From INEX Communications Staff –
A common denominator throughout Monday’s Cook Out Summer Shootout action at Charlotte Motor Speedway was aggression. The gloves were off and fenders were shed in what was a very chaotic Round 5 at America’s Home for Racing.
Wyatt Coffey and Jack Smith have been the dominant duo in the Bandolero Bandits Division through the first four rounds of Summer Shootout. With the exception of Round 3, Coffey had claimed victory in every race and looked to be doing so again in Round 5 with a power move on the outside of Camden Truett to take an early lead.
An early caution on Lap 3 set the stage for a defining moment of the race. Coffey was the leader but Smith stuffed his car to Coffey’s inside into turn one. Meanwhile, Brexton Busch powered around the outside to take control off turn two.
Two cautions later, Busch retained his lead as Coffey and Landon Thrasher battled side-by-side for second. Soon, it was Thrasher battling for Busch’s claim of the top spot. Busch bobbled in turn three on Lap 13 and Thrasher took the lead but not half a lap later, Busch pulled the crossover on him. The lead was exchanged again, with Busch taking back the position. Behind them, Smith captured third from Coffey on Lap 14.
Thrasher made lunges and bumps to Busch, sending every effort short of wrecking him to win but in the end, it was fruitless. The bright green Bandolero crossed the finish line first, resulting in Busch winning for the first time at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Thrasher finished second and Smith kept his Bando in front of Coffey’s for third.
Trouble struck three-time Night Owl Companies Young Lions winner, Max Reaves, on Lap 1 of Monday’s Round 5 feature. After receiving a bump from Nathan Lyons entering turn three, sending Reaves up the track and immediately began to slow. He pulled off the track as Lyons was left to defend against Neal Dulin, who passed him on Lap 2.
Dulin retain the lead over the course of the next several laps, and through the feature’s only restart. But Lyons knocked on Dulin’s bumper nearly every lap and eventually it was enough that the opportunity to pass came as the pair completed Lap 13 side-by-side. Lyons cleared Dulin into turn one, which Dulin attempted to give a bumper but it didn’t land.
Their battle for first drew in Ryan Zima, Spencer Bradshaw and Keelan Harvick to their bumpers. Dulin would lose second to Zima on Lap 16 as Lyons slowly put distance between him and the field. Lyons drove on to victory, with Zima holding onto second over Dulin.
Jake Bollman looked to bounce back after a disastrous Round 4 outing last week, and nearly made it back to the top after earning the AFCO Fastest Qualifier award for the Pro Division and starting sixth following an invert. After 17 laps, Bollman had moved up to second and set his sights on leader and 2023 Cook Out Summer Shootout Pro Division Champion, Alex McCollum. Bollman gave McCollum shot after shot to the bumper, but McCollum hardly flinched, holding his Legend Car steady to claim his first victory of the summer in what turned out to be a caution-free race.
Cautions bookended the Old Armor Beer Company Masters Division Feature, but neither one phased Kevin Rollins, who was the AFCO Fastest Qualifier and started from pole as the invert came back a one. In the early stages, it was Adam Welch who was chasing Rollins but he was passed by Lee Jordan before Lap 10. Rollins’ lead varied with Jordan in second and got to as low as three-tenths of a second, with a little aid from slow traffic. A caution flew with two laps to go, meaning Rollins would have to defend his lead vigorously. Jordan started behind him but Welch slotted right in front of Lee, foiling any attempt for Jordan to challenge Rollins. They remained in that order for the final two laps, with Rollins taking home his second Cook Out Summer Shootout victory of 2024 in just his third start.
A spirited battle for the top spot in the Bojangles Outlaws Division feature not only had bumpers exchanging paint, but tires slipping and sliding in the corners. At one point, TJ Moon, Owen Zacharias, Bryson Nichols, Colt Johnson, and Jeffrey Beck could all have fit under a blanket as they battled for first. Nichols even took Moon and Zacharias three wide as they crossed the stripe to start Lap 10 before Moon made the same move, crossing Nichols over exiting turn two, making it three wide with Zacharias once more.
The craziness came to a pause when Addison Martinez suffered issues and spun. When the field restarted on Lap 12, Moon cleared Johnson while the cars behind him sorted out for position. Moon looked as if he may go on to win his third Bojangles Outlaws Division feature, if he could’ve held off Nichols, but Beck off the bumper of Finn Buckley in turn two with just three laps remaining. Two slips by Moon with three to go allowed for the distance between him and Nichols, once the pass was completed against Zacharias, to be manageable. Using his bumper, Nichols moved Moon up the racetrack into turn three on the final lap, they drifted high and were in nearly even at the line. By one-hundredth of a second, Nichols won over Moon, taking home his first Summer Shootout victory of 2024. Zacharias held on to third place.
It took two attempts and several wrecked Legend Cars, but the VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro Division, once underway, was relatively smooth. Dylan Faulkner led the first 18 laps, keeping Hunter Jordan and Isaac Kitzmiller in his mirror. Kitzmiller was able to pass Jordan on Lap 5 and maintained second position following a restart on Lap 9. A handful of laps later, Faulkner and Kitzmiller had separated themselves from the rest of the field.
Kitzmiller had grown tired of waiting and bumped Faulkner in turn two on Lap 19. The pass was completed on the low side, with Kitzmiller’s bright Legend Car managing to hold off Faulkner’s return bump in turn three. Michael Crafton had successfully passed Jordan for third and attempted to pass Faulkner for second, prevailing off turn four with three laps to go. Faulkner finished third, Crafton was second, and Kitzmiller won, making the Round 5 Semi-Pro feature his first career INEX victory.
JC Fickenscher fired off well on the initial start of the Chargers feature, along with the three restarts that occurred during the race. His drive into the corners allowed for second place to smell blood in the water, but exited the corner well. He had taken the white flag when the caution flew, and per new rules beginning in Round 5 of the Cook Out Summer Shootout, the race was over. The victory is Fickenscher’s third of the summer.
An opening lap crash involving several cars gifted Roo Reaves the lead of the Night Owl Companies Beginner Bandolero A feature, and he stayed there for the duration of the event. The race was ultimately called short when time had expired when the caution flew on Lap 12. It was Reaves’ third win of this year’s Cook Out Summer Shootout. In the Night Owl Companies Beginner Bandolero B feature, Charlie Evans won in another dead heat with Maverick Bradshaw as the pair crossed the line for the checkered flag, with Evans leading all 12 laps.
The 2024 Cook Out Summer Shootout continues tonight on FloRacing beginning with qualifying at 5pm ET, with the green flag dropping for feature racing immediately following. Gates at Charlotte Motor Speedway open for fans at 5pm ET.
RESULTS
PRO DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 1-Alex McCollum[6]; 2. 71-Jake Bollman[1]; 3. 12-Daniel Wilk[2]; 4. 24-Joel Smith[4]; 5. 32-Jensen Jorgensen[3]; 6. 20-Caleb Heady[5]; 7. 72-Nick Woodall[8]; 8. 67-Cameron Bolin[7]; 9. 57-TYLER GONZALEZ[10]; 10. 76-Darrell Wallace[11]; 11. 21-Ethan Nascimento[16]; 12. 66-Evan Swilling[12]; 13. 91-Martin Gatzulis[9]; 14. 06-Donovan Ponder[13]; 15. 08-Nicholas Sowa[15]; 16. 6-Josh Williams[17]; 17. 17-Oliver Cordell[14]
Qualifying: 1. 71-Jake Bollman, 00:17.088[2]; 2. 12-Daniel Wilk, 00:17.158[15]; 3. 32-Jensen Jorgensen, 00:17.242[7]; 4. 24-Joel Smith, 00:17.257[11]; 5. 20-Caleb Heady, 00:17.292[6]; 6. 1-Alex McCollum, 00:17.299[8]; 7. 67-Cameron Bolin, 00:17.340[1]; 8. 72-Nick Woodall, 00:17.351[17]; 9. 91-Martin Gatzulis, 00:17.363[4]; 10. 57-TYLER GONZALEZ, 00:17.404[5]; 11. 76-Darrell Wallace, 00:17.414[14]; 12. 66-Evan Swilling, 00:17.481[13]; 13. 06-Donovan Ponder, 00:17.677[10]; 14. 17-Oliver Cordell, 00:17.799[3]; 15. 08-Nicholas Sowa, 00:17.816[12]; 16. 21-Ethan Nascimento, 00:18.228[9]; 17. (DNS) 6-Josh Williams, 00:18.228
VP RACING FUELS SEMI-PRO DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller[2]; 2. 9-Michael Crafton[3]; 3. 60-Dylan Faulkner[6]; 4. 81-Hunter Jordan[4]; 5. 21-Mitch Wright[11]; 6. 87-Dominic Chisholm[8]; 7. 9W-Sterling Wrisley[10]; 8. 71-Aiden McConnaughey[5]; 9. 35-Preston Wrisley[17]; 10. 38-Cameron White[16]; 11. 99G-Tyler Garretson[12]; 12. 124-Jackson Denton[20]; 13. 22-Randy Phillips[9]; 14. 42-Alex Reling[13]; 15. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley[15]; 16. 31M-Sam Mazzo[14]; 17. 73-Ian Hampton[22]; 18. 01-Brody Gunter[1]; 19. 95-London McKenzie[7]; 20. 25-Nate Morris[18]; 21. 27-Austin MacDonald[19]; 22. 74-Jacob Linc[21]
Round 5 B Main (15 Laps): 1. 27-Austin MacDonald[1]; 2. 124-Jackson Denton[3]; 3. 74-Jacob Linc[4]; 4. 73-Ian Hampton[9]; 5. 02-Zachary Mertes[8]; 6. 99-Ryan Carlson[10]; 7. 23-Josh Lowe[12]; 8. 9R-Jackson Reynolds[5]; 9. 30-Joey Przybylinski[11]; 10. 85-Bradley Swift[2]; 11. 0-Jerrod Holle[6]; 12. 43-Layton Harrison[7]
Qualifying: 1. 01-Brody Gunter, 00:17.276[8]; 2. 97-Isaac Kitzmiller, 00:17.286[13]; 3. 9-Michael Crafton, 00:17.301[4]; 4. 81-Hunter Jordan, 00:17.309[12]; 5. 71-Aiden McConnaughey, 00:17.337[18]; 6. 60-Dylan Faulkner, 00:17.359[6]; 7. 95-London McKenzie, 00:17.361[19]; 8. 87-Dominic Chisholm, 00:17.377[3]; 9. 22-Randy Phillips, 00:17.409[22]; 10. 9W-Sterling Wrisley, 00:17.427[30]; 11. 21-Mitch Wright, 00:17.465[28]; 12. 99G-Tyler Garretson, 00:17.482[7]; 13. 42-Alex Reling, 00:17.506[24]; 14. 31M-Sam Mazzo, 00:17.518[17]; 15. 27N-Nicholaus Bulkeley, 00:17.523[1]; 16. 38-Cameron White, 00:17.526[27]; 17. 35-Preston Wrisley, 00:17.534[29]; 18. 25-Nate Morris, 00:17.538[21]; 19. 27-Austin MacDonald, 00:17.570[16]; 20. 85-Bradley Swift, 00:17.587[26]; 21. 124-Jackson Denton, 00:17.629[5]; 22. 74-Jacob Linc, 00:17.640[14]; 23. 9R-Jackson Reynolds, 00:17.642[25]; 24. 0-Jerrod Holle, 00:17.656[11]; 25. 43-Layton Harrison, 00:17.658[10]; 26. 02-Zachary Mertes, 00:17.667[20]; 27. 73-Ian Hampton, 00:17.668[9]; 28. 99-Ryan Carlson, 00:17.780[2]; 29. 30-Joey Przybylinski, 00:17.910[23]; 30. (DQ) 23-Josh Lowe, 00:17.910[15]
OLD ARMOR BEER COMPANY MASTERS DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 93-Kevin Rollins[1]; 2. 71W-Adam Welch[6]; 3. 81-Lee Jordan[2]; 4. 22-Dwayne Holder[4]; 5. 8-Robby Faggart[3]; 6. 58-Carl Cormier[7]; 7. 5-Brandin Wrisley[8]; 8. 96-JESSE BUNNELL[13]; 9. 31-Giles Martin[10]; 10. 33-Scott Wessel[14]; 11. 27-Thomas Sherman[9]; 12. 28-Charles Parker[16]; 13. 2X-Eric Mentnech[15]; 14. 68-Dean Bonessi[11]; 15. 57-Scott Heintz[12]; 16. 21M-Josh Mullins[5]
Qualifying: 1. 93-Kevin Rollins, 00:17.444[12]; 2. 81-Lee Jordan, 00:17.460[7]; 3. 8-Robby Faggart, 00:17.492[4]; 4. 22-Dwayne Holder, 00:17.562[6]; 5. 21M-Josh Mullins, 00:17.564[10]; 6. 71W-Adam Welch, 00:17.569[14]; 7. 58-Carl Cormier, 00:17.596[3]; 8. 5-Brandin Wrisley, 00:17.617[16]; 9. 27-Thomas Sherman, 00:17.689[13]; 10. 31-Giles Martin, 00:17.729[8]; 11. 68-Dean Bonessi, 00:17.982[1]; 12. 57-Scott Heintz, 00:18.096[5]; 13. 96-JESSE BUNNELL, 00:18.100[2]; 14. 33-Scott Wessel, 00:18.191[15]; 15. 2X-Eric Mentnech, 00:18.204[9]; 16. 28-Charles Parker, 00:18.250[11]
NIGHT OWL COMPANIES YOUNG LIONS DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (25 Laps): 1. 21-Nathan Lyons[2]; 2. 4-Ryan Zima[5]; 3. 79-Neal Dulin[4]; 4. 62-Keelan Harvick[7]; 5. 99-Spencer Bradshaw[3]; 6. 40M-Carter McMurray[8]; 7. 20-Ashton Williams[6]; 8. 17-Ben Morabito[11]; 9. 40-Dillon Thomas[9]; 10. 16-Samuel Macedo[10]; 11. 24-Rodney Dowless[12]; 12. 26-Laquan McCoy[15]; 13. 72-Daniel O’Donnell[14]; 14. 55-Mardy Roberts III[13]; 15. 88-Max Reaves[1]
Qualifying: 1. 88-Max Reaves, 00:17.257[11]; 2. 21-Nathan Lyons, 00:17.315[5]; 3. 99-Spencer Bradshaw, 00:17.392[1]; 4. 79-Neal Dulin, 00:17.398[3]; 5. 4-Ryan Zima, 00:17.421[15]; 6. 20-Ashton Williams, 00:17.423[14]; 7. 62-Keelan Harvick, 00:17.439[4]; 8. 40M-Carter McMurray, 00:17.476[8]; 9. 40-Dillon Thomas, 00:17.574[13]; 10. 16-Samuel Macedo, 00:17.621[6]; 11. 17-Ben Morabito, 00:17.623[9]; 12. 24-Rodney Dowless, 00:17.697[2]; 13. 55-Mardy Roberts III, 00:17.801[12]; 14. 72-Daniel O’Donnell, 00:17.939[10]; 15. 26-Laquan McCoy, 00:18.021[7]
CHARGERS DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (15 Laps): 1. 87-JC Fickenscher[1]; 2. 31-Faron Laney[2]; 3. 9B-Kaden Bradshaw[6]; 4. 24-Diego Espinosa[8]; 5. 15-Alison Johnson[5]; 6. 9-Abi Johnson[10]; 7. 10-Alex Pate[4]; 8. 22-Jordan Plummer[3]; 9. 75-Allee Johnson[16]; 10. 411-Chris Cycak[14]; 11. 13-Ben Mack[11]; 12. 83-Michael Cangemi[15]; 13. 63-Chad Byrum[17]; 14. 4-James Hebert[13]; 15. 42-Benjamin Rogers[9]; 16. 94-Jhett Johnson[7]; 17. 07-Huston Wells[12]
Qualifying: 1. 87-JC Fickenscher, 00:17.486[6]; 2. 31-Faron Laney, 00:17.703[12]; 3. 22-Jordan Plummer, 00:17.713[15]; 4. 10-Alex Pate, 00:17.732[14]; 5. 15-Alison Johnson, 00:17.747[9]; 6. 9B-Kaden Bradshaw, 00:17.762[1]; 7. 94-Jhett Johnson, 00:17.767[11]; 8. 24-Diego Espinosa, 00:17.800[5]; 9. 42-Benjamin Rogers, 00:17.872[16]; 10. 9-Abi Johnson, 00:17.906[8]; 11. 13-Ben Mack, 00:17.977[13]; 12. 07-Huston Wells, 00:17.989[17]; 13. 4-James Hebert, 00:18.161[7]; 14. 411-Chris Cycak, 00:18.290[4]; 15. 83-Michael Cangemi, 00:18.559[3]; 16. 75-Allee Johnson, 00:19.026[10]; 17. 63-Chad Byrum, 00:19.400[2]
BOJANGLES OUTLAWS DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 80-Bryson Nichols[1]; 2. 9-TJ Moon[4]; 3. 35-Owen Zacharias[6]; 4. 24-Colt Johnson[3]; 5. 77-Ellie Gossett[11]; 6. 5B-Jeffrey Beck[2]; 7. 28-Joshua Shine[8]; 8. 36-Rocky Wise[13]; 9. 51-Cole Gudmestad[12]; 10. 16-Finn Buckley[7]; 11. 37-Carson Cauble[9]; 12. 5-Hunter Morgan[10]; 13. 8X-Addison Martinez[15]; 14. 39-Jake Tretow[5]; 15. 41-Mandi Lee[14]
Qualifying: 1. 80-Bryson Nichols, 00:18.662[11]; 2. 5B-Jeffrey Beck, 00:18.701[1]; 3. 24-Colt Johnson, 00:18.726[6]; 4. 9-TJ Moon, 00:18.733[9]; 5. 39-Jake Tretow, 00:18.749[13]; 6. 35-Owen Zacharias, 00:18.756[15]; 7. 16-Finn Buckley, 00:18.761[2]; 8. 28-Joshua Shine, 00:18.774[12]; 9. 37-Carson Cauble, 00:18.775[3]; 10. 5-Hunter Morgan, 00:18.848[10]; 11. 77-Ellie Gossett, 00:18.924[4]; 12. 51-Cole Gudmestad, 00:18.960[5]; 13. 36-Rocky Wise, 00:19.564[14]; 14. 41-Mandi Lee, 00:19.881[7]; 15. 8X-Addison Martinez, 00:20.003[8]
BANDITS DIVISION
ROUND 5 FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 18B-Brexton Busch[4]; 2. 55-Landon Thrasher[5]; 3. 9-Jack Smith[3]; 4. 2-Wyatt Coffey[1]; 5. 84-Delaney Gray[7]; 6. 007-James Faulkner[15]; 7. 22-Bentley Thompson[9]; 8. T2-Camden Truett[2]; 9. 38-Gerald White III[14]; 10. 5-Corbin Cannon[6]; 11. 17-Taegan Knowland[10]; 12. 21H-Reid Halpin[11]; 13. 1VA-Hendrick Case[13]; 14. 21-Mason Roberts[8]; 15. 10-Emily Billings[16]; 16. 04-James Monolo[12]
Qualifying: 1. 2-Wyatt Coffey, 00:18.741[5]; 2. T2-Camden Truett, 00:18.766[14]; 3. 9-Jack Smith, 00:18.868[11]; 4. 18B-Brexton Busch, 00:18.869[2]; 5. 55-Landon Thrasher, 00:18.881[13]; 6. 5-Corbin Cannon, 00:19.161[3]; 7. 84-Delaney Gray, 00:19.199[6]; 8. 21-Mason Roberts, 00:19.215[10]; 9. 22-Bentley Thompson, 00:19.294[12]; 10. 17-Taegan Knowland, 00:19.536[8]; 11. 21H-Reid Halpin, 00:19.601[7]; 12. 04-James Monolo, 00:19.604[9]; 13. 1VA-Hendrick Case, 00:19.677[4]; 14. (DNS) 38-Gerald White III, 00:19.677; 15. (DQ) 007-James Faulkner, 00:18.959; 16. (DQ) 10-Emily Billings, 00:19.384[1]
NIGHT OWL COMPANIES BEGINNER BANDOLERO DIVISION
ROUND 5 A FEATURE (15 Laps): 1. 40-Roo Reaves[2]; 2. 36-Carson Wise[6]; 3. 33-Ben Buzze[3]; 4. 5-Wyatt Linker[5]; 5. 13-Lucas McFall[1]; 6. 16-Maci Prowell[10]; 7. 10-Eli Van Patten[11]; 8. 38-Penelope Carlisle[9]; 9. 4S-Kevin Stiene[13]; 10. 54-Jackson Jones[4]; 11. 4-Carson McKee[7]; 12. 77-Ava Paez[12]; 13. 15-Grayson Price[8]
ROUND 5 B FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 29-Charlie Evans[2]; 2. 9-Maverick Bradshaw[3]; 3. 8-Jakob Peterson[4]; 4. 57-Ellie Hodge[5]; 5. 83-Julianna Case[10]; 6. 85P-Paisley Lawson[1]; 7. 23-Kamden Wheeler[12]; 8. 52-Phillip Surles[7]; 9. 6-Jerry Garretson[11]; 10. 16B-Lincoln Baucom[9]; 11. 5V-Mason Villarreal[14]; 12. 19-Grant Hooker[8]; 13. 73-Kolton Peckich[13]; 14. 23S-Michael Scronce[6]
Qualifying: 1. 13-Lucas McFall, 00:19.822[13]; 2. 40-Roo Reaves, 00:19.890[20]; 3. 33-Ben Buzze, 00:20.254[3]; 4. 54-Jackson Jones, 00:20.408[10]; 5. 5-Wyatt Linker, 00:20.419[12]; 6. 36-Carson Wise, 00:20.481[27]; 7. 4-Carson McKee, 00:20.608[14]; 8. 15-Grayson Price, 00:20.722[18]; 9. 38-Penelope Carlisle, 00:20.855[4]; 10. 16-Maci Prowell, 00:20.864[19]; 11. 10-Eli Van Patten, 00:20.978[24]; 12. 77-Ava Paez, 00:21.033[15]; 13. 4S-Kevin Stiene, 00:21.045[22]; 14. 85P-Paisley Lawson, 00:21.249[11]; 15. 29-Charlie Evans, 00:21.332[6]; 16. 9-Maverick Bradshaw, 00:21.375[2]; 17. 8-Jakob Peterson, 00:21.434[17]; 18. 57-Ellie Hodge, 00:21.766[8]; 19. 23S-Michael Scronce, 00:21.811[21]; 20. 52-Phillip Surles, 00:22.105[23]; 21. 19-Grant Hooker, 00:22.149[9]; 22. 16B-Lincoln Baucom, 00:22.158[1]; 23. 83-Julianna Case, 00:22.213[5]; 24. 6-Jerry Garretson, 00:22.400[7]; 25. 23-Kamden Wheeler, 00:22.729[26]; 26. 73-Kolton Peckich, 00:23.837[16]; 27. 5V-Mason Villarreal, 00:26.326[25]
Photo credit: INEX
