CONCORD, N.C. — Zack Miracle (Bandits) and Logan Clark (Beginner Bandolero) were the stars of Tuesday afternoon’s round seven makeup features for the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Miracle was in the right place at the right time to avoid a game-changing lap five crash, one which took out the top three in the race: leader Parker Eatmon, second-running Landon Rapp and points leader Leland Honeyman.
He then drove around Tyler Chapman, who inherited the lead after the crash, on lap nine of the 20-lap main event and led the rest of the way to capture his second win of the summer.
“That was a crazy race!” Miracle said with a big smile in victory lane. “With (the top three) wrecking … and somehow we got through it. I don’t know how. It was just wild.”
“My car was really good. I just tried to be real smooth and hit my marks. It’s so cool to have another win; I just wanted to get one win and now we’ve got two. It’s great.”
Kade Brown and Chapman waged a furious battle for second, in which Brown came out on top in the final laps. Conner Jones and Zac Fowler completed the top five.
Eatmon, Rapp and Honeyman were credited with 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively.
In the Beginner Bandolero class, Clark passed Sean Abbel entering Turn 1 on the seventh round and never looked back en route to his third win of the summer, becoming the first official mandatory graduate out of the class.
There was one dicey moment, as Clark went three-wide on the last lap to pass a pair of slower cars who were side-by-side ahead of him, but he said afterwards that he was never truly concerned, even as he made the move.
“Wow, that was fun,” a breathless Clark said. “The 44 () got a little loose, and I had to dive underneath them to keep from running into the back of them. It was nervous for a minute … but man, that was a long and tough race.”
“I was just trying not to make any mistakes. I’m nervous now (about moving up) … but excited, too. It’ll be fun.”
Only two cautions slowed the pace during the main event, after Lucas Vera spun in Turn 2 on the opening lap and Jacob Bradley followed suit on lap two.
Emily Hedstrom chased Clark the entire distance before settling for second, ahead of Abbel, Luke Cooper and Adam Eades.
Round eight of the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout, featuring the Little Luggies 600 in addition to Legends car and Bandolero racing in seven classes, kicks off at 7 p.m.
RESULTS: Bojangles’ Summer Shootout; Round 7 Makeup Features; July 25, 2017
Bandolero Bandits (20 laps): 1. Zack Miracle, 2. Kade Brown, 3. Tyler Chapman, 4. Conner Jones, 5. Zac Fowler, 6. Jaiden Reyna, 7. Jason Chapman, 8. Grant Thompson, 9. Santiago Hill, 10. Truett Miranda, 11. Parker Eatmon, 12. Landon Rapp, 13. Leland Honeyman, 14. Stanley Hayes.
Beginner Bandoleros (20 laps): 1. Logan Clark, 2. Emily Hedstrom, 3. Sean Abbel, 4. Luke Cooper, 5. Adam Eades, 6. Connor Lee, 7. Lucas Vera, 8. Graham DeJarnett, 9. Kaleb Bradley, 10. Jacob Bradley, 11. Sean McElearney, 12. Kyle Hewitt, 13. Cooper Henry.
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.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
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