In the VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro feature, the Miller brothers ran the table for the second time in three races, but this time it was older brother Ryan getting the nod over younger brother Zach after a chaotic close to the 25-lap feature.
After contact between Hudson Halder and Wes Burton sent Halder around with four laps left, Zach Miller inherited the lead and led the field back to green as rain intensified around the quarter-mile oval.
Another incident one lap later set up a three-lap dash, in which Ryan Miller chose the bottom lane to restart alongside his brother and was able to capitalize when Zach’s motor sputtered on the final green flag.
Though Zach tried a slide job in Turns 1 and 2 with two to go, Ryan was able to cross him back over and reach the checkered flag first for his maiden Summer Shootout win.
“That was insane! Zach pulled a slide job on me … on asphalt!” Ryan Miller said in victory lane. “On that last restart, I just pushed up right in front of him, took his line away … but he battled back and made it interesting! That’s just like Zach too, to just pitch it back in there and give it all he’s got. This is so sweet for our family. It’s amazing.”
Scott Joy, Dustin Rumley and round two winner Craig Biryla completed the top five finishers.
Carl Cormier put on a rain-driving clinic in the Cabarrus Brewing Company Masters division, leading all 25 laps to notch his second-career class victory at the Shootout.
Cormier surged out front from the outside pole, running off from polesitter Bruce Silver on the initial start and holding as much as a straightaway over the rest of the field at times en route to the win.
Only a caution with seven laps complete slowed Cormier’s march, with the ‘Dragon’ taking the win over Jon Craig, Bruce Silver, Johnny Sossoman and Chip Ferguson.
“Our race car was absolutely incredible tonight,” Cormier said. “It did absolutely everything I needed it to do. It went when I needed it to go, it stopped when I needed it to slow down and it turned … and that was the key tonight in the rain. I’m usually the weak link when we can’t get to victory lane, but tonight I wasn’t and we were able to get it done.”
Emily Hedstrom took a hotly-contested win in the Beginner Bandolero division, passing Logan Clark with nine laps to go in the 20-lap main event and holding off repeated challenges from Clark in the final laps to notch her first-ever Summer Shootout win.
Hedstrom becomes the 12th different female driver to win during the 24-year history of the Summer Shootout, following on from Gracie Trotter’s Young Lions victory on opening night.
Clark, Luke Cooper, Sean McElearney and Adam Eades completed the top five.
Full race results can be viewed on the next page…
