From INEX Communications Staff –
Round 4 of the Cook Out Summer Shootout was a wild one on Tuesday. Frequent cautions were a theme during what was “Awful Night” in the grandstands of Charlotte Motor Speedway. While there were many returning winners taking their trip to Victory Lane there were also a few new faces, as well.
Round 4 was a tough night for VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro driver London McKenzie. McKenzie battled all race with Brody Gunter before pulling away with two laps to go. Just as McKenzie was about to cross the finish line and get the win, a yellow flag was thrown up. After the restart there was only one lap left to go. On turn four of the final lap, Gunter bumped McKenzie causing him to fall off to the side. Using the bump and run, Gunter was able to get the win.
Gunter’s win was his first at the Summer Shootout, after trying for four years to earn his frontstretch interview. Additionally, Tuesday was the first round that Michael Crafton didn’t win this summer and didn’t podium. He ultimately finished fourth, behind McKenzie in third and Aiden McConnaughey in second.
The usually pretty smooth Pro Division had a rocky night. The first switch up of the night came when three-time 2024 Cookout Summer Shootout winner, Jake Bollman, qualified sixth. Things continued to go wrong for Bollman for the remainder of the night. Bollman started off strong by slowly moving his way up from sixth to third. Just when things seemed to be turning around for Bollman, he and Jensen Jorgenson collided coming around turn four which sent both drivers off to the work area.
After returning to the track, Bollman and Jorgenson started at the back of the pack before quickly making their way up to the middle before another bad move by Bollman got him bumped back to the end of the line. After an already rough night for Bollman, a crash sending him through the air finally ended his night for good.
Things started to click tonight for NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace. After not driving Legend Cars for five years, it has taken Wallace a few weeks to start to get a handle on it. Wallace maintained his spot in the middle of the pack for the majority of the race before pulling himself up to finish third.
The battle for first in the Pro Division proved to be a tough one tonight. Daniel Wilk, Alex McCollum and Joel Smith all kept themselves in the fight throughout the entire race. While it was a neck and neck battle between Wilk and McCollum for the majority of the race, Smith remained patient and it paid off. After Wilk and McCollum tangled while fighting for first, Smith was able to gain the lead and keep it for the remainder of the race, getting him his first Summer Shootout win since 2022.
The Bandits Division was an absolute back and forth battle between Wyatt Coffey and Jack Smith. Coffey took the original lead but it wasn’t long before Smith took the lead after a restart on turn one. After that the race continued to be a back and forth between the two drivers. While driver Landon Thrasher did get thrown into the top two mix for a little while, he was not able to maintain that position and both Coffey and Smith moved past him. Coffey was able to pull away with two laps left and get his third Summer Shootout win in 2024.
Wyatt Miller, Keelan Harvick, and Neal Dulin were the original front runners in the Night Owl Companies Young Lions Division feature. But behind them, Max Reaves was patiently waiting for the right time to make his move. After an eight-car pileup led to the field being reset, Reaves began making his way up the line to second bumper-to-bumper with Harvick before taking the lead, and eventually pulled away. The win is Reaves’ third win in four rounds.
Chase Spaulding took a hard hit into the wall sending shards of fiberglass all over the front stretch at the start of the Bojangles Outlaws race. After Spaulding’s car was taken off the track, Cole Johnson took the lead with Jeffrey Beck right behind him. The remainder of the race was all Johnson and Beck as they pulled away from the rest of the group. After going back and forth for first, the handling on Beck’s Bandolero eventually went away, resulting in Johnson staking his claim for the lead and the feature win.
The Old Armor Beer Company Masters Division was the only peaceful division of the night. The Masters got the job done in a pretty quick and orderly fashion with hardly any cautions. Robby Faggart started out in the lead and maintained that lead for the remainder of the race. While Lee Jordan tried his best to give Faggart a run for his money he was never able to capture that number one spot. Faggart got his second win in a row after a long dry spell prior to last week’s victory.
Round 4 of the Chargers Division resulted in another victory JC Fickenscher. Fickenscher got his lead early and kept it for the rest of the night. While the race itself was a struggle with many cautions and restarts, Fickenscher was not fazed. After a rough Rounds 2 and 3 following his Round 1 win, Fickenscher was hitting all his marks and showed to be much more disciplined than the following weeks. Fickenscher stayed close to the rest of the pack for the majority of the race before pulling away at the end before a yellow brought out the checkered flag to finish the race.
The Night Owl Companies Beginner Bandolero Divisions A and B mains were packed full of them. In the Beginner Bandos B-main feature, two-time winner Paisley Lawson jumped to first pretty early. While Carson McKee slowly crept his way up the pack from fourth to second. Lawson tried to maintain her lead but with McKee all over her bumper she just couldn’t make it happen. McKee gained the top spot, worked to stretch out a huge lead, and stayed there for the remainder of the race.
The battle for the Night Owl Companies Beginner Bandos A-main feature was a battle between Roo Reaves and Corbin Cannon. After taking turns switching back and forth between second and third, Reaves was able to pass Cannon and maintain his lead for the remainder of the race, getting himself another trip to Victory Lane.
The Cook Out Summer Shootout continues next week with a doubleheader. Round 5 will be on Monday, July 1 and Round 6 will be on Tuesday, July 2. Gates at Charlotte Motor Speedway will open at 5pm ET and streaming coverage on FloRacing will begin both days at 5pm ET/2pm PT.
RESULTS
PRO DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 24-Joel Smith[4]; 2. 91-Martin Gatzulis[7]; 3. 76-Darrell Wallace[10]; 4. 32-Jensen Jorgensen[1]; 5. 66-Evan Swilling[13]; 6. 78-Darrell Stewart Jr[12]; 7. 20-Caleb Heady[8]; 8. 72-Nick Woodall[15]; 9. 1-Alex McCollum[2]; 10. 12-Daniel Wilk[3]; 11. 71-Jake Bollman[6]; 12. 08-Nicholas Sowa[14]; 13. 57-TYLER GONZALEZ[5]; 14. 67-Cameron Bolin[9]; 15. 6-Jordan Black[11]
Qualifying: 1. 32-Jensen Jorgensen, 00:17.281[7]; 2. 1-Alex McCollum, 00:17.331[8]; 3. 12-Daniel Wilk, 00:17.366[14]; 4. 24-Joel Smith, 00:17.369[9]; 5. 57-TYLER GONZALEZ, 00:17.370[5]; 6. 71-Jake Bollman, 00:17.375[3]; 7. 91-Martin Gatzulis, 00:17.381[4]; 8. 20-Caleb Heady, 00:17.407[6]; 9. 67-Cameron Bolin, 00:17.484[2]; 10. 76-Darrell Wallace, 00:17.527[13]; 11. 6-Jordan Black, 00:17.554[1]; 12. 78-Darrell Stewart Jr, 00:17.563[11]; 13. 66-Evan Swilling, 00:17.584[12]; 14. 08-Nicholas Sowa, 00:17.867[10]; 15. (DNS) 72-Nick Woodall, 00:17.867
VP RACING FUELS SEMI-PRO DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 01-Brody Gunter[3]; 2. 71-Aiden McConnaughey[8]; 3. 95-London McKenzie[2]; 4. 9-Michael Crafton[4]; 5. 87-Dominic Chisholm[1]; 6. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller[6]; 7. 81-Hunter Jordan[5]; 8. 38-Cameron White[13]; 9. 85-Bradley Swift[11]; 10. 35-Preston Wrisley[12]; 11. 43-Layton Harrison[14]; 12. 99-Tyler Garretson[10]; 13. 42-Alex Reling[19]; 14. 25-Nate Morris[18]; 15. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley[22]; 16. 22-Randy Phillips[7]; 17. 9W-Sterling Wrisley[17]; 18. 23-Josh Lowe[21]; 19. 78-Gracie Crocker[16]; 20. 0-Jerrod Holle[20]; 21. 73-Ian Hampton[15]; 22. (DQ) 31M-Sam Mazzo[9]
Round 4 B Main (15 Laps): 1. 42-Alex Reling[2]; 2. 0-Jerrod Holle[8]; 3. 23-Josh Lowe[3]; 4. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley[5]; 5. 02-Zachary Mertes[1]; 6. 74-Jacob Linc[6]; 7. 11-Nathan Davis[7]; 8. (DNS) 60-Dylan Faulkner
Qualifying: 1. 87-Dominic Chisholm, 00:17.346[2]; 2. 95-London McKenzie, 00:17.434[18]; 3. 01-Brody Gunter, 00:17.436[8]; 4. 9-Michael Crafton, 00:17.444[3]; 5. 81-Hunter Jordan, 00:17.460[12]; 6. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller, 00:17.499[13]; 7. 22-Randy Phillips, 00:17.504[21]; 8. 71-Aiden McConnaughey, 00:17.526[17]; 9. 31M-Sam Mazzo, 00:17.528[16]; 10. 99-Tyler Garretson, 00:17.538[7]; 11. 85-Bradley Swift, 00:17.555[23]; 12. 35-Preston Wrisley, 00:17.578[25]; 13. 38-Cameron White, 00:17.592[24]; 14. 43-Layton Harrison, 00:17.594[10]; 15. 73-Ian Hampton, 00:17.606[9]; 16. 78-Gracie Crocker, 00:17.611[4]; 17. 9W-Sterling Wrisley, 00:17.620[26]; 18. 25-Nate Morris, 00:17.624[20]; 19. 02-Zachary Mertes, 00:17.659[19]; 20. 42-Alex Reling, 00:17.673[22]; 21. 23-Josh Lowe, 00:17.685[15]; 22. 60-Dylan Faulkner, 00:17.746[6]; 23. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley, 00:17.747[1]; 24. 74-Jacob Linc, 00:17.763[14]; 25. 11-Nathan Davis, 00:19.187[5]; 26. (DQ) 0-Jerrod Holle, 00:17.578[11]
OLD ARMOR BEER COMPANY MASTERS DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 8-Robby Faggart[2]; 2. 81-Lee Jordan[3]; 3. 19-Willie Ridenhour[1]; 4. 22D-Dwayne Holder[5]; 5. 58-Carl Cormier[4]; 6. 71W-Adam Welch[7]; 7. 5-Brandin Wrisley[8]; 8. 27-Thomas Sherman[6]; 9. 31-Giles Martin[9]; 10. 28-Charles Parker[11]; 11. 5A-Clayton Austin[10]; 12. 2X-Eric Mentnech[12]; 13. 22-William Lyden[13]
Qualifying: 1. 19-Willie Ridenhour, 00:17.435[10]; 2. 8-Robby Faggart, 00:17.501[3]; 3. 81-Lee Jordan, 00:17.535[5]; 4. 58-Carl Cormier, 00:17.583[2]; 5. 22D-Dwayne Holder, 00:17.692[4]; 6. 27-Thomas Sherman, 00:17.788[11]; 7. 71W-Adam Welch, 00:17.803[12]; 8. 5-Brandin Wrisley, 00:17.803[13]; 9. 31-Giles Martin, 00:17.939[7]; 10. 5A-Clayton Austin, 00:18.343[1]; 11. 28-Charles Parker, 00:18.367[9]; 12. 2X-Eric Mentnech, 00:18.542[8]; 13. 22-William Lyden, 00:18.991[6]
NIGHT OWL COMPANIES YOUNG LIONS DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 88-Max Reaves[1]; 2. 62-Keelan Harvick[4]; 3. 79-Neal Dulin[3]; 4. 21-Nathan Lyons[8]; 5. 87-Mack Leopard[15]; 6. 99-Spencer Bradshaw[7]; 7. 4-Ryan Zima[5]; 8. 20-Ashton Williams[2]; 9. 40M-Carter McMurray[12]; 10. 40-Dillon Thomas[13]; 11. 16-Samuel Macedo[10]; 12. 17-Ben Morabito[11]; 13. 54-Caleb Gafrarar[14]; 14. 26-Laquan McCoy[16]; 15. 18-Matthew Laprade[9]; 16. 55-Mardy Roberts III[17]; 17. 73-Wyatt Miller[6]
Qualifying: 1. 88-Max Reaves, 00:17.372[13]; 2. 20-Ashton Williams, 00:17.382[16]; 3. 79-Neal Dulin, 00:17.403[2]; 4. 62-Keelan Harvick, 00:17.421[4]; 5. 4-Ryan Zima, 00:17.473[17]; 6. 73-Wyatt Miller, 00:17.491[11]; 7. 99-Spencer Bradshaw, 00:17.527[1]; 8. 21-Nathan Lyons, 00:17.531[7]; 9. 18-Matthew Laprade, 00:17.539[5]; 10. 16-Samuel Macedo, 00:17.617[8]; 11. 17-Ben Morabito, 00:17.657[12]; 12. 40M-Carter McMurray, 00:17.679[10]; 13. 40-Dillon Thomas, 00:17.701[15]; 14. 54-Caleb Gafrarar, 00:17.718[3]; 15. 87-Mack Leopard, 00:17.738[6]; 16. 26-Laquan McCoy, 00:17.845[9]; 17. 55-Mardy Roberts III, 00:17.899[14]
CHARGERS DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (15 Laps): 1. 87-JC Fickenscher[1]; 2. 42-Benjamin Rogers[5]; 3. 31-Faron Laney[3]; 4. 9-Kaden Bradshaw[2]; 5. 15-Alison Johnson[4]; 6. 94-Jhett Johnson[11]; 7. 22-Jordan Plummer[8]; 8. 10-Alex Pate[12]; 9. 24D-Diego Espinosa[6]; 10. 24-Jayson DiDonna[13]; 11. 4-James Hebert[10]; 12. 74-Addyson King[9]; 13. 13-Ben Mack[7]; 14. 63-Chad Byrum[15]; 15. 07-Huston Wells[14]
Qualifying: 1. 87-JC Fickenscher, 00:17.519[5]; 2. 9-Kaden Bradshaw, 00:17.661[1]; 3. 31-Faron Laney, 00:17.718[10]; 4. 15-Alison Johnson, 00:17.732[7]; 5. 42-Benjamin Rogers, 00:17.749[14]; 6. 24D-Diego Espinosa, 00:17.765[4]; 7. 13-Ben Mack, 00:17.791[11]; 8. 22-Jordan Plummer, 00:17.812[13]; 9. 74-Addyson King, 00:17.837[9]; 10. 4-James Hebert, 00:17.850[6]; 11. 94-Jhett Johnson, 00:17.890[8]; 12. 10-Alex Pate, 00:17.964[12]; 13. 24-Jayson DiDonna, 00:18.150[3]; 14. 07-Huston Wells, 00:18.280[15]; 15. 63-Chad Byrum, 00:19.838[2]
BOJANGLES OUTLAWS DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 24-Colt Johnson[1]; 2. 80-Bryson Nichols[4]; 3. 5-Jeffrey Beck[2]; 4. 35-Owen Zacharias[6]; 5. 9-TJ Moon[7]; 6. 77-Ellie Gossett[9]; 7. 28-Joshua Shine[11]; 8. 16-Finn Buckley[5]; 9. 37-Carson Cauble[3]; 10. 39-Chase Spaulding[8]; 11. 51-Cole Gudmestad[10]; 12. 41-Mandi Lee[12]
Qualifying: 1. 24-Colt Johnson, 00:18.767[5]; 2. 5-Jeffrey Beck, 00:18.821[1]; 3. 37-Carson Cauble, 00:18.855; 4. 80-Bryson Nichols, 00:18.858[8]; 5. 16-Finn Buckley, 00:18.882[2]; 6. 35-Owen Zacharias, 00:18.884[11]; 7. 9-TJ Moon, 00:18.890[7]; 8. 39-Chase Spaulding, 00:18.931[10]; 9. 77-Ellie Gossett, 00:18.939[3]; 10. 51-Cole Gudmestad, 00:18.986[4]; 11. 28-Joshua Shine, 00:18.997[9]; 12. 41-Mandi Lee, 00:19.365[6]
BANDITS DIVISION
ROUND 4 FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 2-Wyatt Coffey[1]; 2. 9-Jack Smith[2]; 3. 55-Landon Thrasher[4]; 4. T2-Camden Truett[3]; 5. 84-Delaney Gray[6]; 6. 21-Mason Roberts[8]; 7. 1VA-Hendrick Case[11]; 8. 17-Taegan Knowland[9]; 9. 38-Gerald White III[7]; 10. 21H-Reid Halpin[10]; 11. 32-Blake Crooms[5]
Qualifying: 1. 2-Wyatt Coffey, 00:18.797[2]; 2. 9-Jack Smith, 00:18.818[8]; 3. T2-Camden Truett, 00:18.905[10]; 4. 55-Landon Thrasher, 00:18.939[9]; 5. 32-Blake Crooms, 00:19.064[3]; 6. 84-Delaney Gray, 00:19.160[4]; 7. 38-Gerald White III, 00:19.171[11]; 8. 21-Mason Roberts, 00:19.178[7]; 9. 17-Taegan Knowland, 00:19.311[6]; 10. 21H-Reid Halpin, 00:19.498[5]; 11. 1VA-Hendrick Case, 00:19.985[1]
NIGHT OWL COMPANIES BEGINNER BANDO DIVISION
ROUND 4 A MAIN FEATURE (15 Laps): 1. 40-Roo Reaves[1]; 2. 5C-Corbin Cannon[2]; 3. 46-Paxton Smith[4]; 4. 13-Lucas McFall[3]; 5. 15-Grayson Price[7]; 6. 5-Wyatt Linker[11]; 7. 54-Jackson Jones[5]; 8. 16-Maci Prowell[8]; 9. 38-Penelope Carlisle[10]; 10. 8-Jakob Peterson[9]; 11. 44-John Gauge Kimler[12]; 12. 4S-Kevin Stiene[6]
ROUND 4 B MAIN FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 4-Carson McKee[10]; 2. 29-Charlie Evans[4]; 3. 22-Anthony Pedulla[2]; 4. 33-Ben Buzze[12]; 5. 85P-Paisley Lawson[1]; 6. 77-Ava Paez[11]; 7. 19-Grant Hooker[5]; 8. 16B-Lincoln Baucom[7]; 9. 52-Phillip Surles[9]; 10. 6-Jerry Garretson[6]; 11. 23-Michael Scronce[3]; 12. 57-Ellie Hodge[8]
Qualifying: 1. 40-Roo Reaves, 00:19.869[19]; 2. 5C-Corbin Cannon, 00:19.968[2]; 3. 13-Lucas McFall, 00:20.204[12]; 4. 46-Paxton Smith, 00:20.295[21]; 5. 54-Jackson Jones, 00:20.517[8]; 6. 4S-Kevin Stiene, 00:20.750[22]; 7. 15-Grayson Price, 00:20.780[17]; 8. 16-Maci Prowell, 00:20.797[18]; 9. 8-Jakob Peterson, 00:20.969[16]; 10. 38-Penelope Carlisle, 00:20.975[3]; 11. 5-Wyatt Linker, 00:20.985[11]; 12. 44-John Gauge Kimler, 00:21.016[9]; 13. 85P-Paisley Lawson, 00:21.212[10]; 14. 22-Anthony Pedulla, 00:21.582[15]; 15. 23-Michael Scronce, 00:21.937[20]; 16. 29-Charlie Evans, 00:21.971[4]; 17. 19-Grant Hooker, 00:22.237[7]; 18. 6-Jerry Garretson, 00:22.416[5]; 19. 16B-Lincoln Baucom, 00:22.457[1]; 20. 57-Ellie Hodge, 00:22.864[6]; 21. 52-Phillip Surles, 00:22.940[23]; 22. (DQ) 4-Carson McKee, 00:20.706[13]; 23. (DQ) 77-Ava Paez, 00:20.899[14]; 24. (DQ) 33-Ben Buzze, 00:21.110
Photo credit: INEX
