CONCORD, N.C. — Recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jorgensen Racing photo —

Call Jensen Jorgensen three-time.

Jorgensen charged to the point despite a caution-riddled 25-lap main event to take his historic third straight INEX Bandolero Nationals race victory on Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The win makes Jorgensen the first-ever three-time Bandolero Nationals winner in any class, as well as the first to score three consecutive victories in the series’ national championship event.

Jorgensen started third but quickly moved into contention despite an opening lap crash that took out Roy Hayes and Liz Montgomery, leaving debris strewn on the backstretch. Once the field returned to green, early-race leader Donald Buell, 2015 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout Series champion Ashton Higgins and Jorgensen were the class of the field — moving into the top three spots by the end of lap five.

After a heavy hit at lap seven where Gracie Trotter went driver’s side first into the wall off of turn two, Higgins would fall out of contention with a mechanical failure at lap 10, ending his bid for both the Nationals crown and the perfect season after sweeping both the Shootout and Atlanta’s Thursday Thunder.

Once the field went back green, however, it was go time for the driver of the No. 3; Jorgensen charged ahead of Buell to the point at halfway and never looked back, rolling on to claim the historic victory — despite a caution with 10 laps to go — at what he considers one of his “favorite tracks.”

“This is completely surreal!” Jorgensen exclaimed after climbing from his car. “I still can’t believe it. Battling for the win with Donald [Buell] was so much fun. It looked like he might have looked in the mirror when he saw me coming and got a little loose; that got us racing side-by-side for a couple laps, but once I finally got by him then I never looked back!”

“It feels amazing, winning for the third time. This one is definitely special because it’s at Charlotte — I’m blessed to be able to do what I do and this is a special night for sure!”

Buell and Matthew Davey rounded out the podium in the Outlaws feature.

In Bandits division action, Daniel Wilk continued his incredible run of success at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his first-career Nationals victory Friday night. Wilk used a daring three-wide pass to take the lead on the opening lap after starting third and was never seriously challenged again over the course of the 25-lap main.

Wilk also deftly avoided a huge crash at lap 12 of the finale event, sparked after D.J. Canipe went three-wide for the lead in turn one. Canipe spun and Tommy Good barrel-rolled in a crash that swept up nearly half the field in its wake.

Undeterred, Wilk restarted from the point and led the rest of the way to take what he called the “biggest win” of his career ahead of William Robusto, Casey Call and Cameron Bolin.

Wilk also unofficially clinched the 2015 Bandolero Bandits National Points Championship with the win, officially owning all tiebreakers over the remainder of the field.

“What a night,” Wilk said. “I never expected this to be the night where everything came together. We struggled all day, all the way through the heat race, but we made some changes right before the feature and this car just came to life. We had a ton of speed and I was able to stay calm, stay up front and bring the win home.”

“It’s special for me and my dad,” Wilk added of winning the Nationals for the first time. “It’s the culmination of a ton of hard work by the two of us — but we’re not done. We’re going to go forward and keep racing at Concord this fall to show that we’re the champions for a reason. That’s really important to us, to never give up and keep going all the way to the very end.”

Parker Eatmon claimed the first-ever National Championship feature for the Beginner Bandolero class, topping that 25-lap main ahead of Jackson Moore and Stanley Hayes.

For more information on U.S. Legend Cars International and the Bandolero class of cars, visit www.uslegendcars.com.

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. He is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77