A no-holds-barred school bus slobberknocker among area school principals highlighted the second week of Bojangles' Summer Shootout action, which wrapped up on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Harrisburg Elementary's Tonya Williams taking her pink school bus to victory in a thrilling race that saw W.M. Irvin Elementary's Drew Fitzgerald roll his bus in Turn 3 on the first lap.
Williams also won the go-kart qualifying race on Monday night that set the field for Tuesday's school bus showdown. Williams led every lap of the go-kart and school bus races, but Tuesday's two-ton takeover of buses wasn't an easy win from the driver's seat - especially after two caution periods erased her lead.
"I was a little worried because my bus is smoking and leaking, so I didn't think it would make it around but it did," said Williams, who plans to attempt a repeat performance in next year's race. "We know how to drive in Harrisburg."
It seemed to be a clear shot for In Light Wellness Legend Car Pro driver Stevie Johns Jr., who set the pace in the early going on Tuesday night, but Jordan Black had other ideas.
Black spent the final three laps of the 25-lap feature waiting for Johns to slip, and as the two entered Turn 3 on the last lap, Black created a winning opportunity. He nudged Johns, gained room on the inside line and beat Johns to the line by a scant .008 seconds in a photo finish.
"I was nervous to say the least and just went into panic mode and started trying stuff and found some room to work with," Black said.
The AAA Carolinas Legend Car Semi-Pro main event was a tale of heartbreak, as Tyler Truex swept into the lead on Lap 3 and used the next 10 laps to open up a gap on Jordan Stillwell and Grant Winchester. With victory seemingly in hand, Truex's car unexpectedly ground to a halt as he crossed the start-finish line with nine laps to go.
Stillwell assumed the top spot and held off Winchester over the final nine laps to score a victory the young driver said couldn't have happened without support from his parents, his team and his multitude of sponsors.
"College and racing is kinda hard," Stillwell said, "and I'm broke."
Eddie Fatscher took a risk when he used the choose cone to move to the outside pole beside Carson Kvapil on the final restart during the K1 Speed Legend Car Young Lions division race, but the gamble paid off. Kvapil led the majority of the race, but problems on a late restart saw Kvapil pull into the work area as Fatscher emerged with the lead and the victory.
"It was a tough race coming back from (12th)," Fatscher said. "I had to make a decision when we had to choose and I had to come through the field and pass cars. It was a fun race getting up to the front."
Tuesday's winners also included Caden Kvapil in the Beginner Bandolero Bandit feature and Matthew Davey (Bandolero Outlaws). Josh Speas, in a wild Bandolero Bandits feature, avoided a last-lap crash and went from sixth to first to corral the win. Scott Whitaker in Legend Car Masters competition also took checkers.
In what was a caution-free race for the In Light Wellness Pro Legend Car division on Monday, the battle for first saw Austin Green and Stevie Johns Jr. fight neck-and-neck at the front for the first half of the 25-lap race, but Green's Ladyga Motorsports No. 48 had no equal in the final laps.
Green, whose shot at victory in last week's season opener evaporated because of a late-race penalty, scored the win with Johns in second and Michael Torres third.
"Last week we had some troubles, but this week I just had to keep my mind focused and hit my marks every time," Green said.
Giovanni Bromante fought a long and hard battle in the K1 Speed Legend Car Young Lions division on Monday night. Bromante battled with Eddie Fatscher and Alex McCollum the entire race before scoring with victory.
Bromante had a fast car all night and once he had the opportunity to pass Eddie Fatscher during the feature, Bromante held a solid lead to the finish. The second- and third-place cars of Alex McCollum and Fatscher put on a photo-finish fight for second place after a caution-filled feature that was slowed by two crashes and an oil leak.
"It was crazy. I thought we weren't going to finish the race because there were so many cautions," Bromante said. "The car was great and I just want to thank, first of all God for helping me through this race, my mom and my dad. I love them so much."
Robbie Faggart's bid for a second straight Legend Car Masters division win came up one position short on Monday, as Faggart hugged the inside groove to move from fifth to second by the halfway point. He couldn't catch eventual winner Todd Midas, though, who expertly maneuvered his way through lapped traffic to keep Faggart at bay and capture his first victory of the season.
"I hadn't figured out a way to beat 'em," Midas said Monday, "but I did tonight, so thank you."
The rest of Monday night's winners included Garrett Lowe in the Beginner Bandolero Bandit feature, Tommy Good (Bandolero Outlaws), Bryson Ruff (Bandolero Bandits) and Gus Dean (AAA Carolinas Semi-Pro Legend Cars).
Fans can find a free live stream of the Bojangles' Summer Shootout at CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com, USLegendCars.com and GoPRN.com as well as on the US Legend Cars YouTube channel starting at 7 p.m. each night.
Unofficial Results (Tuesday):
Beginner Bandolero Bandits (16 laps): 1. Caden Kvapil; 2. Stanley Hayes; 3. Zack Miracle; 4. Ashton Whitener; 5. Skyler Chaney; 6. Truett Miranda; 7. Tyler Bartoszewicz; 8. Santiago Hill; 9. Adam Eades; 10. Logan Clark; 11. Brent Crews; 12. Garrett Lowe; 13. Parker Eatmon; 14. David Sullivan; 15. Luke Cooper; 16. Shea Bailey; 17.Seth Zacharias; 18. Benjamin Johnson; 19. Brendon Tymon.
K1 Speed Legend Car Young Lions (14 laps): 1. Eddie Fatscher; 2. Ashton Higgins; 3. Alex Verhagen; 4. Garrett Manes; 5. Brody Pope; 6. Jake Johnson; 7. Giovanni Bromante; 8. Sam Mayer; 9. Sammy Hayes; 10. Gracie Trotter; 11. Vincent Midas; 12. Steven Chapman; 13. Daniel Wilk; 14. Ryan Heim; 15. Ryan Helm; 16. Seth Henry; 17. Roy Hayes; 18. Carson Kvapil; 19. Isabella Robusto; 20. Alex McCollum; 21. Harrison Halder; 22. Zack Wells.
Bandolero Outlaws (17 laps): 1. Tommy Good; 2. Blaise Maddox; 3. Matthew Davey; 4. D.J. Canipe; 5. Jason Alder; 6.Matt Emery; 7. Jordan Plummer; 8. Isaak Love; 9. Dylan Notero; 10. Cameron Johnson; 11. Justin Gareis; 12. Liz Montgomery; 13. Hayden Swank; 14. Ethan Elder; 15. Jacob Gantz; 16. Nathan Blackburn; 17. Garrett Zacharias; 18. Blaise Brinkley; 19. Ashley Pantoulas; 20. Trevor Wester.
Bandolero Bandits (20 laps): 1. Josh Speas; 2. Holt Halder; 3. Tyler Chapman; 4. Bryce Bailey; 5. Jason Chapman; 6. Jaiden Reyna; 7. Conner Jones; 8. Josh Kossek; 9. Bryson Ruff; 10. William Robusto; 11. Leland Honeyman; 12. Cameron Bolin; 13. Landon Rapp.
In Light Wellness Legend Car Pros: 1. Jordan Black; 2. Stevie Johns Jr.; 3. Michael Torres; 4. Chase Purdy; 5. Alex Pacheco; 6. Michael Womack; 7. John Holleman; 8. Dawson Cram; 9. Andrew Brown; 10. Dusty Summers; 11. Dillon Faggart; 12. Austin Green.
AAA Carolinas Legend Car Semi-Pro (25 laps): 1. Jordan Stillwell; 2. Grant Winchester; 3. Brad Lowmaster; 4. Dean Gus; 5. Craig Biryla; 6. Joy Scott; 7. Austin Langenstein; 8. Brandon Lemke; 9. Dustin Rumley; 10. Austin Holder; 11. Holden German; 12. Stephen Brewer; 13. Ryo Ogata; 14. Josh Plummer; 15. Jessica D'Ana; 16. Carson Poindexter; 17. Nolan Pope; 18. Matt Mead; 19. Matt Moermond; 20. Jacob Heafner; 21. Tyler Truex; 22. Jack Fread; 23. Willie Ridenhour; 24. Jordan Mander.
Legend Car Masters (25 laps): 1. Scott Whitaker; 2. Carl Cormier; 3. Chip Ferguson; 4. Danny Cisson; 5. Bruce Silver; 6. Robbie Faggart; 7. Dan Keaton; 8. Jeffrey Lefcourt; 9. Craig Bruce; 10. Jamie Smith; 11. Timothy Sipes; 12. Charles Parker; 13. Tom Sherman; 14. David Green; 15. Todd Midas; 16. Jan Ingram.
Unofficial Results (Monday):
Beginner Bandolero Bandits (20 laps): 1. Garrett Lowe; 2. Zack Miracle; 3. Parker Eatmon; 4. Seth Zacharias; 5. Tyler Bartoszewicz; 6. Brent Crews; 7. Caden Kvapil; 8. Santiago Hill; 9. Logan Clark; 10. Luke Cooper; 11. Adam Eades; 12. David Sullivan; 13. Stanley Hayes 14. Truett Miranda; 15. Grant Thompson; 16. Shea Bailey; 17. Benjamin Johnson; 18. Ashton Whitener; 19. Brendon Tymon.
In Light Wellness Legend Car Pros (25 laps): 1. Austin Green; 2. Stevie Johns Jr.; 3. Michael Torres; 4. Chase Purdy; 5. Alex Pacheco; 6. Jordan Black; 7. Michael Womack; 8. Dawson Cram; 9. Dusty Summers; 10. Andrew Brown; 11. Dillon Faggart.
Bandolero Outlaws (17 laps): 1. Matthew Davey; 2. D.J. Canipe; 3. Tommy Good; 4. Blaise Brinkley; 5. Jason Alder; 6. Jordan Plummer; 7. Isaak Love; 8. Dylan Notero; 9. Justin Gareis; 10. Cameron Johnson; 11. Matt Emery; 12. Ashley Pantoulas; 13. Blaise Maddox; 14. Tristan Lesik 15. Hayden Swank; 16. Trevor Wester; 17. Nathan Blackburn; 18. Garrett Zacharias; 19. Liz Montgomery; 20. Ethan Elder.
AAA Carolinas Legend Car Semi-Pro (25 laps): 1. Gus Dean; 2. Tyler Truex; 3. Jordan Stillwell; 4. Grant Winchester; 5. Scott Joy; 6. Craig Biryla; 7. Dustin Rumley; 8. Matt Mead; 9. Nolan Pope; 10. Willie Ridenhour; 11. Brandon Lemke; 12. Carson Poindexter; 13. Jessica Dana; 14. Austin Holder; 15. Brad Lowmaster; 16. Matt Moermond; 17. Jacob Heafner; 18. John Holleman; 19. Jordan Mander; 20. Holden German; 21. Josh Plummer; 22. Stephen Brewer; 23. Ryo Ogata; 24. Garrett Biggers.
Bandolero Bandits (20 laps): 1. Bryson Ruff; 2. Josh Kossek; 3. Cameron Bolin; 4. William Robusto; 5. Leland Honeyman; 6. Josh Speas; 7. Landon Rapp; 8. Bryce Bailey; 9. Jaiden Reyna; 10. Holt Halder; 11. Conner Jones; 12. George Hayes.
Legend Car Masters (25 laps): 1. Todd Midas; 2. Robbie Faggart; 3. Carl Cormier; 4. Scott Whitaker; 5. Jan Ingram; 6. Tom Sherman; 7. Bruce Silver; 8. Chip Ferguson; 9. Dan Keaton; 10. Danny Cisson; 11. Craig Bruce; 12. Timothy Sipes; 13. Charles Parker; 14. Jamie Smith; 15. Rick Fleming; 16. Mark Green.
K1 Speed Legend Car Young Lions (8 laps): 1. Giovanni Bromante; 2. Eddie Fatscher; 3. Alex McCollum; 4. Brody Pope; 5. Zack Wells; 6. Vincent Midas; 7. Carson Kvapil; 8. Ashton Higgins; 9. Roy Hayes; 10. Gracie Trotter; 11. Alex Verhagen; 12. Garrett Manes; 13.Harrison Halder; 14. Sammy Smith; 15. Ryan Helm; 16. Daniel Wilk; 17. Isabella Robusto; 18. Jake Johnson; 19. Seth Henry; 20. Hailie Deegan; 21. Jack Fread; 22. Sam Mayer.
TICKETS:
Tickets, which cost only $8 for adults and FREE for kids 13 and under, can be purchased at the gate or in advance by calling 800-455-FANS or online at charlottemotorspeedway.com. Check local Bojangles' locations for a $2 off coupon. Fans can also watch half-hour weekly Bojangles' Summer Shootout shows on MAVtv.
KEEP TRACK:
Follow all the thrilling Bojangles' Summer Shootout action using the hashtag #LetsBoRacing. Connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or get all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.