the new “Sizzler” points format.

STANCILL OUT OF THE SIZZLER; NOW A SPECTATOR

John Stancill won a Shootout race this season when he dropped to the Young Lions division, but will not race the rest of the Shootout. (LN Photo)

Semi-Pro National front runner John Stancill has been in the news this season at the Summer Shootout, but sat out Tuesday night’s racing action at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and will sit out the remaining two races. With the new championship format, only the top ten in points are eligible to compete for first place and Stancill wasn’t in that elite group.

“They switched all the points for the top ten in points for the chase,” explained Stancill. “Unfortunately I didn’t make it. Nick Pistone, my crew chief, didn’t really want me to come out here and risk my car in all the wrecks. You don’t want to really come out here and run for the heck of it because it’s a wreck fest out there. We’re running for national points and everything so we decided not to race.”

Stancill moved down from the Semi-Pro division to the Young Lions division mid season for a race to try to gain more national points, a decision that he now regrets.

“I probably would have been in the top ten because I was second in points when I moved down. I feel real bad for not continuing that.”

BASSETTS HAVE AN OOPS AS THEIR CAR FALLS OFF THEIR HAULER

It is one thing to have your car wrecked on the race track, but a completely different thing to wreck your car while on your hauler.

The Bassett group's #4 Bando fell off the hauler, damaging the backend of the car. (Top: Diann Gonzalez Photo. Bottom: LN Photo)

The Bassett group pulls multiple Bandoleros to the race track every week. Unfortunately, one of their Bandoleros rolled off the top of their hauler, slamming to the ground and damaging the back of the car.

“We were unloading for practice,” said Ronnie Bassett, who drives the #04 Bandolero in the Young Guns division. “We had the lift gate up high. I think we forgot to get one of the cars chalked. After we didn’t chalk the wheel it rolled and rolled. It rolled off the back and fell. The front end got caught on the lift gate and that is the only thing that kept that car from getting destroyed.”

The best news is that no one was under the back of the hauler when the car fell so there were no injuries. But the new car suffered damages that the team has yet to determine.

“It might be a rear clip, but I doubt it is that. I think it is just the horns and the back body panel.”

VETERAN MASTER JOHN SOSSOMAN RETURNS FOR LAST THREE SHOOTOUT EVENTS

John Sossoman has been a staple in the Legend car community. He has competed in the sport for the last twelve years side by side with other regulars Clay Hair, Cotton Spry and Tom Van Wingerden. But, Sossoman had been absent for the first seven rounds of this season. He claimed that he missed racing with his friends and just had to come back to get another taste of the racing he’s been a part of for so long.

“The reason I came back for the last three races is mainly I got so many friends here,” said Sossoman. “It’s a lot of fun to come out and be competitive and just race with all your friends. I’ve been traveling and doing a lot of things and it takes a lot of time to do the full ten races and I’ve done it for eleven or twelve years now.”

Sossoman’s return started off in a rough way getting caught up in a wreck during the heat race and having to work to repair a spindle, a shock and a few tie rods. With the help of his Nick Pistone Racing crew Sossoman was able to repair the damage, but started dead last in the feature event.

“It’s a little bit frustrating. We’re not professional drivers. There’s people out here learning, people out here that’s been doing it a long time. You just have to learn that they don’t do it on purpose. Sometimes you wreck and get caught up in it and there’s really nothing you can do. It’s not that big of a deal. It doesn’t bother me.”

With the positive attitude that Sossoman always carries, he drove his way to finish fifth in the feature. Not bad for being out of the car for a year.

“It feels really good to be able to still drive and even though the car wasn’t handling that good,” explained Sossoman. “I still got it, still got the will to win. There’s only one place to be if you’re a real racer and that’s first. I got to use the bumper on some of the cars I’ve been pushing around for seven or eight years that are still in the way. One is Doc Moskowitz. He was blocking a couple of cars and I passed him on the outside and got behind him and pushed him off into the corner. That was probably the highlight of it right there, getting to push him out of the way. And I hope my gall bladder doesn’t go out so he has to work on it next week.”

SCOTT KNOX: STAY OFF MY ASTERISK

Scott Knox displayed an asterisk on the front of his car for the Shootout. (Photo by Fastrac Images)

Racers sometimes do things for practical purposes while putting a bit of humor in it. Paint schemes, decals and special notes written on tape on the car can be found to add style or send a message to the competition, good or bad.

The familiar #86 Scott Knox has been driving over the last few years showed up to the track this season with something new on the front. Orange tape forming an asterisk on the front right side of his Legends car had many wondering what it was for.

“That is a little florescent orange tape to let those guys know at night time that ‘hey buddy, I am underneath of ya, stop turning down on me’,” said Knox. “I just want them to know I am there with no excuses.

“I used to have red flames on the front of my car. At night time under the lights if it is a black car it is hard to see. It blends in with the pavement. I threw a fluorescent asterisk on the front of it so they cannot claim they can’t see it. Maybe next week I will come back with blue flames too.”

PADDY RODENBECK PLAYS MUSICAL CHAIRS – LEAVES NICK PISTONE RACING

At the beginning of the Summer Shootout, Pro driver Paddy Rodenbeck made a decision to leave Clay Hair Motorsports and join Nick Pistone Racing. With seven rounds under his belt at NPR, Rodenbeck showed up to Lowe’s Motor Speedway as an independent driver after leaving his second major organization this season.

Paddy Rodenbeck is all smiles now he is on his own.

“I left NPR this last week,” said Rodenbeck. “I am starting to do the cars out of my own shop. It gives me more time to myself and not having to work on other people’s stuff. There are a lot of cars over at Nick’s, and I felt I could just do it better myself.”

While he only spent two months under the NPR banner, Rodenbeck had a long time association with Clay Hair Motorsports. Now after going out on his own, Rodenbeck is second guessing his move earlier this season.

“I ran good with Clay,” explained Rodenbeck. “I kind of regret making that decision to leave, but you learn from your mistakes and you pick up from there. Clay has been helping me giving me parts whenever I need them. But I am pretty much completely on my own now. I am a one-man team. I don’t have any teammates out there. I am just going to try to finish out the Shootout and finish good in the points.”

While Rodenbeck is focused on finishing out the Legends season this year, he is already looking towards his future, which will include running Late Models in the full 2008 UARA-Stars Series.

“I am working with Jamie Yelton getting a Greg Marlow racing chassis. We will test this year and race that next year in the UARA Series.”

TYLER GREEN VOCAL AFTER ON-TRACK ISSUES WITH CHRISSY WALLACE

The Pro division this season has been filled with controversy, contact and heated tempers. With numerous wrecks taking drivers out of the chance for a solid finish, drivers are getting frustrated with each other over constant on-track issues.

Tyler Green in the #20. (Photo by Fastrac Images)

In Tuesday night’s Pro division heat race, contact between non-Sizzler chase driver Chrissy Wallace and points leader Tyler Green sent Green to the back on the feature and steaming over the situation, especially since he says this isn’t the first time the two drivers have had on-track issues.

“There are people you can race with and there are people you can’t race with,” said Green. “There are people you like and don’t like and you do not want to see them do good for whatever reason. One person in particular is the one that caused us last week to have to start in the back. This week was the same way, even worse.

“I don’t know what her problem is. She doesn’t like us for some reason, whether it is because we run fast or, I don’t know what her deal is. It screwed us up tonight.”

Despite the incident in the heat race, Green was able to rebound to an 11th-place finish in the feature after starting from the back.

“Since what happened in the heat race I had to start 26th,” explained Green. “It shows not only that the car is good but we can also get up to the front unlike some people that are stuck in the back and can’t go nowhere when they have a good car.”

LegendsNation.com attempted to get Chrissy Wallace’s side of the story after the race, but she declined to comment.

Green dropped from the points lead to fifth in the Sizzler standings while Wallace currently sits in the 15th-points position.

ENRIQUE CONTRAS WALLS CAR DURING MONDAY PRACTICE

INEX CHECKING FOR TRACTION CONTROL AT THE SHOOTOUT

Something new showed up during the post-race inspection process at Lowe's Motor Speedway Tuesday night. INEX officials had a metal-detecting wand to check drivers for traction control devices. Traction control is not allowed according to the INEX rules.

LegendsNation.com spoke to INEX Executive Director Darrel Krentz about traction control, the use of the wand and what they are doing to combat one of the hottest controversies in Legends racing today. Stay tuned for the full story coming Tuesday morning here at LegendsNation.com.

15-year-old Enrique Contras was looking forward to his Legends Summer Shootout debut this week, but his first start will have to wait for another week as a practice crash Monday damaged the car.

Driving one of Josh Williams' #6 Legends cars, the young driver from Mexico City, Mexico took to the track for practice. His car ended up smacking the wall with the front end, causing significant damage.

"I hit the wall," said Contras after the wreck. "I am very frustrated. I don’t know if I will race tomorrow. It was a hard hit."

The damage to the car was too much for them to fix before Tuesday's race. The good news was that Contras was unhurt, but he was still more concerned about the car.

"My body is ok, but it doesn’t matter. The car is important."

The front end of the #6 car was damaged after Enrique Contras hit the wall hard. (LN Photo)