From INEX PR –
To say the drivers behind the wheel of nearly 150 Legend Cars and Bandoleros were itching to provide exciting and entertaining racing on Monday night would be a bit of an understatement. Three-wide racing and bumper-to-bumper racing topped off with several close finishes made for a thrilling opening night for the 2024 Cook Out Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The VP Racing Semi-Pros were led to green by Hunter Jordan, who had a strong challenge by Brody Gunter into the first corner. Their wheels were in lockstep and very close with one another but Jordan prevailed exiting turn two, bringing London McKenzie with him. Gunter would fall back to fourth with Michael Crafton passing him for third.
McKenzie made his move to be the leader on Lap 4, bumping Jordan and sliding past through turns three and four. Jordan didn’t lose touch with him, staying within a car length or two lap-after-lap. The race continued under green until the caution was displayed for a spun car in the middle of turn three on Lap 15.
It took a few attempts to get going, completing only a single lap per attempt. After the Lap 17 restart, the field settled in with McKenzie still at the helm. Jordan was back in second and seemingly couldn’t beat McKenzie at the right spots around the track to put together a pass for the lead. It wasn’t until McKenzie slipped up in turn one on Lap 23, that Jordan stuck his car to the inside. He was going to take the lead into turn one on the next lap, but before the leaders crossed started Lap 24, the caution flew for three cars stuck together in turn two.
McKenzie maintained his lead as the field was reordered by the previously scored lap. The field restarted single-file and McKenzie missed the bottom of the racetrack, giving Jordan the opportunity, he needed once again. Into turn three, Jordan has the inside but his tires hit McKenzie’s tires, sending the latter into a half spin and the former lost all his forward momentum. McKenzie kept his car straight but the fight for the win was over.
Crafton snuck by on the frontstretch with Gunter following him. Gunter overcooked the entry to turn one on Lap 24, knocking himself into Jordan. Ultimately, this saved Gunter but ruined Jordan’s night. Crafton sailed away as Gunter knocked Layton Harrison out of the way for second with Alex Reling, who won the Semi-Pro B Main earlier in the evening, finished third. Jordan finished fifth and McKenzie finished 12th.
It was a three-horse battle for the win in the Bandolero Bandits Division and a hard-fought win for Bandits national points leader, Wyatt Coffey. After a cleanup for oil following a blown engine, the field restarted the 20-lap feature on Lap 12. Coffey led Jack Smith away from third place. Despite Coffey driving his car on the edge, compared to the smooth styling of Smith, Coffey appeared to have Smith at bay.
With three laps to go, Smith presented his car to the inside of Coffey as they approached turn three. The pass was completed with ease and suddenly, Brexton Busch was now in the picture, right behind the leaders. Smith was crossed over in turn two with two laps to go by Coffey. Down the backstretch Coffey positioned himself in the low line. Smith held firm on the outside as they took the white flag. Bumpers touched in turn one but nothing to upset the cars to much degree. Smith gave it all he had to reach Coffey’s car to upset his exit, but to no avail. Coffey claimed the victory with Smith holding off Busch for second.
The Bojangles Outlaws Division went caution-free but the finish came down to the wire. Colt Johnson led early but Owen Zacharias poked the nose of his Bandolero to the inside of him off turn four on Lap 2, securing the lead into turn one. One lap later, TJ Moon passed Johnson for second, but Johnson didn’t give up easy. The pair battle for the next several laps, all the while Zacharias drove away.
By the time Moon had solidified himself in second, Zacharias held a 1.2 second lead, but things got interesting on Lap 15. Zacharias was sideways in turn two and lost five-tenths of his lead over Moon. Now within six-tenths of a second, Moon smelled blood in the water and slowly reeled Zacharias in to his bumper. Ultimately, Zacharias had enough car to hold Moon’s final lunge for the win in the final corners.
Max Reaves was the standard in the Night Owl Young Lions feature, leading from flag to flag. While Neal Dulin took second from his teammate Spencer Bradshaw early, Reaves maintained a steady lead over Dulin during green flag conditions. Restarts couldn’t even shake Reaves or help his competitors shake him as the race appeared to be a race for second. The final challenge for Reaves came when a caution flew just after he took the white flag. The final restart was single file, but that didn’t assist Dulin enough to knock Reaves off the top step of the podium. Reaves jumped away from Dulin to win, with Carter McMurray finishing third.
Returning in 2024 for another shot at the Cook Out Summer Shootout Pro Division title was three-time winner in last year’s series, Jake Bollman. He was buckled into a fast Legend Car on Monday night, because after he took the lead from 2023 Summer Shootout Pro Division Champion, Alex McCollum, Bollman drove away. When the first caution flew on Lap 22, Bollman had gapped second place by nearly three seconds, the only car to display such dominance on Monday.
The Lap 22 restart and the final restart on Lap 24, weren’t enough to shake the Huntington Beach, California native. Bollman mastered the restarts, winning the opening Pro feature of the summer. McCollum finished second with Jensen Jorgensen climbing his way from a sixth-place starting position to finish third.
The early laps of the Masters Division feature were led by Tennessee drivers Josh Mullins and Kevin Rollins. Rollins didn’t waiver as he stayed behind Mullins, even through two restarts. Stalking his rival, Rollins drove his car deep into the corners looking for an advantage if Mullins happened to put a tire in the wrong place.
Unfortunately, the battle came to an end when after Mullins put a tire wrong in turn two with seven laps to go. That allowed Rollins to close the gap to Mullins’ bumper down the backstretch. Rollins send his car in a little too deep and the knocked Mullins around. Both were sent to the rear for being a part of the caution. This meant that Adam Welch inherited the lead but it wasn’t for long as Dwayne Holder maneuvered his car on the Lap 19 restart better through the opening corners better than Welch and scooted to the lead.
One more caution flew with two laps remaining, but a large enough challenge wasn’t mounted by the field. Holder won with Lee Jordan getting around Welch for second, who settled for a third-place finish.
The Chargers Division race was controlled and won by JC Fickenscher, whose only mistake of the race came in the final corner when he missed his exit, giving Jordan Plummer a chance to win. Fickenscher doored Plummer to win but not by much.
Roo Reaves, brother to Max, won the Night Owl Beginner Bandolero A Feature with a very fast Cook Out sponsored machine, with Lucas McFall and Wyatt Linker finishing second and third, respectively. Paisley Lawson and Eli Van Patten were side-by-side at the finish of the Night Owl Beginner Bandolero B Feature, with Lawson coming away with the win by a 0.048 second margin of victory.
The 2024 Cook Out Summer Shootout continues tonight, Tuesday, June 11, with coverage beginning at 5:30pm ET on FloRacing with gates at Charlotte Motor Speedway opening at 5pm ET.
RESULTS
PRO DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 71-Jake Bollman[1]; 2. 1-Alex McCollum[5]; 3. 32-Jensen Jorgensen[6]; 4. 72-Nick Woodall[8]; 5. 12-Daniel Wilk[2]; 6. 24-Joel Smith[3]; 7. 67-Cameron Bolin[10]; 8. 22-Brenden Ruzbarsky[4]; 9. 20-Caleb Heady[13]; 10. 6-Jordan Black[11]; 11. 98-Sean McElearney[9]; 12. 78-Darrell Stewart Jr[14]; 13. 91-Martin Gatzulis[12]; 14. 57-TYLER GONZALEZ[15]; 15. 76-Darrell Wallace[17]; 16. 08-Nicholas Sowa[19]; 17. 55-George Phillips[16]; 18. 13-Sean Hingorani[7]; 19. 66-Evan Swilling[18]
Qualifying 1: 1. 71-Jake Bollman, 00:17.134[3]; 2. 12-Daniel Wilk, 00:17.176[18]; 3. 24-Joel Smith, 00:17.203[13]; 4. 22-Brenden Ruzbarsky, 00:17.206[12]; 5. 1-Alex McCollum, 00:17.214[9]; 6. 32-Jensen Jorgensen, 00:17.231[8]; 7. 13-Sean Hingorani, 00:17.258[7]; 8. 72-Nick Woodall, 00:17.288[19]; 9. 98-Sean McElearney, 00:17.295[10]; 10. 67-Cameron Bolin, 00:17.315[2]; 11. 6-Jordan Black, 00:17.328[1]; 12. 91-Martin Gatzulis, 00:17.347[4]; 13. 20-Caleb Heady, 00:17.403[6]; 14. 78-Darrell Stewart Jr, 00:17.434[15]; 15. 57-TYLER GONZALEZ, 00:17.444[5]; 16. 55-George Phillips, 00:17.486[11]; 17. 76-Darrell Wallace, 00:17.590[17]; 18. 66-Evan Swilling, 00:17.678[16]; 19. 08-Nicholas Sowa, 00:17.841[14]
VP RACING SEMI-PRO DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 9-Michael Crafton[4]; 2. 01-Brody Gunter[1]; 3. 42-Alex Reling[19]; 4. 43-Layton Harrison[5]; 5. 81-Hunter Jordan[2]; 6. 87-Dominic Chisholm[8]; 7. 35-Preston Wrisley[9]; 8. 38-Cameron White[12]; 9. 9W-Sterling Wrisley[21]; 10. 11-Will Geer[16]; 11. 31M-Sam Mazzo[7]; 12. 95-London McKenzie[3]; 13. 85-Bradley Swift[15]; 14. 71-Aiden McConnaughey[6]; 15. 60-Dylan Faulkner[11]; 16. 66-Dawson Drimmie[20]; 17. 21-Mitch Wright[14]; 18. 16-Mason Walters[13]; 19. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller[10]; 20. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley[18]; 21. 78-Gracie Crocker[22]; 22. 22-Randy Phillips[17]
B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 42-Alex Reling[1]; 2. 66-Dawson Drimmie[3]; 3. 9W-Sterling Wrisley[2]; 4. 78-Gracie Crocker[8]; 5. 4L-Jake Locklear[9]; 6. 74-Jacob Linc[4]; 7. 02-Zachary Mertes[10]; 8. 99C-Ryan Carlson[11]; 9. 4-Callum Thorp[12]; 10. 11D-Nathan Davis[13]; 11. 31-Faron Laney[5]; 12. 25-Nate Morris[6]; 13. 99-Tyler Garreston[14]; 14. (DQ) 73-Ian Hampton[7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 01-Brody Gunter, 00:17.188[11]; 2. 81-Hunter Jordan, 00:17.238[14]; 3. 95-London McKenzie, 00:17.265[21]; 4. 9-Michael Crafton, 00:17.280[4]; 5. 43-Layton Harrison, 00:17.307[13]; 6. 71-Aiden McConnaughey, 00:17.317[20]; 7. 31M-Sam Mazzo, 00:17.322[19]; 8. 87-Dominic Chisholm, 00:17.339[3]; 9. 35-Preston Wrisley, 00:17.340[31]; 10. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller, 00:17.342[15]; 11. 60-Dylan Faulkner, 00:17.353[8]; 12. 38-Cameron White, 00:17.414[29]; 13. 16-Mason Walters, 00:17.431[28]; 14. 21-Mitch Wright, 00:17.472[30]; 15. 85-Bradley Swift, 00:17.498[26]; 16. 11-Will Geer, 00:17.499[10]; 17. 22-Randy Phillips, 00:17.505[24]; 18. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley, 00:17.507[1]; 19. 42-Alex Reling, 00:17.555[25]; 20. 9W-Sterling Wrisley, 00:17.558[32]; 21. 66-Dawson Drimmie, 00:17.579[7]; 22. 74-Jacob Linc, 00:17.590[17]; 23. 31-Faron Laney, 00:17.614[16]; 24. 25-Nate Morris, 00:17.626[23]; 25. 73-Ian Hampton, 00:17.639[12]; 26. 78-Gracie Crocker, 00:17.642[5]; 27. 4L-Jake Locklear, 00:17.726[18]; 28. 02-Zachary Mertes, 00:17.776[22]; 29. 99C-Ryan Carlson, 00:17.932[2]; 30. 4-Callum Thorp, 00:18.314[27]; 31. 11D-Nathan Davis, 00:19.985[6]; 32. 99-Tyler Garreston, 00:19.985[9]
MASTERS DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 22-Dwayne Holder[2]; 2. 81-Lee Jordan[4]; 3. 71W-Adam Welch[1]; 4. 58-Carl Cormier[6]; 5. 27-Thomas Sherman[8]; 6. 31-Giles Martin[10]; 7. 5-Brandin Wrisley[9]; 8. 57-Scott Heintz[11]; 9. 33-Scott Wessel[13]; 10. 28-Charles Parker[16]; 11. 68-Dean Bonessi[12]; 12. 5A-Clayton Austin[14]; 13. 21M-Josh Mullins[5]; 14. 2X-Eric Mentnech[15]; 15. 93-Kevin Rollins[3]; 16. 8-Robby Faggart[7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 71W-Adam Welch, 00:17.392[14]; 2. 22-Dwayne Holder, 00:17.411[6]; 3. 93-Kevin Rollins, 00:17.416[12]; 4. 81-Lee Jordan, 00:17.437[7]; 5. 21M-Josh Mullins, 00:17.445[10]; 6. 58-Carl Cormier, 00:17.485[3]; 7. 8-Robby Faggart, 00:17.489[4]; 8. 27-Thomas Sherman, 00:17.531[13]; 9. 5-Brandin Wrisley, 00:17.535[16]; 10. 31-Giles Martin, 00:17.634[8]; 11. 57-Scott Heintz, 00:17.888[5]; 12. 68-Dean Bonessi, 00:18.020[2]; 13. 33-Scott Wessel, 00:18.119[15]; 14. 5A-Clayton Austin, 00:18.157[1]; 15. 2X-Eric Mentnech, 00:18.724[9]; 16. 28-Charles Parker, 00:19.274[11]
NIGHT OWL COMPANIES YOUNG LIONS DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 88R-Max Reaves[1]; 2. 79-Neal Dulin[3]; 3. 40-Carter McMurray[6]; 4. 21-Nathan Lyons[4]; 5. 17-Ben Morabito[12]; 6. 62-Keelan Harvick[8]; 7. 88-Aiden King[5]; 8. 54-Caleb Gafrarar[13]; 9. 99-Spencer Bradshaw[2]; 10. 4-Ryan Zima[7]; 11. 16-Samuel Macedo[9]; 12. 18-Matthew Laprade[11]; 13. 40T-Dillon Thomas[10]; 14. 26-Laquan McCoy[14]; 15. 55-Mardy Roberts III[15]; 16. (DNS) 7-Karter Beattie; 17. (DNS) 88D-TJ DeCaire
Qualifying 1: 1. 88R-Max Reaves, 00:17.153[14]; 2. 99-Spencer Bradshaw, 00:17.250[2]; 3. 79-Neal Dulin, 00:17.265[4]; 4. 21-Nathan Lyons, 00:17.282[9]; 5. 88-Aiden King, 00:17.386[7]; 6. 40-Carter McMurray, 00:17.389[12]; 7. 4-Ryan Zima, 00:17.408[17]; 8. 62-Keelan Harvick, 00:17.414[6]; 9. 16-Samuel Macedo, 00:17.420[10]; 10. 40T-Dillon Thomas, 00:17.429[16]; 11. 18-Matthew Laprade, 00:17.482[8]; 12. 17-Ben Morabito, 00:17.510[13]; 13. 54-Caleb Gafrarar, 00:17.747[5]; 14. 26-Laquan McCoy, 00:17.749[11]; 15. 55-Mardy Roberts III, 00:17.997[15]; 16. (DNS) 7-Karter Beattie, 00:17.997; 17. (DNS) 88D-TJ DeCaire, 00:17.997
CHARGERS DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (15 Laps): 1. 87-JC Fickenscher[2]; 2. 22-Jordan Plummer[4]; 3. 9B-Kaden Bradshaw[5]; 4. 74-Addyson King[6]; 5. 42-Benjamin Rogers[12]; 6. 4-James Hebert[11]; 7. 24-Diego Espinosa[13]; 8. 75-Makenna Crocker[9]; 9. 13-Ben Mack[3]; 10. 07-Houston Wells[7]; 11. 11-Jeremy Marshall[10]; 12. 94-Jhett Johnson[8]; 13. 75J-Allee Johnson[1]
Qualifying 1: 1. 75J-Allee Johnson, 00:17.661[6]; 2. 87-JC Fickenscher, 00:17.842[4]; 3. 13-Ben Mack, 00:17.859[9]; 4. 22-Jordan Plummer, 00:17.879[11]; 5. 9B-Kaden Bradshaw, 00:17.896[1]; 6. 74-Addyson King, 00:17.980[8]; 7. 07-Houston Wells, 00:18.009[13]; 8. 94-Jhett Johnson, 00:18.139[7]; 9. 75-Makenna Crocker, 00:18.175[2]; 10. 11-Jeremy Marshall, 00:18.255[10]; 11. 4-James Hebert, 00:18.509[5]; 12. 42-Benjamin Rogers, 00:18.541[12]; 13. 24-Diego Espinosa, 00:19.357[3]
BOJANGLES OUTLAWS DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 35-Owen Zacharias[1]; 2. 9-TJ Moon[4]; 3. 24-Colt Johnson[5]; 4. 80-Bryson Nichols[3]; 5. 16-Finn Buckley[8]; 6. 15-Rhylee Hutchins[7]; 7. 37-Carson Cauble[9]; 8. 39-Chase Spaulding[10]; 9. 77-Ellie Gossett[11]; 10. 51-Cole Gudmestad[12]; 11. 5B-Jeffrey Beck[6]; 12. 41-Mandi Lee[14]; 13. 36-Rocky Wise[15]; 14. 5-Hunter Morgan[2]; 15. (DNS) 28-Joshua Shine
Qualifying 1: 1. 35-Owen Zacharias, 00:18.662[15]; 2. 5-Hunter Morgan, 00:18.705[10]; 3. 80-Bryson Nichols, 00:18.730[11]; 4. 9-TJ Moon, 00:18.739[9]; 5. 24-Colt Johnson, 00:18.774[7]; 6. 5B-Jeffrey Beck, 00:18.787[1]; 7. 15-Rhylee Hutchins, 00:18.802[6]; 8. 16-Finn Buckley, 00:18.813[2]; 9. 37-Carson Cauble, 00:18.846[3]; 10. 39-Chase Spaulding, 00:18.921[13]; 11. 77-Ellie Gossett, 00:18.930[4]; 12. 51-Cole Gudmestad, 00:18.955[5]; 13. 28-Joshua Shine, 00:19.077[12]; 14. 41-Mandi Lee, 00:19.364[8]; 15. 36-Rocky Wise, 00:19.428[14]
BANDITS DIVISION
ROUND 1 FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 2-Wyatt Coffey[3]; 2. 9-Jack Smith[2]; 3. 18B-Brexton Busch[1]; 4. T2-Camden Truett[4]; 5. 38-Gerald White III[8]; 6. 84-Delaney Gray[5]; 7. 21-Mason Roberts[6]; 8. 1VA-Hendrick Case[9]; 9. 21R-Reid Halpin[10]; 10. 17-Taegan Knowland[7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 18B-Brexton Busch, 00:18.665[1]; 2. 9-Jack Smith, 00:18.702[8]; 3. 2-Wyatt Coffey, 00:18.745[3]; 4. T2-Camden Truett, 00:18.861[9]; 5. 84-Delaney Gray, 00:19.180[4]; 6. 21-Mason Roberts, 00:19.467[7]; 7. 17-Taegan Knowland, 00:19.506[6]; 8. 38-Gerald White III, 00:19.532[10]; 9. 1VA-Hendrick Case, 00:19.594[2]; 10. 21R-Reid Halpin, 00:19.927[5]
NIGHT OWL COMPANIES BEGINNER BANDOLERO DIVISION
ROUND 1 A FEATURE (15 Laps): 1. 40-Roo Reaves[1]; 2. 13-Lucas McFall[3]; 3. 5L-Wyatt Linker[13]; 4. 14-Brody Measmer[12]; 5. 16P-Maci Prowell[11]; 6. 16M-Tayton Monroe[10]; 7. 5-Corbin Cannon[2]; 8. 36-Carson Wise[5]; 9. 15-Grayson Price[6]; 10. 38-Penelope Carlisle[8]; 11. 4M-Carson McKee[7]; 12. 8M-Bristol Monroe[4]; 13. (DNS) 9-Maverick Bradshaw
ROUND 1 B FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 85P-Paisley Lawson[2]; 2. 10-Eli Van Patten[1]; 3. 29-Charlie Evans[4]; 4. 16-Lincoln Baucom[7]; 5. 8-Jakob Peterson[6]; 6. 19H-Grant Hooker[5]; 7. 73-Kolton Peckich[8]; 8. 23-Michael Scronce[3]; 9. 6-Jerry Garretson[11]; 10. 19-Kashton Tobias[9]; 11. 22-Anthony Pedulla[10]; 12. 4-Kevin Stiene[12]; 13. 16S-Michael Stiene[13]
Qualifying 1: 1. 40-Roo Reaves, 00:19.985[20]; 2. 5-Corbin Cannon, 00:20.210[3]; 3. 13-Lucas McFall, 00:20.278[10]; 4. 8M-Bristol Monroe, 00:20.559[13]; 5. 36-Carson Wise, 00:20.852[26]; 6. 15-Grayson Price, 00:20.886[18]; 7. 4M-Carson McKee, 00:20.889[11]; 8. 38-Penelope Carlisle, 00:20.965[4]; 9. 9-Maverick Bradshaw, 00:20.967[2]; 10. 16M-Tayton Monroe, 00:21.028[14]; 11. 16P-Maci Prowell, 00:21.075[19]; 12. 14-Brody Measmer, 00:21.092[12]; 13. 5L-Wyatt Linker, 00:21.216[9]; 14. 10-Eli Van Patten, 00:21.347[25]; 15. 85P-Paisley Lawson, 00:21.510[8]; 16. 23-Michael Scronce, 00:21.863[21]; 17. 29-Charlie Evans, 00:22.554[5]; 18. 19H-Grant Hooker, 00:22.794[7]; 19. 8-Jakob Peterson, 00:23.190[17]; 20. 16-Lincoln Baucom, 00:23.544[1]; 21. 73-Kolton Peckich, 00:26.273[15]; 22. 19-Kashton Tobias, 00:27.987[24]; 23. 22-Anthony Pedulla[16]; 24. (DNS) 6-Jerry Garretson; 25. (DNS) 4-Kevin Stiene; 26. (DNS) 16S-Michael Stiene
