CONCORD, N.C. — official team release by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jacob Seelman photo —
15-year-old Legends racer Alex Murray capped off his consistent 2015 Winter Heat Series campaign with a trio of solid performances, notching three top-five finishes in the final three features of the eight-race series on Saturday and Sunday.
Faced with a doubleheader on Saturday, Murray was undaunted by the challenge of a quick turnaround and back-to-back 20 lap events, starting from the outside of the front row in Round Six and quickly falling in line in fourth behind John Holleman and Stevie Johns. Murray picked off Holleman in the opening laps to move to third behind Johns, and spent the rest of the race all over the rear bumper of the No. 91.
Despite not quite having the steam to get around Johns for the runner-up result, the third-place finish tied Murray’s best finish of the Winter Heat to that point.
“The first race was really good — that was really fun (fighting) with Stevie,” Murray said. “You know, I was just trying not to get into him and race him clean — have respect for him as a fellow racer. We ran well and we kept the car in one piece, and that’s important in those doubleheaders.”
Murray followed up his efforts in the first feature with a brilliant performance in the second Saturday main, qualifying second-fastest and starting on the pole after the redraw. From the top spot on the grid, Murray took off to a full second advantage and held the lead for the first 16 laps of the feature before a spin by the No. 18 of Matthew Moermond — right in front of Murray in turn three — forced the young racer to take evasive action through the grass.
By the time the caution came out, Murray had lost the lead and lined back up in the third position, ultimately losing grip in the final four lap dash and finishing fourth.
“I kind of saw (the spin) coming, because he was all over the race track and always loose going into the corner,” Murray said. “I just drove it in and he got loose again and lost it. If I’d gone low I would have nailed him so I went high and he rolled up there with me and just left me with nowhere to go.”
Despite the disappointment of coming so close to his first Winter Heat victory, Murray used the situation as fire and motivation for the Sunday finale to the Winter Heat, qualifying and lining up third on the grid after finishing runner-up in his heat race.
Murray would use the inside lane to his advantage and move to second behind Stevie Johns on the opening lap of the 20-lap finale feature, but would have to rally after being sent spinning on lap four from a three-wide maneuver where he was pinched down with nowhere to go.
Despite the odds, Murray used a fast car and the advantage of the “choose” to rebound all the way to second after the spin, his best finish of the 2015 Winter Heat Series.
“I’m not sure what happened there on lap four,” Murray said. “They went three-wide down the back and someone hit the wall and another car came across my nose and sent us spinning down the track. I got t-boned by the 18 (Matthew Moermond) and I’m glad he’s okay, but the car was still in one piece thankfully.”
“I just had to drive it and we got all the way back to second. It was a great way to end our Winter Heat, even if we didn’t get the victory we wanted.”
Murray’s combined results placed him third in the final Winter Heat points standings.
CREDIT: Alex Murray Racing
