For The Love of Money: It Is All About The Benjamins At Anderson

Brown Wins $300 While Eskew Reportably Gets $100 From Fan For Wrecking Thompson

By Jason Buckley

LegendsNation.com

Every week at Anderson Motor Speedway, the same Legends drivers usually race against each other on a Friday night at the South Carolina track.  That allows drivers to build relationships, good or bad, on and off the track.  When the race this past weekend was moved to Saturday for a $300-to-win show with the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour, it was expected to bring in new faces and new challenges to the track for the win.

Andrew Brown was thrilled to win the AMS Legends event as well as $300 for the victory.  (LN Photo)

Due to Legends racing happening across the Carolinas on the same night as well as drivers staying home due to the final 2008 Summer Shootout Series event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC) occurring in just a few short days after, only a few cars that were not regulars at the track showed up to race.  With a disappointing car count, the race itself was a snooze-fest for the fans in the stands – that was until the last corner of the last lap.

Up front, it was Andrew Brown driving off with the race and into victory lane, winning the $300 payday for the race.  There was nothing controversial about his win, just a simple Saturday night run for him to earn some extra cash.

“It is great,” said Brown.  “Wesley Thompson and Kevin Eskew are good competitors.  I hate that they couldn’t get up there tonight.  They drew in a little bit.  I was watching them in my mirror and it was slowing me down.  I finally took my eyes off them and that is about it.

“It has been a good race.  $300 makes it all good.  I had fun tonight.”

The fun for Brown might have been because he stayed in the front position during the race, staying out of the last-lap incident between Thompson and Eskew.  Behind him, coming off the final corner, Thompson and Eskew made contact with one another, ending their race just yards from the finish.  Instead of a second and third, they were seventh and eighth, but their final position wasn’t on their minds.  While Brown celebrated his win, the two drivers argued on the track.

“We got loose, we touched and I don’t think he (Thompson) turned back right,” said Eskew.  “He just kept it on the door.  You can look at the 99 on the car.  It has tire marks on it.  That is fine.  We will fix it and come back next week.

“He has got me three weeks.  You cannot race him clean.  He wants to get mad and call you a dirty driver.  Every week he turns me.  I don’t know.”

Thompson saw things a different way, who was racing another competitor’s car during the night due to mechanical issues with his.

“The #99 (Eskew) was a little impatient there at the beginning, beating on me when I was trying to pass the #3 (Brown).  It got us both behind,” explained Thompson.  “When I got by him and I started catching the #3 car, it felt like I hit oil down there in turn two.  He (Eskew) got under me and I let him go.  Then he just hung it right coming out of the corner.  He told the tech man down here last week he was going to run over me, so I guess he is true to his words.”

The controversy of the night didn’t end there.  While the two drivers were discussing their issues on the front stretch, a verbal discussion occurred between someone on the other side of the fence.  According to Thompson, money was exchanged as a bounty to anyone that would take him out of a race.

“What really bothers me about it is the whole situation?  A man came down from the stands and gave him (Eskew) $100,” said Thompson.  “He has been paying anyone $100 to take me out down here.  That is about as crooked as you can get.”

LegendsNation.com observers weren’t able to see the money change hands and wasn’t able to follow up on the claim with Eskew after the event due to his team packing up their rig and disappearing from the infield, but comments left before and after the incident on message boards on the internet suggest this has been an ongoing issue this season.  That, as well as phone calls received before the race, made the situation sting even more so for Thompson.

“We got into it a couple weeks ago,” continued Thompson.  “He (Eskew) has called me three times this week on the telephone and I have tried to help him with his car because he said his car is too loose he can’t drive it.  I told him how to get his car better then he runs all over me.  If I knew he was going to do that on purpose I wouldn’t have helped him.”

Steven Ross was focused on winning before the race started.  (LN Photo)

Kevin Eskew and Wesley Thompson wrecked off turn four on the final lap (top), then had a discussion about the incident afterwards (middle two photos).  A fan got involved, which prompted the official to get in the middle of the situation (bottom) .  (LN Photos)

Even though the two drivers couldn’t agree who is at fault, both did agree as to what they said to each other after the race and what they thought of each other.

“I told him he was an idiot,” said Thompson.  “I didn’t cuss him or anything.  That is what I thought about him.”

And Eskew?

“He called me an idiot and I called him an idiot,” added Eskew.  “We showed our love for each other.”