Legends Nation ... And Justice For All

NASCAR Pole Night At Lowe's Motor Speedway: 5/22/08

Legends Stories - Hensley, Buescher and Hair Earn Victory Trophies

By Jason Buckley

LegendsNation.com

SCOTT “THE ROCKET” HENSLEY SURVIVES CHAOS FOR SEMI-PRO VICTORY

The Semi-Pro Legends division has been known to put on some of the most intense racing action on the track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC) over the years. Unfortunately, it has also been known as a division that tears up equipment.

Top: Devin Jones (#35) goes for a wild ride while Chase Elliott (#9) and Dylan Presnell (#83) tangle. (LN Photo)

Bottom: Scott Hensley (left) and Ronnie Bassett (right) both took turns at the fron. (LN Photo)

Thursday evening, in front of the NASCAR Pole Night crowd, the Semi-Pro racers continued their tear-em-up tradition as multiple spins and wrecks dominated their feature. In the end, Scott “The Rocket” Hensley survived the mayhem, taking the victory in his first visit to LMS.

Among the victims of the chaos was Devin Jones, who took a wild ride down the front stretch after contact with a few other cars.

“I tell ya what, we got pretty lucky to just come out of that ok,” said Jones after almost turning over. “It is a bummer because we were fast. We got shuffled back a little on the start, but we were heading full steam ahead before getting caught up in that.”

Ronnie Bassett, who looked to run off with the win, went for a ride into the wall after contact with lapped cars while leading the event.

“Two lapped cars were going into three and four in front of me,” said Bassett. I was passing them coming out of turn four and one slid up into the other. It clipped the right rear. I spun out and hit the wall.”

That put Hensley in the lead, but he had to overcome an oil down and a ton of speedy dry on the track before he could make his run back to the checkered flag.

“This was my first time up here,” said Hensley. “When I got out front, I was just checking out and praying for no cautions, then the caution came out. Someone blew up or something. When the oil came out I thought that it would be hard.

“I was praying not to spin out (on the last lap). I just held it to the bottom and brought it home.”

CHRIS BUESCHER HOLDS OFF VAN WINGARDEN TO TAKE PRO WIN

The Pro division racers were lumped together with the Masters for their feature event, putting Chris Buescher, Michael Van Wingarden and the rest of the Pro racers in the same event with Masters driver Clay Hair. Both drivers were able to get around Hair though and fight for the lead amongst themselves. When the race ended it was Buescher taking the win over Van Wingerden in a race where each were sliding around the track avoiding slick spots.

Top: The speedy dry left on the track after the Semi-Pro race left a mess for the Pros. (LN Photo)

Bottom: Chris Buescher (#06) and Michael Van Wingerden (#23) race for position. (LN Photo)

After the Semi-Pro race concluded, the Pros and Masters had to compete on a dirty track caused from the track cleanup after an oil down. Both Buescher and Van Wingerden were able to work their way towards the front, despite the oil and the other drivers.

“On the first lap we got moved out of the way,” said Van Wingarden. “It was kind of a dangerous move from the guy behind me. We fell back to fourth and came back up there. The same guy brake-checked me going into three, but we got around him.

“Chris and I ran Clay down. I think I needed a few more laps. I would pass him (Buescher) and he would pass me. I think we were about the same speed.

“They (the track workers) made it look like they put forth an effort, but the trucks they put out there they might want to work on a little because I don’t think they got much of the oil up.”

Buescher, after taking the win, was happy with his performance and being able to negotiate his way around a slick track.

“That was a good race,” said Buescher. “We actually built a new car over the summer and we ended up running really good. We did some testing and came out here and got us a win. They did a good job cleaning up that oil, but it was still there. It was a pretty good day for us, so I will take it.”

CLAY HAIR USES TEAM’S EXPERIENCE TO TAKE THE MASTERS DIVISION WIN

Clay Hair used a good draw to start on the pole of the race (top). From there he went on to win the Masters division event (bottom). (LN Photos)

In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing, teammates can help provide valuable information to each other during testing and even the race that can help the overall performance of the group. Communication between the teams is a great asset for success on and off the track.

Clay Hair knows about the teammate aspect in the Legends Car realm. Thursday, Hair used his Clay Hair Motorsports team’s experience during the Semi-Pro Legends event prior to his Pro-Masters combined feature to get his car to victory lane for his division.

“We had a couple Semi-Pros out there, so we were watching what their cars were doing,” said Hair after the race. “The guys came over and said the track was a little bit looser than what we anticipated, so we decided to tighten the car up a little bit.”

Since the Pro and Masters divisions were combined for the feature, Hair was only concerned with getting the win in his division. He allowed his Pro driver Chris Buescher to scoot by for the lead while he settled into the third position overall, still taking the Masters victory.

“I knew Chris was behind me; he is our pro driver,” explained Hair. “We just got that car built for him. We are stoked about the cars for the Summer Shootout. We have a great group of guys and a great bunch of cars. We have to do just a few small changes and it will be fun.”

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (as provided by INEX)

Semi-Pro (and Young Lions) Feature

Scott Hensley

Austin Leitner

Justin Lloyd

Cody Blackburn

Dylan Sawyer

Ryan Blaney

Nick Stroupe

88A

Mike Alcaro

Sam Mc Caulley

Dylan Presnell

Jeff Bolen

Currie Pierce

Harrison Rhodes

Brock Baldwin

Robert Kuczmarski

Kevin Eves

Devin Jones

Jimmy Heavlow

Kyle Pierce

Chase Elliott

Ronnie Bassett Jr.

Jordan Penninger

88D

Chris Davis

Pro / Masters Feature

Chris Buescher

Michael Van Wingerden

Clay Hair

Andrew Smith

Hoyt Demis

Steven Ross

Thomas Van Wingerden

Christian Pa Hud

24H

Parker Hammons

Matt Stover

Tom Van Wingerden

Charles Kiser

Bruce Silver

Gary Busey

Carlos Moore

24C

Will Cagle

Charlie Branham

Bill Baldwin

Todd Johnson

Marc Vogt

Daniel Hemric

Bubba Deitz

Tad Segars

DNS

Steve Carter

DNS

96B

Jesse Bunnell