Winning the race wasn’t quite as easy as just making a pass, though.
Manes had to hold off first Dustin Rumley, then Zack Wells and finally points leader Zach Miller across three second-half restarts before he could celebrate on the frontstretch.
“Once we got to the lead, I’d have cars behind me driving me into Turn 1 on the (restarts) and just when I’d start getting away, I’d make a little mistake and they’d be right back on my bumper,” Manes explained.
“I don’t know what happened behind me, but two of the fast cars that were beating my bumper off got moved out … and once it was down to me and the 66 (Zack Wells) and he got racing … it was eight (car lengths) back (to second) and we had some distance because they kept cycling through different people. At the end I couldn’t lose the 87 (Zach Miller), but I didn’t make a mistake.”
In fact, it was contact between Rumley and Hudson Halder on lap 12 that took the duo out of contention, paving the way for Manes’ improbable victory despite the frustrations of restart after restart in the closing stages.
“Every single time it seemed like we’d get bit by the cautions. I was thinking to myself, ‘We have a five car-length lead! I can make a mistake right now and be okay, but no … cautions kept bringing them back to us. Then I’d get another big lead and there’d be another one. It was just up and down. On the last restart I got a good shove (from behind), luckily we cleared (Miller) and were able to hold on. It was a race to the finish though, for sure.”
It was a small miracle that Manes was able to make it back to the track, let alone compete for the win, but it was made possible by a true team effort from all walks of life.
“Between all the fans that helped us … the great sponsors that we have that stepped up to help get us back to the track; the bill was close to $3,000 over what we planned for and pushed us way over our total budget for the season, but we found a way.”
“I never imagined being back down here this week,” Manes added. “I was literally saying my goodbyes to a lot of people last week that I thought I would probably never see again, prepared for the worst. I never expected to see things come through like this. I never saw it coming and I’m so humbled by it and grateful to everyone that even made this a possibility.”
Manes took that possibility and made it a reality, notching his first-ever Summer Shootout win in the most incredible of fashions.
Asked after the race how important the moment was, Manes admitted that it was arguably “the biggest win of my career” and said that he was at a loss for how to explain it to the masses.
“I can’t put into words what this win means. The best way I can explain it … is it’s Charlotte. You won at Charlotte. It’s a dream I’ve had for a long time and to have it come true, like this, is just incredible.”
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
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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