July 30, 2013 – By Jacob Seelman for Speed 77 Radio and RaceChaser Online – Concord, N.C. – Sometimes, you just can’t make this stuff up.

That was the mantra that reigned the garage area following Part One of the doubleheader that comprises championship week at the Jack in the Box Summer Shootout.

Round Nine was chock-full of great finishes, with controversy, and with tempers flaring across all divisions Monday night, and it left every fan wanting more heading into tomorrow night’s finale event.

In the Pro class, one of the truly epic battles of the season took place across 30 laps, highlighted by a furious duel in the closing laps between Daniel Hemric and Evan Swilling.

From the drop of the green flag, drivers were scrambling for every inch of real estate they could find, with two cautions before a lap ever went up on the board. The first yellow fell after a crash involving Ryan Shattuck and last week’s winner, Gregory Lang, and the second caution swept up Tyler Green in the carnage.

Following the opening-lap skirmishes, the race ran green to checkered, with several different names taking a turn at the front of the field including Kason Plott and Kaz Grala before Evan Swilling took command at Lap 12.

Swilling held the point until Lap 27, when Hemric was finally able to get close enough to stick a nose inside and complete the pass. Coming to the white flag, Swilling pulled even with Hemric and was able to again move back by in Turn One of the final lap before Hemric made the defining move inside in Turn Three for the win, his seventh of the season and 20th of his Pro career at Charlotte.

With the win, Hemric ended the night with a 198 point gap over Swilling, who moved to second in the standings. That gap was enough to clinch the 2013 championship for Hemric going into Round 10 and caps off one of the most incredible Shootout runs by one driver in series history.

In the Bandolero Bandits, ten cautions were the highlight and sticking point of the main event, all while Cason Werner and Dawson Cram, the top two in points entering the night, were staging an epic duel of their own at the front of the field. At the final restart, Werner, Cram and Zachary Dabbs all went into Turn One looking for the win, and got together, with Dabbs going hard into the Turn Two wall.

When the dust cleared, DJ Canipe, after restarting fourth, slipped by all the chaos to grab the win, his first of the 2013 season at Charlotte.

In Legends Young Lions, a fast and furious 20 laps was dominated by Carson Ferguson, who took the lead early after starting third and never looked back, sailing to his fourth win in nine races as sparks flew behind him in the closing laps. A three-wide battle between Stevie Johns, Michael Torres and championship leader William Byron ended with Johns slipping by for the runner-up spot. With Torres finishing one spot ahead of Byron, it cuts Byron’s championship advantage to 30 points entering the finale.

In Semi-Pro, tempers flared from the drop of the green flag. In Turn One on the first lap, Riley Halverson and Ryan Mackintosh tangled after Mackintosh started from pole. Halverson made contact with the back of the 03, and things got a little heated following the incident. Both drivers got out of their cars and expressed their displeasure before track officials were able to quell the situation.

Following the early race fireworks, Joe Ryan Osborne, working from the back of the pack, managed to claw his way back into contention in the closing laps, passing Austin Berry for the lead and the win with less than ten laps to go. The win, combined with misfortunes by his championship rivals, has put Osborne in position to claim his first career Summer Shootout title.

In the Masters division, Tom Pistone and Mark Green dueled side-by-side for much of the closing dozen laps, with Pistone ultimately laying claim to the checkered flag at the end of the 30-lap feature. The win also reclaims the points lead for Pistone after he was disqualified last week for a technical infraction.

Other division winners on the night included John Holleman (Outlaws) and Joshua Kossek (Beginner Bandits). The School Bus grudge match was won by NASCAR star Miguel Paludo, who beat his rival Max Papis to claim the checkered flag.

The 20th annual Jack in the Box Summer Shootout Series concludes Tuesday, July 30 with Champions’ Night, fireworks and Bowman Gray Stadium Stocks, in addition to regular Legend Car and Bandolero racing divisions.

PHOTO CREDIT: CMS/Tami Pope

Unofficial Results:

Legend Car Pro Feature (30 Laps): 1. Daniel Hemric; 2. Evan Swilling; 3. Kaz Grala; 4. Kason Plott; 5. Reid Wilson; 6. Justin Swilling; 7. Jordan Black; 8. Joey Padgett; 9. Tyler Lester; 10. Gregory Lang; 11. Ryan Shattuck; 12. Clayton Weatherman; 13. Brendan Bock; 14. Mackena Bell; 15. Dakota Baggette; 16. Zane Smith; 17. Tyler Green; 18. Steven Cantrell.

TIM LADYGA INTERVIEW:  July29TimLadyga
DANIEL HEMRIC INTERVIEW:  July29DanielHemric

Security Force Legend Car Masters Feature (30 laps): 1. Tom Pistone; 2. Kevin Foisy; 3. Mark Green; 4. John Sossoman; 5. John Craig; 6. Scott Whitaker; 7. Jeff Green; 8. Robby Faggart; 9. Bruce Silver; 10. Rodney Tharp; 11. Eddie Harwell; 12. Chip Ferguson; 13. Carl Cormier; 14. Jody Folice; 15. Jan Ingram; 16. David Fulk, 17. Jamie Smith.

TOM PISTONE INTERVIEW:  July29TomPistone

Legend Car Semi-Pro Feature (21 laps) 1. Joe Ryan Osborne; 2. Austin Berry; 3. Sheldon Crouse; 4. Billy Webb; 5. Bronson Butcher; 6. Jacob Burkhalter; 7. Joshua Turner; 8. Joshua Plummer; 9. Courtney Lefcourt; 10. Jordan Stillwell; 11. JoJo Helburg; 12. Robby Lyons; 13. Ryan Mackintosh; 14. Ansley Burkhalter; 15. Adam Welch; 16. Devon Amos; 17. Ethan MacMillan; 18. Caleb Costner; 19. Austin Langenstein; 20. Dylan Barbosa; 21. Joe Gregory; 22. Jay Coen; 23. Riley Halverson.

JOE RYAN OSBORNE INTERVIEW:  July29JoeRyanOsborne

Legend Car Young Lions Feature (20 Laps): 1. Carson Ferguson; 2. Stevie Johns Jr. 3. Connor Pyle; 4. Michael Torres; 5. William Byron; 6. Matt Craig; 7. Tripp Gerrald III; 8. Seth Werner; 9. Stefan Parsons; 10. Dillon Faggart; 11. Michael Womack; 12. Jordan Mander; 13. Jared Irvan; 14. Trent Barnes; 15. Doug Barnes; 16. AJ Davis; 17. Joey Azzata; 18. Alex Murray; 19. Brayton Haws.

CARSON FERGUSON INTERVIEW:   July29CarsonFerguson

Bandolero Outlaws Feature (21 Laps): 1. John Holleman; 2. Austin Green; 3. Nate Tretow; 4. Christopher Clanton; 5. Chase Purdy; 6. Alex Reece; 7. Nicholas Ceraolo; 8. Jordan Plummer; 9. Jacob Heafner; 10. Miguel Cesar; 11. Jack Fread; 12. Banks Johnson; 13. Eric Brown; 14. Hannah Bell; 15. Scott Joy; 16. Kodie Connor; 17. Ivan Gudmestad; 18. Ryan Pierce; 19. Matthew Davey; 20. Daniel Bedford; 21. Matt Mead; 22. Kayla Lyons; 23. Tal Davidson; 24. Alton Clark; 25. Sprout Royal; 26. Casey Kirwan; 27. Ashley Caldwell.

JOHN HOLLEMAN INTERVIEW:   July29JohnHolleman

Bandolero Bandits Feature (18 Laps): 1. DJ Canipe; 2. Noah Ewing; 3. Daniel Wilk; 4. Ryleigh Lemonds; 5. Liz Montgomery; 6. Austin Geer; 7. Justin Taylor; 8. Brayde Miranda; 9. Robert Wilk; 10. Kamera McDonald; 11. Hayden Humprey; 12. Cason Werner; 13. Dawson Cram; 14. Zachary Dabbs; 15. Blake Cisneros; 16. Grayson Bundrick; 17. Richard Kuty; 18. Braydn Mander.

DJ CANIPE INTERVIEW:  July29DJCanipe

Bandolero Beginner Bandits Feature (20 Laps): 1. Joshua Kossek; 2. Nick Macmillan; 3. Isabella Robusto; 4. Carson Kvapil; 5. William Robusto; 6. Ian Sexton; 7. Trevor Rizzo; 8. Matthew Eades.