CONCORD, N.C. — Audio, photos and recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman —
The penultimate round of the 22nd annual Bojangles’ Summer Shootout produced thunder and lightning both on and off the track, as a vicious rain delay kicked off the night and two first-time Shootout winners charged through the chaos to close it.
Joey Padgett (Pro) and Jordan Stillwell (Semi-Pro) both etched their names in the Charlotte Motor Speedway history books as victors in their respective classes — and at the annual summer series for Legend cars and Bandoleros — for the first time ever, as the points battles in three of the six classes heightened to a fever pitch heading into Tuesday night’s finale event.
For Padgett, the win came in one of the most spectacular finishes of the summer and was a remarkable rally for the Florida teenager after being involved in a crash at lap 11 of the 25-lap main.
Polesitter Gregory Lang and Padgett got together racing for the lead after Lang had led the opening ten laps, collecting Jared Irvan in the skirmish and sending both Irvan and Padgett to the tail of the field with just over half of the race remaining.
“At that point, I thought I was completely out of it,” Padgett admitted. “I just knew though, that because of the rain, we had to keep fighting.”
And fight he did. Using a series of well-executed lane choices on three subsequent restarts, Padgett slowly and methodically moved his way forward, getting to the back bumper of race leader and Round 8 winner Austin Hill by the time the race went green for the final time with five laps to go.
From there, he dogged Hill and waited for a mistake — which came on the final lap entering turn one when Hill’s brakes locked up, allowing Padgett to sneak by for his first career Shootout win in any class after claiming the Winter Heat Series championship in February at CMS.
“I’m completely in shock,” Padgett grinned. “This is my first win in the Shootout, ever, in anything. We’ve been close this year, and at times over the past few years, but to finally get it done tonight means so much.”
“I went across the line and busted out in tears. This is surreal and I’m going to remember this night for a long, long time.”
For Hill, who finished second, the result left a sour taste in the Winston, Ga. native’s mouth after coming so close to a second straight victory.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Hill said. “The brakes just locked up going into turn one [on the last lap.] I barely touched them and when I did, the whole front end just seized up on me.”
“We had a dominant car. I had a huge lead and to see it go away like that — I really wanted this win tonight — so I’m kinda pissed off that we were so good and it didn’t work out like that. It’s frustrating.”
Irvan charged late to round out the podium and cut points leader Michael Torres’ advantage to four points heading into Round 10 on Tuesday night, creating a winner-take-all scenario between the season-long rivals.
Ryan Shattuck came home a season-best fourth and Torres rounded out the top five.
Stillwell’s maiden victory came on a night when the points battle was shaken to its foundation, after three of the top four drivers in the division standings encountered problems during the 25-lap feature.
Points leader John Holleman IV was involved in a multi-car melee on lap six, after he was forced three-wide on a restart and slammed the outside concrete. Sprout Royal launched over the rear fender of Holleman’s machine, and Chase Cabre was also collected in the crash that handed the division lead back to Holleman’s teammate, Sheldon Crouse, by five points going into the last race of the season.
“I had to take the choose,” Holleman said. “It put me on the outside front row, and if I hadn’t I would have likely been seventh on the restart and I didn’t want to be back there in all that muck trying to go forward.”
“Just got pushed high in a three-wide deal in one and two and had nowhere to go. It sucked us right in the fence. It really hurts the points deal, but hopefully we’re not out of it and we can go and fight Sheldon for the big trophy tomorrow night.”
Devin O’Connell, who was still within striking distance — fourth in points — entering the night, was forced high off of turn four by Jensen Jorgensen with eight laps to go and smacked the SAFER Barrier on the frontstretch in a shower of sparks, ending his night and making the New England native the last driver still mathematically eligible for the title, 24 points back of Crouse.
It was on that ensuing restart that Stillwell struck. Giving a nudge to Crouse entering turn one, the Shootout veteran took the lead just inside of seven laps to go and survived one final restart to outrun Scott Joy to the checkered flag.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight,” Stillwell laughed. “This has been a long time coming. From lap one tonight I knew we had a car that could win. Sheldon and Jensen got out front early, but once I got clear and got to the bottom, this thing was a rocketship.”
“Yeah, I may have had to lay a little bit of a bumper to Sheldon there to get the lead tonight, but I could taste the victory and I wasn’t going to be denied tonight. I wanted it bad, and we finally — finally — got it.”
Jorgensen hung on for third, followed by Stevie Johns Jr., who sits third in points, eight markers behind Crouse with one race remaining.
Crouse held his lead with a remarkable rally inside the final five laps, charging through the field after losing his bumper in a battle with Jorgensen and having to visit the work area as a result. The first responder and Devo Motorsports driver finished fifth.
The Legends car Masters division was actually the first to take to the track in the rain — and they did not disappoint. With points leader Scott Whitaker and NASCAR Cup star Ernie Irvan electing not to start the main event, a massive wrench was thrown into both the race results and the season points standings.
That wrench was further amplified after a crash on the initial start, when Tom Pistone got loose on the frontstretch and slammed the outside wall, losing the right front wheel and coming to rest in turn one. While Pistone finished 13th, he was able to regain the points lead by two markers going into the final night of competition by virtue of Whitaker’s DNS.
As for the racing, it was Bruce Silver who led early, getting the jump on Ron Mander and leading the first six laps of the main event. However, once Faggart got around Silver for the top spot at lap seven, it was lights out for the rest of the field.
Despite a caution on lap 12 for a spinning Dwayne Holder, Faggart dominated the rest of the way, opening up a half-track lead and lapping the entire field save for Carl Cormier and Mander en route to his third victory in the last four races and his fourth career Masters division victory at the Shootout.
“I grew up on dirt tracks, that’s what I’m used to is slipping and sliding around,” Faggart explained. “We were doing that tonight, but as soon as the groove started to dry a little bit I went to it and we were gone. What a turnaround this has been. I couldn’t be happier for this Steven Ross Motorsports team.”
Silver was credited with fourth at the checkered flag after spinning out of second with two laps to go, with Nelson Stewart, father of three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, rounding out the top five.
Alex Reece dominated en route to his first career Young Lions division victory at the Shootout, leading wire to wire in a caution-filled feature that was shortened to just 13 of the 20 scheduled laps due to the time limit.
After five caution flags, Reece notched the win and took home the big hardware ahead of Austin Green and Dawson Cram, giving Ladyga Motorsports wins in back-to-back races across two different divisions (after Hill’s Pro win a week ago).
“It feels great,” Reece said of finally getting to victory lane. “Every time we would get close, something would go wrong or I would make a mistake and we’d end up losing it. It’s been a struggle, but it’s pretty sweet to be standing here right now.”
Points leader Chase Purdy finished fourth after restarting 10th at lap six, and holds a 28 point lead over Reece. He will clinch his first-career Summer Shootout championship simply by starting the division’s Round 10 feature on Tuesday night.
The Bandolero features were postponed after rain showers returned on the opening lap of the Outlaws division feature. All three classes (Outlaws, Bandits and Beginner Bandoleros) will run their Round Nine features as part of a doubleheader on Tuesday. Green flag for the make-up Bandolero events will fly at 3:30 p.m.
The 2015 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout concludes Tuesday night, July 28 with Champions’ Night, where six Legends car and Bandolero divisions will crown their season-long champions alongside a massive fireworks display. Gates open at 2 p.m., with Round 10 features beginning at 7 p.m.
RESULTS: 22nd annual Bojangles’ Summer Shootout Series; Charlotte Motor Speedway; July 27, 2015
Human Tuning Group Legends Car Pro Division (25 laps): 1. Joey Padgett, 2. Austin Hill, 3. Jared Irvan, 4. Ryan Shattuck, 5. Michael Torres, 6. Alex Murray, 7. Reid Wilson, 8. Dillon Faggart, 9. Donovan Ponder, 10. Jordan Black, 11. Justin Ashley, 12. Gregory Lang, 13. Evan Swilling
Audio with race winner Joey Padgett:
Audio with runner-up Austin Hill:
Audio with fourth-place Ryan Shattuck:
Security Force Legends Car Masters Division (25 laps): 1. Robby Faggart, 2. Carl Cormier, 3. Ron Mander, 4. Bruce Silver, 5. Nelson Stewart, 6. Chip Ferguson, 7. Jan Ingram, 8. Craig Bruce, 9. Akinori Ogata, 10. Jamie Smith, 11. Jon Craig, 12. Dwayne Holder, 13. Tom Pistone.
DNS: Scott Whitaker, Ernie Irvan.
Audio with race winner Robby Faggart:
Audio with runner-up Carl Cormier:
Legends Car Semi-Pro Division (25 laps): 1. Jordan Stillwell, 2. Scott Joy, 3. Jensen Jorgensen, 4. Stevie Johns Jr., 5. Sheldon Crouse, 6. Joe Gregory, 7. Taylor Jorgensen, 8. Holden German, 9. Joshua Plummer, 10. Kyle Kalash, 11. Craig Biryla, 12. Jonathan Wessel, 13. Gus Dean, 14. Jordan Mander, 15. Hannah Bell, 16. Enrique Limon, 17. Devin O’Connell, 18. Connor Pyle, 19. John Holleman IV, 20. Chase Cabre, 21. Sprout Royal.
Audio with race winner Jordan Stillwell and father Walter:
Audio with runner-up Scott Joy:
Audio with fourth-place Stevie Johns:
Audio with points leader and fifth-place Sheldon Crouse:
Audio with Chase Cabre following involvement in lap 6 crash:
Audio with championship contender John Holleman following lap 6 crash:
Audio with championship contender Devin O’Connell following lap 17 crash:
Legend Car Young Lions Division (13 laps; shortened due to time limit): 1. Alex Reece, 2. Austin Green, 3. Dawson Cram, 4. Chase Purdy, 5. Jacob Heafner, 6. Ryan Millington, 7. Kaden Honeycutt, 8. Conner Snow, 9. Garrett Manes, 10. Eddie Fatscher, 11. Andrew Molleur, 12. Jack Fread, 13. Carson Poindexter, 14. Sam Mayer
Audio with race winner Alex Reece:
Bandolero Outlaws Division: Rained out; Rescheduled for July 28 at 3:30 p.m.
Bandolero Bandits Division: Rained out; Rescheduled for July 28 at 3:30 p.m.
Beginner Bandolero Division: Rained out; Rescheduled for July 28 at 3:30 p.m.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s. He is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
