BEGINNER BANDOLERO:
After Monday’s racing card, it was announced that the Beginner Bandolero division would be split into two 15-lap features, one for the faster drivers in qualifying with the remaining going to the second feature.
The Beginner Bandoleros kicked off the massive Tuesday show with their held over races from Day One. When the dust settled, the Beginner Bandolero class started their week with two female feature winners. Phoenyx Kimball showed the way in the first feature with Ben Morabito taking second place on a last lap pass of Beckham Malone.Kaitlyn Stradley held off a hard charging Carson Cauble for the victory in the second 15-lap Monday feature. Landon Thrasher closed into the pair at the end but had to settle for third in the caution free race.
In the second set of Beginner Bandolero features, it was Malone driving from the back to the front after spinning his ride out halfway through the 15-lap first feature. Malone passed Hunter Jordan on the final lap to complete the comeback. Jordan finished second with Morabito taking his second podium of the afternoon with a third place run. Stradley’s run to sweep the afternoon in the second 15-lap feature fell short to Karter Beattie as Beattie would race to the win on a green-white-checkered finish. Stradley would wind up second ahead of Kayli Kade.
OUTLAW
The elder Bandolero drivers raced thrice on Tuesday for their first action of the Little Gator Motorsports Winter Nationals. Carson Brown won the first race after one green-white-checkered attempt. Clay Hocutt and Carson Haislip were scored on the podium during the opening 20-laps of Bandolero Outlaw competition.
The second feature of the day was rough and tumble at best. The field would get to the full 20-lap distance with Jacob Bradley taking the win after starting ten. Hunter Morgan and Garrett Erwin were able to stay out of the commotion throughout the race to finish second and third, respectively. The race featured several turning points, including a rollover by Jacob’s brother Kaleb and a battle for the lead that ultimately ended the race for both Ryley Music and Brown.
Brown was able to rebound from the black flag in Race Two to take the victory in the third race, making it two wins on the day. Kenton Case and Erwin captured podium runs in the third feature of the evening.
BANDIT
Tristan McKee rebounded from a broken control arm on Day One to win a caution free bonus feature for the Bandits and the regularly scheduled Tuesday feature. Monday winner Hudson Canipe raced to a second place finish in both Race One and Two on Tuesday. Joel Smith held off Darren Krantz for the final podium position in the first 20-lap feature while Kai Johnson finished third in the second 20-lap affair.
YOUNG LIONS
Gio Ruggiero captured the first Young Lions race of Tuesday afternoon. Ruggiero, who was third on Monday, raced to his first Legend car win at Little Gator Motorsports Winter Nationals with Gavin Graham and Ethan Nascimento joining him on the podium. Brody Gunter held off Layton Harrison to take the B-Main for the Bonus feature.
While their first race was run in the heat of the day, their second feature on Tuesday was the final feature to run on the 22 race card. Under the lights it was Gavin Graham grabbing his first win of the week after running second in the first two 25-lap features of the event. Isaac Bevin and Nikita Johnson both posted their best finishes of the event so far with second and third place finishes, respectively. Parker Eatmon and Santiago Hill transferred into the feature through the B-Main.
MASTERS
After a slow start to their first 25-lap race of the week, reigning Little Gator Motorsports Winter Nationals Masters champion Tim Brockhouse drove to victory lane. Brockhouse, who was airborne during a stack up on the restart, sustained slight damage but was able to overcome it for the checkered flag. Scott Anderson and Jason Austin finished second and third, respectively, in the first of three features of the afternoon.
New York’s Kevin Nowak survived a caution-filled marathon night cap feature for the Masters for his first win of the week.
CHARGER
Bailey North led flag-to-flag in the return of the Charger division to Little Gator Motorsports Winter Nationals and followed it up later on in the evening with a second win. North, a Bandolero graduate, held off Taylor Corum for the victory with Tyler Ledbetter coming home in third in the first 20-lap feature of the afternoon. Corum chased North to the line in the second feature with Alex Hartwig finishing third in the back half of the double header.
PRO
Caleb Heady started off the Pro division week with his first and second career Little Gator Motorsports Winter Nationals victories. Heady, the 2020 INEX Pro Point Champion, raced to the first win on the day in the class over Jason Irwin and Austin Thompson. Thompson and Heady went to battle in the night cap with Heady making the move for the win in the waning laps. Alex McCollum rebounded from the first race to finish third in Race Two.
SEMI-PRO
The Semi-Pro division hit the track for the first time on Day Two after the sun had set for their scheduled racing action. Tristan Swanson picked up the victory in the only feature of the night for the class over Colin Brown and Cameron Bolin. A B-Main was run to set the final two positions for the 25-lap feature. The B-Main saw Jake Johnson make a pass with four laps to go over Cameron Murray to pick up the win.
