2008 Summer Shootout Legends Stories - Round Ten - August 12th, 2008
Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, North Carolina (Quarter-Mile Track)
YOUNG LIONS: WALKER PULLS AHEAD OF CHAOS TO WIN RACE, CHAMPIONSHIP ~ By James Spencer
Bryce Walker must feel pretty good about winning two Legends championships within the same week. After winning the Semi-Pro championship at Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder series on Thursday, Walker followed through with a tenacious, committed performance at the last round of the Summer Shootout, winning him the Young Lions championship.
“Bringing this championship together has been amazing,” said Walker. “It’s been a long road. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. This is hardest series to race that I’ve seen yet. I think the competition here is a lot stiffer than it is in NASCAR.”
For the first half of the race, Walker maintained a second place position in a dangerously claustrophobic field. As he was gaining on Scott Hensley, eyes were drawn to Nick Gill as he lost control of his car, hitting the turn two wall at full speed and bursting into flames. His bone-chilling wreck set the tone for the rest of the race as yellow flags were waved over five consecutive laps. The most notable crash, subsequently, was a turned over Kenzie Ruston.
“It was the most fun I have had all summer, to tell you the truth,” said Ruston with a smile at the end of the night. I hit the #71 (Cody Blackburn). The #71 got a little sideways and I wheel-hopped him. I just went over. I am fine though.”
Before the last restart, Hensley apparently ran out of gas and exited the field, leaving Walker to win the race and take the championship. He didn’t go unchallenged though. Justin Grimes, recovering from a black flag the round prior, came just short of passing Walker at several opportunities during the remainder of the race.
Bryce Walker: the Young Lions champ. (LN Photo)
“Ever since we lost the points last week, I’ve really been wanting to win,” said Grimes. “I felt like we had something for the #680 (Walker). But the car was a little loose. We did the best we could do.”
Several drivers could’ve won this championship, but despite the close point standings, Walker went into the race on top and stayed there, putting an appropriate cap on an impressive season. Now this two-time champ is off to the Lone Star state to work on a trifecta.
“Hopefully we can go back to Texas this weekend and get us a third one,” said Walker.
Nick Gill (top) and Kenzie Ruston (bottom) didn't quite have the results they wanted to. (LN Photos)
Stay tuned to LegendsNation.com for the full story and what happened in the Pro division race, coming to LN on Thursday, August 14th.
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SEMI-PRO: HEAVLOW STEALS LLOYD'S HOPES FOR VICTORY; HILL THE CHAMPION ~ By Meghan Dillner
While most drivers were battling to either up or simply protect there position in the points standings on the last night of the Summer Shootout, things were different for the cars battling for the top spot in the Semi-Pro division. Knowing that they didn’t have a shot for the championship, all Jimmy Heavlow and Justin Lloyd had on their minds was winning the race.
Lloyd started off the feature on the outside pole in his new Chris Rodgers ride, formerly driven by fellow Semi-Pro driver Cody Blackburn. He captured the lead in three and four on the first lap and stayed up front for the majority of the race. The pressure was never lifted from his shoulders as the number three of Jimmy Heavlow was ever-present in his mirrors and on his back bumper.
The race came down to the last restart with only a couple of laps to go. Lloyd still had the lead with the point’s leader, Austin Hill, on his outside and Heavlow directly behind him in third. Heavlow left no room in between him and Lloyd and finally got by to take the win.
“On the last restart, Justin Lloyd, he was really slow getting into the corner and he was kind of blocking me getting off,” admitted Heavlow. “I just got all over him on that last restart and pushed him a little. I just did a little bump and run. I wouldn’t have given him the bumper if he wasn’t blocking. I just had to do what I had to do to get to victory lane. I got down to the inside; I got the lead and just never looked back. It was a crazy race.
“It feels so good to come out of here with three wins. I think that’s the most that anybody has in Semi-Pro. It’s just really unfortunate that I got DQed on week two. I think I could’ve had a shot at the championship tonight. That’s a bummer to think about it that way, but it’s awesome; three wins. I can’t say enough about Chris Rodgers.”
Lloyd wasn’t showing the same enthusiasm as Heavlow, pulling into tech with a third-place finish. After being bumped by Heavlow, Hill was able to get around him and take home second and the point’s championship. Lloyd wasn’t pleased about giving up both the lead and the runner-up spot.
“On the last restart there I knew I was going to be pressured by him (Heavlow) because he’d been hitting me the whole race,” explained a frustrated Lloyd. “I knew he was a little bit better than me coming off the corner because the car was tight so I figured I’d give him room coming in. If he was going to show his talent and show he can really drive he could set me up and get me coming in the corner, not drive me up to the wall coming off. I guess he just decided on the last restart to punt me all the way up the track three grooves and almost take out the high line above me.
Austin Hill finished the race in second, winning the title. (LN Photo)
“We worked so hard at the Summer Shootout this year and we finally got to the point where we could be in contention to win. I led 19 or 18 laps and there is no need for him to shove me three grooves up the track. That is just ridiculous.”
Hill had a great view of what happened between Lloyd and Heavlow on the restart. Those two getting together was enough to give him second place, but he was one of the drivers that was out there to protect his point’s lead and he accomplished just that.
“I chose the outside when I was in fourth because I knew Cody Blackburn (second in points going into the race) was having a bad day and all I had to do was finish 12th or better if Penninger won, so I chose the outside to win the race,” said Hill. “On the start the #3 (Heavlow) hit the #43 (Lloyd) and it got him loose. I went to the outside of them and thought I was clear, but I saw the #3 down there. On the last lap there was some debris all over the backstretch and I hit something. We went into three and I bumped him (Heavlow) a little. He pushed up and I got under him, but the #43 hit me, so I got sideways. I ended up second and got the championship.”
Jimmy Heavlow went to victory lane in the final Semi-Pro race of the Shootout. (LN Photo)
Some spirits may have soared and some may have sunk after the Round 10 Semi-Pro race, but expectations for high levels of passion and excitement didn’t disappoint.
SIDEBAR: HEAVLOW LEAVES CHRIS ROGERS; JOINS LADYGA MOTORSPORTS ~ By Jason Buckley
This season in Legends Car racing it seems that drivers and team affiliations fly out the window left and right. Another one came to light after the final round of the Shootout.
On Wednesday, LegendsNation.com received a phone call from Tim Ladyga, owner of Ladyga Motorsports. According to Ladyga, Chris Rogers Motorsports driver Jimmy Heavlow has left his former team and will drive Ladyga’s Legends Car starting this weekend at Tri-County Speedway (NC). Heavlow will drive the car Casey Roderick finished third in at the Shootout Tuesday in the Pro division (Roderick’s race was a planned one-race deal). This is the same car that was driven by Steven Ross prior to Ross going to his own car for the remainder of the Shootout races.
Rogers has also been in the news lately with his driver shuffling. Cody Blackburn and Rogers split late in the Shootout and since two other drivers have stepped into the car he used to drive, the latter being Justin Lloyd after his primary car suffered mechanical woes.
LegendsNation.com will have more on the musical chairs, including the rumors of a separation between Ladyga and Ross coming to a head, in the coming weeks.
MASTERS: SOSSOMAN AND HAIR FINISH ONE AND TWO IN LAST SHOOTOUT ~ By Meghan Dillner
With the Master’s championship already locked up by Clay Hair in round nine, the top-two Masters drivers were out to simply have a good time the final week of the 2008 Summer Shootout.
The points leader Hair and runner-up John Sossoman, who missed the previous race which locked Hair in as the champion, started off Tuesday’s race side by side in third and fourth. Sossoman charged up to the front with Hair on his tail and held the top spot until the checkered, coming into the pits with a smile on his face.
“To win the last race of the Shootout and to beat Clay because he’s one of the fastest cars out here - it was a battle,” laughed Sossoman. “I was hanging it out for everything it was worth and that’s the only way you can beat Clay is hanging it out. It feels really, really good. Chris Rodgers set the car up awesome this year. I was going to tighten it up. He loosened it up which was the right decision and I learned early on this season to let Chris do the set up and I’ll keep my mouth shut. It’s been a pleasure working with Chris and everybody at 600 Racing.”
It was easy for the crowd to imagine Sossoman taking home the championship along with the night’s victory, except his absence in round nine eliminated that possibility.
“I would’ve come up short by maybe 10 points (for the championship) because Clay still won second and five points,” admitted Sossoman. “It would’ve probably been a five point margin which would’ve made it interesting. Clay deserves to win. I had a good time this year and that’s why I come out here is to have a good time and to be with friends.”
Hair isn’t a rookie to the Summer Shootout Championship experience having won several before, but sometimes there is more to winning races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway than Summer Shootout victories.
“Well we won the championship last week, but we were trying to get another 100 point (win) toward the national championship,” explained Hair. “(Sossoman) did everything he could do to win the race. I just didn’t want to spin out or anything like that so I just kind of rode back there in the back. I gave him a couple of little nudges, but it was all fun racing.”
PRO: CONTROVERSY AND MAYHEM ...
Nick Gill (top) and Kenzie Ruston (bottom) didn't quite have the results they wanted to. (LN Photos)
The drama in the Legends Pro division has been building for weeks at the 2008 Summer Shootout Series. Heading into the final race of the season, Chris Buescher led Jordan Anderson by a mere seven points.
What happened in the race? What happened in tech? What happened afterwards that involved security? Why were the race results and points under review?
