LMS Winter Heat 1/12/07: Legends Racing Action
By Jason Buckley
SEMI-PRO: ROSS SHIFTS HIS WAY BACK TO VICTORY LANE

Last week was one that Steven Ross wishes he could have over.  At the Winter Heat race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, an issue the officials had with the flags and lap count dashed his chances at the victory.  The following day, a shifter issue kept him from victory lane at Rockingham Speedway. 

This week, Ross went into Winter Heat round five hoping he could overcome last week’s adversity, and that is what he did, taking the Semi-Pro Legends victory.
Steven Ross smokes the tires on the way to victory.
“We fixed the shifter issues from Rockingham and did little bit more work on the car and it was awesome,” said Ross.  “I can’t be any happier with the car. It was a good race for us.”

Behind Ross, last week’s winner John Ellenburg struggled with the setup of his car.

“We ran a 48.5 in practice,” said Ellenburg.  “We changed it up just a little bit for the race. We just couldn’t get back to that.  It was just tight and I was just trying to hang on for second.  I’m going to change it up quite a bit, come back and see if we can get another win.”

Contact during the race cost Matt Harris a shot a Ross for the victory, something he is itching to do during the Winter Heat.
“I had a really good start in the first corner,” said Harris.  “I just got passed Steven Ross and then got up behind John and tried to pass him into turn three and unfortunately he didn’t see me.  It was a pretty small gap anyway.  It bent the tracking out, so for the rest of the race I was driving a shopping cart, which was a shame because it was handling and running very quickly. I just couldn’t  throw in the gap to get past him. Third’s alright but I felt like I could have won.”

While Ellenburg and Harris manhandled their Legends around the track, it was Ross cruising onto the win with virtually no problems during the event, which is what he wanted.

“It was definitely good to get our first road course win,” said Ross. “It would have been better it we got last week, that would have been four out of the five races we’ve won, so I can’t complain, three races out of the five races we’ve ran I can’t be any happier, it’s good.”

PRO: TYLER GREEN SCHOOLS PRO FIELD FOR ROAD COURSE WIN

Just like Steven Ross last week, Tyler Green wondered what could have been.  Green got into a shoving match on the track with Christian PaHud, which caused officials to black flag his car, taking him out of contention to win.  Green wasn’t pleased about the call, but put that behind him this week by going out and taking the Legends Pro division victory.
Tyler Green got back to victory lane this week, a week after receiving a frustrating black flag.  (LN photo)
“I guess it’s kind of luck in racing,” said Green.  “Some weeks you have bad luck and misfortune and then next everything goes to plan, you’ll win.”

Green wheeled his car around the track ahead of Dennis Lambert, who closely followed him until the finish.  Lambert’s mechanical issues, and maybe his age, kept him from challenging Green for the win.

“I was alright,” said Lambert after the race.  “I had motor problems right there at the start and then right there at the end of the race so it kind of hurt my performance there let Tyler get away from me too far, but I think I ran too many laps yesterday I’m a little too tired I guess I’m getting too old.”

Green and Lambert have had a history on the track which has caused a bit of friction between the two, but both drove each other with respect, and that is something Green appreciated.

“Lambert and I have had a little conflict in the past, but I just glad we ran clean that race,” explained Green.  It was a good race.”

MASTERS: HAIR WINS AGAIN, BUT A CHALLENGER IS ON THE PROWL

Just like the Bandolero Outlaws division, the Legends Masters division has become extremely predictable.  If Clay Hair shows up to race everyone pretty well knows they are racing for second place as he wins just about everything everywhere.

In round five of the Winter Heat at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Hair once again entered, ran in the top spot and won the race, but it wasn’t without a challenge as David Denham stalked Hair for the entire event.
Clay Hair (#29) had to watch behind him as David Denham (#33) put on the pressure.  (LN photo)
“It was a good race,” said Denham.  “Clay seemed like he always gets a good start.  He definitely pulled us a couple lengths off the start. As we went I noticed it was probably the hardest I had ever driven.  The harder I drove my front end had a little bit of push to it and Clay was getting through the mess really good, but I could close on him coming down the back stretch. At the end there lap car got in our way.”

Many people credit Hair for his driving behind the wheel, but after the race he won by a smaller margin than he would have liked, it was the driver, not the car, at fault.

“I think mostly the driver was the biggest problem with the car today,” said Hair.  “We ran 49.30s and .40s yesterday.  I’m not complaining; probably need to get up on the steering wheel a little bit better than what I did, but once I saw he was back there I kind of got up on the wheel because I knew these boys (Hair’s crew) would get mad at me if I didn’t.”
Hair’s dominance has frustrated some and even caused a few to think he should hang up the helmet and let others have a chance to win.  Not in Denham’s opinion.

“I really hope he (Hair) keeps coming because he sets that bar for us,” said Denham.  “Without him here may not be as fun. I’ve heard a lot of people question whether he should be even running the Winter Heat or not, but I hope he keeps coming because without him I think the guys up front got no rabbit out there. So, racing him is very honorable because in this type of racing he is the Earnhardt of this race, and to be even be pushing him, I’m very proud of myself and my team.”

YOUNG LIONS: HEAVLOW GOES TWO FOR TWO ON THE ROAD COURSE

When Jimmy Heavlow won the last Winter Heat race of 2007 on the 1/5th-mile oval, he was satisfied that he won, but was even more thrilled that the next four races of the Winter Heat series would take place on the road course due to his Karting experience.  Saturday Heavlow showed again why as he claimed his second road course victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this season.
Heavlow seemed to have the whole Young Lions division races wrapped up for the day, but he did have a challenge from Ronnie Bassett, Jr.

“I won both of my heat races and started on the poll for my feature race and just got off to a clean start,” said Heavlow. “Ronnie was pursuing me pretty good I thought he might of passed me early on maybe we could have had a good race. Then we had full course yellow and he was right on me for about the next couple laps after that. I felt like he was right on me coming out of that chicane so I only shifted into third then I started hitting the rev limiter and I felt like that picked me up a little bit.”

Bassett, who has started to show the strength in the Legends that he showed last season in his Bandolero, just didn’t have enough for the win.

“I haven’t been up in front too much this year just getting used to it, the new car, the road course,” said Bassett. “I had a good race today.  I was suppose to start fifth but started third and stayed in second the whole race. The car was not sticking to the ground as good as his (Heavlow) was, but other than that the car was handling great and got on the gas quick about the every time going through the corners and that helped me a bunch.”
Another road course race at Lowe's, another win for Jimmy Heavlow.  (LN photo)
While Heavlow celebrated the win, Bassett had to ride into the pit area on the hook as he lost control of his car after the finish line.

“I got on the gas too quick coming out of the corner and just spun out,” explained Bassett.  “I didn’t get on the breaks and rolled down in the drain and the bolt out of the trailing arm came out.”

RESULTS

Semi-Pro
1. Steven Ross
2. John Ellenburg
3. Matt Harris
4. Matt Lundstrom
5. Gene Kirila
6. Dennis Kiser
7. Drew Calhoun
8. Zach Zimmerly
9. Jordan Penninger
10. Kyle Pierce
11. Bryan Silas
12. Sam Mc Aulay
13. Johnny Love
14. Jerry Lambert
15. Landon Bullock
16. Heath Manning
17. Andrew Ryan
18. Mike Lester
19. Thomas Hatcher
20. David Smith
21. Jamie Smith
22. Michael Brown
23. Cody Johnson
24. Chad Hackenbracht

Masters
1. Clay Hair
2. David Denham
3. Gary Shannon
4. Eddie Harwell
5. Jan Ingram
6. Bill Baldwin
7. Robert Petry
8. Steve Beck
9. Cotton Spry
10. Dennis Hoyt
11. John Davis
12. Chip Ferguson
13. Mike Rodgers
14. Jimmy Gurley
15. Phil Sharpe
16. Wendell Napper
17. Bruce Silver
18. Troy Martin
19. Marc Vogt
20. John Barilka

Pro
1. Tyler Green
2. Dennis Lambert
3. Christian Pahud
4. Rob Hall
5. Mark Green
6. Mitchell Coble
7. Parker Hammons
8. Kyle Beattie
9. Daniel Moskowitz
10. David Polenz
11. Jacob Frances
12. Matt Stover

Young Lions
1. Jimmy Heavlow
2. Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
3. Tyler DeVault
4. Austin Leitner
5. Timmy Hill
6. Hayden Reeves
7. Devon Jones
8. Bailey Freeman
9. Jordan Stillwell
10. Harrison Rhodes
11. Tyler Hanberry
12. J.D. Abrahams
13. Sean Harris
14. Joe DeGarcia
15. Travis Braden
16. Brock Baldwin
17. Dylan Presnell
18. T.J. Hicks