Rain fell, stars of all ages shined and pastors pummeled school buses on pavement during an action-packed, North Carolina Virtual Academy-sponsored night of Bojangles' Summer Shootout racing on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The exhilarating Faster Pastor school bus slobberknocker lived up to its billing, as a lengthy rain delay couldn't stop area clergy from crashing into one another in 10-ton school buses. Once the green flag flew, a rollover by Donnie Icenhour of Rocky River Church - from which he escaped unhurt - brought fans to their feet and set up a trophy dash. Mount Tabor United Methodist Church pastor Kris Mares put the pedal to the metal on the restart, sped her pink No. 7 bus past Elevation Church pastor Jeff Bates and captured her first Faster Pastor victory.
"That was way more fun than I thought it would be," said Mares, the wife of JR Motorsports mechanic Bill Mares. "I'm just super excited that there were people here to have fun and enjoy a race night with their families. That's what it's all about."
For the fourth time in a row, Jordan Black outclassed his competition in the Lead 2 Real Estate Pro division. Although Dillon Faggart led the opening laps of the race, title contenders Austin Green and Black fought to the front. Green took the lead away from Faggart, but Black was at his bumper the entire time. It didn't take long before Black stole the lead and ran away with the race. Green attempted to catch the point leader in the closing laps, but he was unable to find a way to the back bumper of Black.
"I'm just so pumped up," Black said. "Four wins, the strongest run I've been on and matching my win total from last year. It's thanks to the guys that put together my cars. Our mentality is, the 48 (Austin Green) wants to make it a title fight. He's going to have to come get it."
A caution-filled Cabarrus Brewing Masters division saw Robby Faggart control the early stages before a spin ended his hopes of victory. Title contender John Sossoman saw his bid for a win end when, after causing two cautions, he was parked for the night - while Chip Ferguson avoided the carnage to notch his first win of the season.
"I just come out every week and try to go as hard as I can go," Ferguson said. "Fortunately, this week I was able to win with the yellow flag."
Dustin Rumley won an abbreviated VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro feature that was shortened from 25 laps to 20 after the rain delay and an oil-slicked racing surface. In addition to the treacherous conditions, Rumley managed to survive a caution-filled event that saw early contenders Scott Joy, Ryan Miller and Hudson Halder encounter trouble.
"The track was getting drier and drier and cars were getting faster and faster, so I didn't know what was going to happen but I knew I just had to hit my marks," Rumley said.
In the K1 Speed Young Lions feature, Sam Mayer conquered a wet track and won his third race in a row. While Sammy Smith dominated the opening laps, he was unable to beat the lightning that brought out a red flag. Smith emerged as the leader after the storm passed, but Mayer was quickly at his back bumper. Mayer took advantage of lapped traffic to steal Smith's lane and take the lead. Mayer captured the checkered flag for the fourth time this season and added to his points lead over D.J. Canipe.
"Farbo Motorsports puts together a great car for me every single time I come out on this race track," Mayer said. "It's just a lot of fun for me."
Justin Gareis corralled victory in the Bandolero Outlaws feature with Cameron Bolin and Ethan Norfleet in tow.
"It's the greatest thing in the entire world right now to me," Gareis said. "I wanted it so bad and we've been so close the entire year. It's awesome because I've got a lot of family here so it means a lot."
Due to rain, the Bandolero Bandits and Beginner Bandits features were postponed to July 25.
Unofficial Results:
K1 Speed Young Lions (20 laps): 1. Sam Mayer; 2. D.J. Canipe; 3. Ryan Heim; 4. Isabella Robusto; 5. Gracie Trotter; 6. Harrison Halder; 7. Sammy Smith; 8. Jak Crawford; 9. Leland Honeyman; 10. Josh Stark; 11. Tristan Lesik; 12. Nicholas Sanchez; 13. Liz Montgomery; 14. Steve Chapman; 15. Bryson Ruff; 16. Roy Hayes; 17. J.R. Weidman; 18. George Hayes; 19. William Robusto; 20. Josh Kossek; 21. Jason Alder; 22. Holt Halder.
VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro (20 laps): 1. Dustin Rumley; 2. Garrett Manes; 3. Zack Wells; 4. Vincent Midas; 5. Tristen Love; 6. Joshua Plummer; 7. Andrew Dollar; 8. Jessica Dana; 9. Carson Poindexter; 10. Cory Butner; 11. Hudson Halder; 12. Connor Mosack; 13. Ryan Miller; 14. Sam Platt; 15. Zack Miller; 16. Scott Joy; 17. Craig Biryla; 18. Austin Bellemare.
Lead 2 Real Estate Pro (25 laps): 1. Jordan Black; 2.Austin Green; 3. Dawson Cram; 4. Dillon Faggart; 5. Brody Pope; 6. Daniel Wilk; 7. Jordan Stillwell; 8. Corey Heim.
Cabarrus Brewing Company Masters (25 Laps): 1. Chip Ferguson; 2. Robby Faggart; 3. Carl Cormier; 4. Jan Ingram; 5. Dan Keaton; 6. Mark Green; 7. Charles Parker; 8. Todd Shockman; 9. John Sossoman; 10. Jon Craig; 11. Todd Midas.
Bandelero Outlaws (10 laps): 1. Justin Gareis; 2. Cameron Bolin; 3. Ethan Norfleet; 4. Cameron Johnson; 5. Jonathan Lesik; 6. Tommy Good; 7. Garrett Lowe; 8. Jordan Plummer; 9. Franklin Caricofe; 10. Jadyn Daniels; 11. Trevor Wester; 12. Austin MacDonald; 13. Matt Emery; 14. Emily Day; 15. Andrew Faircloth; 16. Josh Speas; 17. Carson Ramsey; 18. David Sullivan; 19. Luke Akers; 20. Chase Dixon; 21. Garin Mash.