CONCORD, N.C. — Audio, story and photos by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman —

Round Five of the 2015 Winter Heat Series brought with it anticipation, excitement, and two electric photo finishes that stole the show during Saturday afternoon’s action at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dillon Faggart (Semi-Pro) and Rodney Tharp (Masters) were both on the winning end of two nearly-identical last-lap, last-corner passes that were so close it was almost impossible to call from the ground.

Tharp’s pass was the most stunning of the pair, with the driver of the Farbo Motorsports No. 94 diving to the inside exiting turn four and scrambling three-wide to the line to nose out his second straight victory of the Winter Heat by 0.008 seconds over longtime Legends veteran Ron Mander.

“I never had any doubt,” Tharp said when asked if he thought he would have enough steam coming out of turn four to take the victory.

Mander, while notching his best finish of the 2015 Winter Heat Series and best career Masters division finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was disappointed after leading the field into turn three on the final lap and thinking he finally had his breakthrough win.

“I wanted it bad,” Mander said. “I just drove it a little too hard into three because I knew they wanted it and I just went in a little over my head. I was lucky to save it at all and just hung on for second. It’s tough, but we’re coming after them — we’re getting better every week and hopefully that win is coming.”

Faggart’s win came over young New York hotshoe Christan Eckes for the fourth straight week, and it came by a slightly larger margin — just 0.015 seconds at the stripe with an inside surge that basically mirrored the move that Tharp made just one race before.

“That was definitely a miracle right there,” Faggart exclaimed upon climbing from his car. “I was struggling with the car the whole race — it was good for about the first five laps and then the right rear started going away or something because it was loose as heck. I just can’t believe we’re in this position (and standing here) right now.”

Alex Murray completed the Semi-Pro podium, notching his best finish of the 2015 Winter Heat Series.

Chase Purdy used a well-timed bump to the back of the Ladyga Motorsports No. 48 of Alex Reece to slide by and snatch his first career victory in a Legends Car on the Charlotte quarter-mile, having to hold off a determined charge by Austin Green to claim the top honors in a marathon feature that took nearly 40 minutes to complete the 20 laps.

“I just knew I had to keep control of my marks,” an exhausted Purdy said in Victory Lane. “It just means a lot. You know, these cars are difficult to learn how to drive and after as close as we’ve come (in the weeks prior) it just feels good to get it this time.”

Scott Joy, Alex McCollum and Zack Wells rounded out the top five. Regular CARS Tour and Charlotte Motor Speedway Summer Shootout announcer Tony Stevens overcame a spin in turn four to finish 11th in his Legends Car debut for Farbo Motorsports.

Purdy’s victory, combined with Reece being spun twice during the feature to end up eighth and points leader Matt Thomas blowing a motor with seven laps to go, has caused a huge shake-up in the championship standings heading into the final weekend of competition for the Young Lions class. The Mississippi native unofficially assumes the points lead by nine markers over Reece and 17 over Thomas with three features left to race after coming into round five third in the points chase.

And in the premier Pro class, Florida native Michael Torres returned following a race off two weeks ago and picked up right where he left off — in Victory Lane at the end of 20 laps.

Torres got out front after a slow start, reeling in Winter Heat rival Joey Padgett on lap 13 of 20 and pulling away down the stretch for his third checkered flag in four appearances. The Apopka, Florida driver now has an average finish of 1.25 across his four Winter Heat starts this season.

Kason Plott finished third after some early race contact with Alex Pacheco, a former Summer Shootout Series and Winter Heat veteran. Brandon Gdovic and Riley Halverson completed the top five.

Justin Oplinger (Beginner Bandits), Daniel Wilk (Bandits) and Eddie Fatscher (Outlaws) all swept their respective divisions during the double Bandolero features that were held Saturday afternoon. Wilk is now a perfect six-for-six in Bandits division action and will be seeking not just a championship, but a perfect record during the Winter Heat finales.

The 2015 Winter Heat Series from Charlotte Motor Speedway concludes next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 7-8, with a doubleheader day for Legend Cars among the finale weekend activities. A total of three Legends features remain for each class, while the Bandoleros have two races remaining to determine their division champions.

RESULTS: Winter Heat Series; Charlotte Motor Speedway; U.S. Legend Cars International; Jan. 31, 2015

Legends Car Pro Division Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Michael Torres; 2) Joey Padgett; 3) Kason Plott; 4) Brandon Gdovic; 5) Riley Halverson; 6) Henri Tuomaala; 7) Alex Pacheco; 8) Reid Wilson; 9) Spencer Saunders; 10) Trey Jarrell.

Audio with race winner Michael Torres:

Audio with runner-up Joey Padgett:

Legends Car Masters Division Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Rodney Tharp; 2) Ron Mander; 3) Robby Faggart; 4) Tom Sherman; 5) Scott Whitaker; 6) Danny Cisson; 7) Dwayne Holder.

Audio with race winner Rodney Tharp:

Audio with runner-up Ron Mander:

Legends Car Semi Pro Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Dillon Faggart; 2) Christian Eckes; 3) Alex Murray; 4) Erik Nash; 5) John Holleman; 6) Chase Campbell; 7) Joseph Bisson; 8) Alex Urbina; 9) Jesse Hilger; 10) Austin Langenstein; 11) Tony Stevens; 12) Jonathan Wessel; 13) Matthew Moermond; 14) Holden German; 15) Stevie Johns; 16) Devin O’Connell.

Audio with race winner Dillon Faggart:

Audio with runner-up Christian Eckes (from Race Chaser Online correspondent James Pike):

Audio with third-place Alex Murray (from Race Chaser Online Senior Editor Tom Baker):

Legends Car Young Lions Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Chase Purdy; 2) Austin Green; 3) Scott Joy; 4) Alex McCollum; 5) Zack Wells; 6) Eddie Fatscher; 7) Jacob Heafner; 8) Alex Reece; 9) Jonnie Varga; 10) Ryan Millington; 11) Andrew Molleur; 12) Anthony Alfredo; 13) Kouga Miyoshi; 14) Jack Fread; 15) Sprout Royal; 16) Gillian Kirkpatrick; 17) Carson Poindexter; 18) Matthew Thomas; 19) Justin Taylor; 20) Dawson Cram.

Audio with race winner Chase Purdy:

Audio with runner-up Austin Green (from Race Chaser Online correspondent James Pike):

Audio with third place Scott Joy:

Bandolero Beginner Bandits Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Justin Oplinger; 2) Gracie Trotter; 3) Mason Dejarnett; 4) Matthew Eades; 5) Joshua Speas; 6) Reyna Jaiden; 7) Zach Lightfoot; 8) Tyler Bartoszewicz; 9) Stanley Hayes; 10) Zach Miracle; 11) David Sullivan.

Bandolero Beginner Bandits Round Six Feature (20 laps): 1) Justin Oplinger; 2) Gracie Trotter; 3) Mason Dejarnett; 4) Joshua Speas; 5) Reyna Jaiden; 6) Christopher Oplinger; 7) Zach Lightfoot; 8) Zach Miracle; 9) Tyler Bartoszewicz; 10) Stanley Hayes.

Bandolero Bandits Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Daniel Wilk; 2) Cameron Bolin; 3) Bryson Ruff; 4) William Robusto; 5) Tommy Good; 6) Isabella Robusto; 7) Dylan Notaro; 8) Jason Allred; 9) Steven Chapman.

Audio with race winner Daniel Wilk:

Audio with runner-up Cameron Bolin:

Bandolero Bandits Round Six Feature (20 laps): 1) Daniel Wilk; 2) Ryan Isreal; 3) Cameron Bolin; 4) William Robusto; 5) Tommy Good; 6) Isabella Robusto; 7) Dylan Notaro; 8) Steven Chapman; 9) Jason Alder; 10) Bryson Ruff.

Audio with race winner Daniel Wilk:

Bandolero Outlaws Round Five Feature (20 laps): 1) Eddie Fatscher; 2) Kayla Lyons; 3) Trevor Rizzo; 4) Roy Hayes; 5) Ashley Pantoulas; 6) Matthew Davey.

Audio with race winner Eddie Fatscher:

Bandolero Outlaws Round Six Feature (20 laps): 1) Eddie Fatscher; 2) Matthew Davey; 3) Kayla Lyons; 4) Roy Hayes; 5) Ashley Pantoulas; 6) Trevor Rizzo.

Audio with race winner Eddie Fatscher:

Audio with runner-up Matt Davey: