Sam Mayer, Isaak Love, Connor Mosack & Todd Midas Take Wins on a Wet & Wild Night One

(Sam Mayer took the win in the Legends Pro feature on night one for Farbo Motorsports / Photo Credit : LWPictures.com)

CONCORD, NC : The 25th Annual Bojangles’ Summer Shootout got off to a wet and wild start Monday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the weather didn’t take away from any of the fireworks on the quarter-mile.

Before the rains moved in, the Beginner Bandoleros kicked off the feature contests with their first 20 lap event of the summer. Alex Meggs and Luke Morey brought the field of eight youngsters to the green flag.

Meggs was able to jump out to the early race lead over Morey and Long Island, New York’s Sean McElearney after the first lap.

Halfway through the feature, McElearney spun out of his third position off turn two, however he was able to get it turned back around and the race stayed green.

With two laps to go McElearney would loop his car again off the second turn and officials called for the caution with the oncoming traffic. This set up a two lap dash for the win with Meggs, Morey, Josh Horniman and Tristan McKee.

Meggs got a great restart and drove the final two circuits clean to score the race victory in his #18 AK Perfromance prepared Bandolero. Morey, Horniman, McKee and Natasha Elder would round out the top five finishers.

Beginner Bandolero – Results :

Alex Meggs (#18)
Luke Morey (#49)
Josh Horniman (#06)
Tristan McKee (#7)
Natasha Elder (#12)
London McKenzie (#35)
Sean McElearney (#99)
Jonathan Speas (#54)

Following a delay of almost 90 minutes, the Legend Young Lion drivers resumed the racing action on night one of the 2018 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout on a very wet race track. Isaak Love set fast time in qualifying earlier in the day with a time of 17.215 seconds, but the invert of six would relegate him to outside of the third row for the start of the 25 lap feature race.

Valdosta, Georgia’s Ryan Rackley and Catonsville, Maryland’s Jason Alder brought the field of 14 cars to the green flag. It took two tries to get a successful start after minor spins on the opening attempts.

Rackley used the outside line to take the race lead over Alder and Isabella Robusto. On lap 2, Alder overdrove the first turn on the very tricky wet track and ended up in the grass. That lost him six spots as he fell back to 8th.

On lap 6, Robusto did the same thing as Alder and took out some barrels in turn one, but she got back on track in fifth just behind her brother Will Robusto.

The race leader Rackley came under fire from Canadian Austin MacDonald and Love. With the preferred racing groove the outside line due to the wet track, these young drivers, most of whom have never raced in the rain, were tiptoeing around the slick track.

Lap 13 saw the second caution flag of the race as Holt Halder slid into the outside SAFER barrier at the exit of turn four. Halder was okay, but done for the night.

Rackley chose the outside line and MacDonald chose the inside for the restart. MacDonald jumped Rackley on the restart and the attempt was wavied off, but MacDonald suffered the consequence by being sent to the back.

This setup Love and Rackley on the front row for the lap 14 restart. Rackley beat Love into the first turn as Love settled in behind the Chase Pistone, Inc. #1, while Will and Isabella Robusto ran third and fourth.

As the leaders entered turns three and four on lap 23, Love made what he thought was his final attempt for the win as he looked to the inside of Rackley. The track being too wet still didn’t allow Love to put the power down and get alongside the leader.

On the final lap, as Rackley entered turn three, he caught Tristan Borkoski and instead of following the Borkoski car he tried to make a pass underneath him. This opened the door on the outside for Love and he took advantage of the mistake by Rackley.

The two drivers were side by side on the exit of turn four before Rackley spun out to the inside and Isaak Love won the K1 Speed Young Lions feature race with a last turn pass for the win. Will Robusto came home in second, Isabella Robusto third, as they used their karting experience on a wet track. Bryson Ruff finished a quiet fourth and MacDonald rebounded from his penalty to come home fifth.

“Well the lapped cars really helped us and I felt I was faster than him through the whole race,” said a victorious Love. “I had more momentum going for me and he wouldn’t get off the top and I didn’t want to bump him and dirty drive him, but this is one heck of a way to win a race.”

Legends Young Lions – Results :

Isaak Love (#6)
William Robusto (#22)
Isabella Robusto (#55)
Bryson Ruff (#24)
Austin MacDonald (#27)
George Hayes (#17)
Tommy Good (#19)
Tyler Chapman (#41)
Ryan Rackley (#1)
J.R. Weidman (#77W)
Jason Alder (#77)
Tristan Borkowski (#21T)
Trent Dockery (#02)
Holt Halder (#9)
Jake Waltman (#6W) – Did Not Start
David Sullivan (#007) – Did Not Start
Justice Calabro (#25) – Did Not Start
Molly Linder (#413) – Did Not Start

The top class in INEX racing took to the racing surface next for their 25 lap feature contest as the Legend Pro drivers tried their rain skills. Hudson Halder, the 2017 INEX Legends Semi-Pro National Champion, and Daniel Wilk led the twelve drivers to the green flag.

Wilk used the outside line to take the lead on the first lap over Savage, Minnesota’s Derek Lemke and Franklin, Wisconsin’s Sam Mayer. On lap two, Mayer tried to pass Lemke on the inside, but he couldn’t get traction and that allowed Tyler Lester to get by on the outside and take away third.

Two laps later and Lester used the outside line off turn two to move by Lemke for second and give chase to race leader Wilk. One lap after that it was Lester who looked to the inside of the leader and gave up the top line. Mayer and Halder slipped by Lester for second and third.

On lap six, Wilk left a little room on the outside line as he entered the first turn and Mayer wasted no time in using that for his advantage to take the race lead away from Wilk. Wilk was stuck on the inside line, and like the draft, he was shuffled back to 10th before he could get back in line.

As the race went on, the track was drying quickly and the race line was moving lower and lower down in the turns. Lap 15, the first and only caution flag waved after Dawson Cram went for a spin at the exit of turn two as he made slight contact with Lester at the exit of the turn.

Race leader Mayer chose the outside line for the restart with Lester inside of the first row. Mayer used that line to jump back into the lead with Nick Sanchez up to second around Lester.

The battle over the final laps was for third place as Lester, Halder and Parker Steele were going at it for the final step on the podium. As they drove into turn three to get the white flag, Lester’s car wouldn’t turn and he and Halder went off track onto the grass, which allowed Steele to steal away the third spot.

Up front, however, it was all Sam Mayer as he returned to the seat of the Farbo Motorsports #22 Legend car and dominated the Pro feature to score the race win over Sanchez, Steele, Halder and Cram.

“Farbo Motorsports puts together a great car for us to run out here at Charlotte Motor Speedway all the time and I have to thank him for that. He is always the best,” a victorious Sam Mayer stated on the winner’s stage. “It was just tire strategy as we were on wets on the grid and decided to go to dries right at the end and it seemed to work for us.”

Legends Pro – Results :

Sam Mayer (#22)
Nick Sanchez (#51)
Parker Steele (#5)
Hudson Halder (#9)
Dawson Cram (#11)
Tyler Lester (#7L)
Garrett Manes (#1M)
Derek Lemke (#48)
Zach Miller (#87)
Jonathan Parsons (#91)
Daniel Wilk (#90)
Walker Yates (#7)
Gus Dean (#56) – Did Not Start

Charlotte, North Carolina’s Gracie Trotter qualified on pole with a time of 17.178 in her Joe Ryan Race Cars #11 Calico Coatings Legends Car for the Semi-Pro feature. After an invert of four, Tristen Love inherited the first starting spot with his MNR teammate Andrew Dollar alongside on the front row. D.J. Canipe and Trotter were moved to row number two.

With the track still damp, Dollar used the outside line to grab the early race lead over Love until a caution waved on lap 3 for a spin in turn four by Faron Laney.

Canipe chose the inside line under Dollar for the restart and cleared Dollar at the exit of turn as they completed lap four. Love, Trotter and Sammy Smith made up the rest of the top five as the groove continued to work lower and lower.

Smith began to work his way forward as he quickly moved by Trotter for fourth, then Love for third on lap 7.

Trotter, Dustin Rumley, Harrison Halder and Vince Midas were side by side for the fifth spot when it all went wrong in turn three. Rumley’s car pushed up as he entered turn three in an attempt to move passed Trotter and he slammed into the side of Halder’s car, which knocked Halder’s hood loose. The contact knocked Bojangles’ barrels onto the racing surface and the caution came out to take them away.

Canipe chose the outside for the restart with Dollar to his inside. The bottom groove was the preferred choice as Dollar used that line to take the lead at the exit of turn two. The caution waved once more at lap 10 for a spin in turn four by Seth Henry.

Dollar and Smith went door bar to door bar for the lead for two laps before Smith went around off turn two and did a complete 360 and kept going. Dollar then led Canipe, Love and Connor Mosack.

Another caution flag waved for a single car spin as Kaylee Bryson looped her #98 AK Performance Legend car at lap 16 in the fourth corner.

On that restart, Canipe got into turn one a little hot from his inside row two spot and got some air and made slight contact with Mosack’s car. The caution quickly came out and Canipe headed off for repairs in the work area.

A multicar accident in turn four set up another restart with five laps to go to decide the race winner. Dollar, Mosack, Rumley and Love got single file after the restart and the race appeared headed for conclusion before an accident off turn two on lap 22 with Ryan Heim and Hayden Swank.

The final restart with three laps to go saw a battle for the win with Drew Dollar being challenged by Connor Mosack. Mosack used the inside line to take the lead with two laps to go and drove home to his first career Bojangles’ Summer Shootout race win in the VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro division. Rumley got by Dollar on the final lap for second, with Love and Midas the rest of the top five.

“I had been working on it [pass for the win] those last couple of restarts trying to see what he [Dollar] was going to do. I was so thankful that we got those restarts towards the end because that helped us and I just made it happen there at the end,” Mosack in victory lane with Speedway TV’s Lenny Batycki.

Legends Semi-Pro – Results :

Connor Mosack (#18)
Dustin Rumley (#88)
Drew Dollar (#00)
Tristen Love (#6)
Vince Midas (#14M)
Gracie Trotter (#11)
Craig Biryla (#08)
D.J. Canipe (#29)
Ryo Ogata (#14)
Garrett Lowe (#06)
Brandon McKenzie (#33)
Joshua Plummer (#16)
Kaylee Bryson (#98)
Carson Poindexter (#49)
Amber Slagle (#22)
Seth Henry (#44)
Hayden Swank (#35)
Ryan Heim (#18H)
Faron Laney (#31)
Sammy Smith (#12)
Harrison Halder (#20)
Tristan Lesik (#32)
Adam Berberich (#7)
Cole Brown (#143) – Did Not Start
Cole Dockery (#01) – Did Not Start
Daniel Knight (#17M) – Did Not Start

The Cabarrus Brewing Company Legend Masters division closed out the first night of racing with their 25 lap feature event on an almost dry race track. An invert of six put Alberta’s Ira Laughy on the pole position alongside multiple-time Summer Shootout champion John Sossoman. Quick timer in qualifying Robby Faggart was forced to start sixth after the invert.

On the start, Jon Craig and Laughy hooked bumpers off turn two, and what looked like a harmless double spin turned into a wild ride for Jamie Smith and Dwayne Rumsey as Rumsey’s car rolled over while Smith’s car got all four wheels off the ground and landed hard. Charles Parker slammed into Laughy’s car with nowhere to go just in front of the flipping Rumsey race car. All drivers involved were able to exit their race cars, but the race was done for them.

Todd Midas would lead the first four laps with a heated fight behind him for the second spot with Mark Green, Carl Cormier, Faggart and Sossoman. The caution waved at lap four for debris in the middle of the backstretch to put a temporary halt to that battle.

CPI teammates Midas and Cormier brought the field back to the green flag with 21 laps to go. Midas cleared Cormier off turn two, and he was followed by Green and Sossoman.

Tire strategy proved to make all the difference on a track that had dried out very quickly after the racing resumed. Sossoman took the second spot from Green with Faggart and Cormier also past Green. Cormier and Faggart made contact in turn three and around went Faggart to bring out the caution on lap 13. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field for the upcoming restart.

The race went green with 12 laps to go with Midas, Sossoman and Cuz Bruce in a three-car breakaway from the field. Sossoman was unable to make a move to get by Midas over the final run as those two pulled away from third place Bruce.

Todd Midas scored the first Masters win of the 2018 Summer Shootout over Sossoman, Bruce, Green and Jun “Smoky Jun” Takashiro the top five at the checkered flag.

“I have to start where I left off, I guess,” said the defending Masters champion Todd Midas in victory lane. “It was tough. I didn’t use the mirror at all. This was the first time I used a radio and they gave me a little bit of guidance and I just ran my race.”

Legends Master – Results :