A no-holds-barred Tuesday night of Bojangles' Summer Shootout racing action saw experience trump youth in a trio of thrilling showcase events on the frontstretch quarter-mile at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the much-anticipated Media Mayhem school bus slobberknocker, WBTV meteorologist Al Conklin reigned over his opponents in a 10-ton tussle among television titans. After starting on the front row alongside fellow bus racing veteran Matthew East from Spectrum News, Conklin put his yellow #OnYourSide bus behind East in an early battle for the lead. As the green flag dropped for a green-white-checkered restart, East challenged "Hurricane Al" into Turn 1 and was immediately pushed off the course into the grass. East recovered as his adversaries traded paint behind him but as they came to the checkered flag, East made one last desperation move. He rammed Conklin's bumper and sent him sliding up the track, but Conklin held on by a bus length for his third win. East was second with Cabarrus County Channel 22's David Baxter third. WCNC's Nick Carboni was fourth followed by WCCB's Derek James and FOX 46's Josh Sims. "I work for (Channel) 3, it's great to have three (titles) and I'm ready to come back for more," Conklin said. "I liked 'The Pass in the Grass' myself. The losers probably didn't, but the fans did. If you're not first, you're last." East was left to rue his missed opportunity after the heated, last-lap collision. "I didn't need a debris caution to bunch the field back up," East said. "That was maybe the dirtiest restart I've ever seen - literally - when I got thrown in the grass, but Al said he did what he had to do to win. It was a great time, but when I come back next year, he's gonna go in the wall." "I had a great time," third-place finisher David Baxter said. "You just get into the groove but the race ended too soon for me to make my move. I just ran out of time." After three cases of the win slipping through his fingers, John Sossoman finally captured the checkered flag in the Cabarrus Brewing Company Masters division. Sossoman jumped out to a strong start as the green flag waved after he started in the third row. A battle for the lead quickly ensued between Sossoman and Mark Green. There was never more than a car length between the two veterans, and they continued to battle until a late-race wreck brought out the caution. On the restart, Sossoman was able to shoot to the front and create a gap between himself and Green that was enough to win. Two-time and defending Lead 2 Pro Real Estate Pro division champion Jordan Black notched his first win of the season in a dominant performance that kick-started the 19-year-old's bid for an unprecedented third straight crown. Black cleared Dillon Faggart halfway through the 25-lap feature and held off points leader Austin Green for Win No. 1 of 2017. Faggart made a run at Black and Green on a late-race restart, but Faggart's hopes of victory evaporated when his No. 12 car drifted high in Turn 4. "Dillon got a really good jump that last restart and almost cleared me but I drove it in there deep and got a run off Turn 2," Black said. "Those late cautions were stressful. … We had a great car all night so we'll come back next week and hopefully have the same level of speed." Josh Kossek rocketed to the win in K1 Speed Young Lions competition after a caution-filled feature limited the race to 16 laps. "I just hit my marks and tried to get better throughout the race," Kossek said. "I was hoping for that caution to come out so I knew I'd get the checkered flag." For the second time this season, Zack Miller captured the victory in the VP Racing Fuel Semi-Pro division. Although Miller was the fastest car on the track, Garrett Manes dominated the field in the opening laps. A late-race wreck closed the field back up and gave Miller a second chance to put his No. 87 Legend Car in the lead. Miller immediately jumped to the front on the restart and tried to pull away from Manes. In the closing laps, Manes and Miller battled for first place and pulled away from the field. Miller held off Manes as they crossed the start-finish line for the win. Emily Hedstrom claimed her second victory of the season in the Beginner Bandit division after passing Adam Eades with only three laps to go. Eades dominated the race, but a late-race slip moved him up the track and allowed Hedstrom to steal the lead. Leland Honeyman claimed a win in Beginner Bandits as well. Cameron Bolin and Tommy Good hung on for wins in Outlaws competition. Zack Miracle's victory in the Bandits division was a miracle in itself as he managed to hold off hard-charging point leader Honeyman in the closing laps. Unofficial Results: K1 Speed Young Lions (16 laps): 1. Josh Kossek; 2. D.J. Canipe; 3. Harrison Halder; 4. Gracie Trotter; 5. Ryan Heim; 6. Steve Chapman; 7. Bryson Ruff; 8. Josh Stark; 9. Jason Alder; 10. Daniel Silvestri; 11. William Rubusto; 12. Roy Hayes; 13. Will Lambros; 14. Tristan Lesik; 15. Jak Crawford; 16. Nicholas Sanchez; 17. Sam Mayer; 18. Dean Lambros; 19. Holt Halder; 20. Liz Montgomery; 21. George Hayes; 22. Sammy Smith; 23. Isabella Rubusto; 24. Carson Kvapil; 25. J.R. Weidman. VP Racing Fuels Semi-Pro (25 laps): 1. Zach Miller; 2. Garret Manes; 3. Hudson Halder; 4. Dustin Rumley; 5. Vincent Midas; 6. Scott Joy; 7. Craig Biryla; 8. Zack Wells; 9. Sam Platt; 10. Wes Burton; 11. Jessica Dana; 12. Waylon Farrell; 13. Austin Langenstein; 14. Tal Davidson; 15. Andrew Dollar; 16. Conner Mosack; 17. Chris Honeycutt; 18. Carson Poindexter; 19. Tristen Love; 20. Cory Butner; 21. Ryan Miller; 22. Joshua Plummer. Lead 2 Real Estate Pro (25 laps): 1. Jordan Black; 2. Austin Green; 3. Dawson Cram; 4. Carson Ferguson; 5. Dillon Faggart; 6. Kaden Honeycutt; 7. Jordan Stillwell; 8. Gus Dean; 9. Brody Pope; 10. Daniel Wilk; 11. Corey Heim; 12. Andrew Brown; 13. Jonathan Parsons. Cabarrus Brewing Company Masters (25 Laps): 1. John Sossoman; 2. Mark Green; 3. Jon Craig; 4. Carl Cormier; 5. Jan Ingram; 6. Chip Ferguson; 7. Danny Cisson; 8. Craig Bruce; 9. Robby Faggart; 10. Jeffrey Lefcourt; 11. Todd Midas; 12. Todd Shockman; 13. Les Miranda; 14. Charles Parker. Beginner Bandits Race No. 1 (20 Laps): 1. Leland Honeyman; 2. Landon Rapp; 3. Caden Kvapil; 4. Zack Miracle; 5. Kade Brown; 6. Conner Jones; 7. Jaiden Reyna; 8. Zac Fowley; 9. Truett Miranda; 10. Jacob Bradley; 11. Santiago Hill; 12. Parker Eatmon; 13. Stanley Hayes. Beginner Bandits Race No. 2 (20 laps): 1. Emily Hedstrom; 2. Adam Eades; 3. Logan Clark; 4. Sean Abbel; 5. Conner Lee; 6. Sean McElearney; 7. Kyle Hewitt; 8. Lucas Vera; 9. Daniel Sell; 10. Kaleb Bradley; 11.Graham DeJarnett. Bandelero Outlaws Race No. 1 (20 laps): 1. Cameron Bolin; 2. Trevor Wester; 3. Ethan Norfleet; 4. Garrett Lowe; 5. Matt Emery; 6. Tommy Good; 7. Johnathan Lesik; 8. Justin Gareis; 9. Franklin Caricofe; 10. Jadyn Daniels; 11. Josh Speas; 12. Andrew Faircloth; 13. Ethan Johnson; 14. Tucker Scanlon; 15. Carson Ramsey; 16. Emily Day; 17. Garin Mash; 18. Jordan Plummer; 19. Chase Dixon; 20. David Sullivan; 21. Cam Johnson; 22. Blaise Maddox; 23. Isaak Love; 24. Benjamin Johnson; 25. Luke Akers; 26. Brandon Gantz. Bandelero Outlaws Race No. 2 (20 laps): 1. Tommy Good; 2. Cameron Bolin; 3. Ethan Norfleet; 4. Justin Gareis; 5. Tucker Scanlon; 6. Josh Speas; 7. Matt Emery; 8. Cameron Johnson; 9. Garrett Lowe; 10. Andrew Faircloth; 11. Cameron Murray; 12. Franklin Caricofe; 13. Jadyn Daniels; 14. Ethan Johnson; 15. Carson Ramsey; 16. Jordan Plummer; 17. Trevor Wester; 18. Isaak Love; 19. Benjamin Johnson; 20. Harin Mash; 21. Emily Day; 22. David Sullivan; 23. Luke Akers; 24. Johnathon Lesik; 25. Chase Dixon. Bandolero Bandits (20 laps): 1. Zack Miracle; 2. Leland Honeyman; 3. Landon Rapp; 4. Caden Kvapil; 5. Parker Eaton; 6. Stanley Hayes; 7. Conner Jones; 8. Santigo Hill; 9.Jaiden Reyna; 10. Kade Brown; 11. Zac Fowler; 12. Truett Miranda; 13. Jason Chapman; 14. Jacob Bradley; 15. Tyler Chapman.
Sossoman Tames Masters, 'Hurricane Al' Sweeps through Media Mayhem
Thursday, June 29, 2017