CONCORD, N.C. – In a wild, slip-sliding finish Tuesday night for the VP Racing Fuel Semi Pro division at the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout, Garrett Lowe celebrated a career high with his first top-five finish in a Legends car at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Driving the Stillwell Racing No. 06, Lowe rebounded from a 15th-place qualifying effort early in the night and drove through the field to finish on the podium in third.
The end result for Lowe came after a marathon feature, shortened from 25 laps to 20 laps, that took one hour and four minutes to complete due to a myriad of incidents and three different red-flag periods.
“This feels great, to finally be able to accomplish a big result in a Legends car here at Charlotte,” said Lowe. “I’m a little worn out; that was a long race … really wild and crazy.”
Lowe’s biggest nervous moment during the main event was on lap 17, when he dove off into turn one behind leaders D.J. Canipe and Harrison Halder and all three of them – along with multiple others – went spinning due to a swath of oil that had been laid down on the racing surface by another car.
“The spin off into turn one when the oil was laid down was pretty interesting. I don’t think any of us were expecting that,” Lowe said. “We all piled off into the corner and the next thing I knew, we were all spinning. Luckily we made it out of that in one piece, were able to stay where we were in third and finish it off strong.”
In describing the chaos he endured while moving forward, Lowe pointed out that the aggression level throughout the field was higher than usual, with only one strong lane on-track as it dried out over the course of the race.
“It seemed like no one could stay off of each other’s bumpers all night,” noted Lowe. “I know the track was still a little damp, even in our race at the end of the show, so I don’t think the lanes were really open for people to be able to make the moves that they usually could. When everyone’s fighting for the water on the bottom, it causes more chaos than it normally would in the dry.”
Lowe began his Shootout career in the Beginner Bandolero division in 2016 and scored two victories before advancing into the Outlaw class for drivers 12 and up. He competed in the Bandolero Outlaws division last summer at the Shootout before moving into a Legends car this season.
The teenager said he’s been pleased with the progress his team has made, despite a substantial learning curve with the new car and different style of racing.
“My first time at Charlotte in a Legends car has been a big transition. We had to learn a lot so that I could catch back up with everyone that I raced against in the Bandoleros,” explained Lowe. “We maintained and Monday night, we finally found a lot of speed in practice and got a lot happier with the balance. I’m really liking how its driving right now and I think we’ll be much stronger for the rest of the season.
“Here at the Shootout, it’s about little steps that pay bigger dividends when you start putting them together,” he continued. “That’s what we’re doing now and I’m excited to chase a victory here before the summer’s out.”
