CRASHcars Live Up To The Hype In First Two Shootout Showings
The True Beasts of the Southeast Race Hard For The Second-Place-Wins Features
TWO-TIME CHAMP INVADER SQUEALS TO SECOND PLACE WIN
Invader and Krashy the Clown bury the brakes at the finish to be second on track, but the winner in the second-place-wins event. (LN Photo)
The first week of the 2008 Quaker Steak & Lube Summer Shootout Series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC) saw the school bus race take to the track, meaning the CRASHCars had to wait one week before their turn on the quarter-mile oval. When they did enter the facility for the second round, a heated, race-long duel between Paul Sparrow’s “Invader” and Walter Pecora’s “Krashy the Clown” literally came to a screeching halt on the finish line with Invader, the reigning CRASHCar champion, scoring a strategic second-place win and the first CRASHCar victory of the 2008 Summer Shootout season.
Before the feature, officials told the drivers the race winner would be the driver who crossed the finish line second. Invader quickly charged ahead of the competition and dominated the race.
“I always try to get to the front and just stay there,” said Sparrow. “That’s why I don’t like second place wins, but it worked out this time.”
This was by no means an effortless victory. Krashy the Clown spent the majority of the race up Invader’s tailpipe before Sparrow tactfully slipped his beast to second place towards the finish.
Invader driver Paul Sparrow celebrated his win with his family and friends. (LN Photo)
“He (Pecora) started to push,” Sparrow continued. “I was going to let him go on. He tried to slam on his brakes at the end. I slammed on my brakes too and pulled it off.”
Chalk up Pecora’s backfired strategy to showmanship and an old, faulty set of brakes.
“Towards the end he (Sparrow) was trying to let me pass and I was trying to make a race out of it,” said Pecora. “I always like to race to win anyway. I was going to try to get him right there at the end, but I just barely slid across the line. My brakes weren’t as good. I just missed by a little bit. If I’d pressed the brakes just a hair earlier I would’ve stopped right before the line, which is what I planned.”
Pecora lost by a nose, but accepted silver gladly and graciously.
“The car handled pretty good the whole race and I was right there with him,” added Pecora. He was champion last year.”
VIGILANTE II CROSSES THE LINE FIRST, BUT SECOND TO VIGILANTE IN SECOND CRASHCAR EVENT
After last week’s tepid, predictable CRASHCars 2008 debut, the crazy cast of cartoon cars ran a frenzied, hectic race Tuesday night in the third round of the 2008 Quaker Steak & Lube Summer Shootout Series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC) that lived up to their division’s name. This time it was “Vigilante” in the winning second-place position and “Vigilante II” speeding past his namesake to first on the track, but runner-up in the race.
Vigilante (top) and Vigilante II (bottom left) ended up in the top-two positions in the second CRASHCar race of the season. (LN Photos)
“I don’t think there was any control over that race tonight,” says Rusty Drye, Vigilante’s driver. “It was beat-bangin’ rough.”
Amid the muddled bumper-on-bumper action, the Vigilantes, Big Show, and last week’s victor Invader were having it out for the top spots. At the end of the rough full-contact vehicular slam fest, only one car could end up winning the race in the second position on the track.
“I just got lucky at the end,” admitted Drye. “There was four of us there and I bet there wasn’t more than a foot between us going across the line.”
Vigilante II’s Jeremy Troiano crossed the line first, unaware the feature had ended.
“I never saw the white flag,” said Troiano. “I was too busy worrying about who was in second and where we were. I came around turn four and two guys just slowed down and all of the sudden I went zooming by them. I didn’t even know the checkered flag was out.”
Regardless, Troiano clearly improved upon his consistent performance from the week before, using the lessons he learned from the opening race to tune up his car and strategy for this week.
“It was way better for sure,” added Troiano. “The car was a lot better. I changed all four springs and some upper control arms. I’ve still got some tweaking to do. The car’s getting better and I imagine by the end of the year I should be contending for a win.”
Paul Sparrow, the reigning champ and driver of the “Invader” machine, employed the same strategy as last week. He quickly advanced to first on the track to control the race before slipping to a lower position at the end. However, his strategy backfired this time and landed him in fourth.
“I was going to go ahead and win the race and finish first,” said Sparrow. “I saw Rusty behind me, so I jerked the wheel to the left and slammed on the brakes. I slowed up too much and everybody went by. If I had to do it over, I probably wouldn’t have tried anything. I would’ve just went across first.”
Through the chaos and confusion of a second-place-wins event, only Rusty Drye was lucky enough to come out victorious.
“I was just trying to make my way to the front as best I could,” said Drye. “It was a survival fest.”
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By James Spencer
LegendsNation.com
