Photo CRedit: Alicia Hackett/Frameworks Photography
LUCAMA, NC – Andrew Grady got his redemption in Saturday night’s Summer KickOff presented by Bridgestone by sweeping twin Late Model features at Southern National Motorsports Park.
Grady had to start at or toward the back in both 50 lap features, but he found himself in victory lane after both races. Grady’s win came after being taken out in an accident in the Jerry Moody Memorial on May 17th.
“I made an unapproved change after qualifying, got put to the rear, drove back from last to win the first race,” Grady said. “The second race, that was fun. Beating and banging, leaning on each other. Just good, close short track racing. Hopefully we can win the rest of them from here on out. Good points night.”
Grady battled teammate Jonathan Findley in both races. In the first race, he got around Findley on a lap 16 restart and checked out to score his second win of the 2015 season. In the second race, Grady took the lead from Rusty Daniels on lap 26 but surrendered the lead to Findley on restart a few laps later. Findley pulled away but a caution with 10 laps to go would prove to be his undoing.
Findley held the lead on the initial restart but, coming out of turn four, Grady gave him shot sending him up the hill. Then, as Findley tried to retake the lead, the field stacked up, forcing Findley to lift and allowing Grady to drive away for his third win of the victory. While a pair of second place finishes were a career best performance for Findley, he felt like he could have and should have won.
“We should have won the last won,” Findley said. “Just, things happen in racing. It’s a shame. The car was really good in the second half. We were just waiting for the caution to come out. Saved my tires, got a good restart then, on the last restart, we just got screwed on it.”
Rusty Daniels finished third in both races.
“They had two good cars,” Daniels said. “This is only the third time out with this car. We’re still learning and working on it. We made some gains tonight and we’re going to make some more improvements for when we come back again. I’m kind of excited about coming back and trying again.”
Kenly driver Ronald Renfrow finished fourth in the first race while Tyler Matthews finished in fifth. In the second race, Brandon Hobbs finished fourth while Gerald Benton finished fifth.
The 15 lap Bandolero feature looked like Bristoldega with Josh Kossek scoring the victory in a race dominated by Kailey Murray and headlined by spectacular moments. Murray led a four car pack for much of the race but spun off the front bumper of Zack Lightfoot, triggering a spectacular crash that sent Kade Lambert airborne, ending his night. Murray raced her way back to second.
Buckshot Jones scored the win in a thrilling U-CAR feature, making the pass for the lead and the win with just three laps to go after watching a thrilling battle between Travis Miller, Brandon Allen and a handful of others.
“I knew I had the best car,” Jones said. “I’ve just got to thank everybody that helps me. I never thought when I put it in fifth gear, I’d come back and do this.”
Travis Green dominated the Charger race but was taken out of contention when he and Tom Sauls got together during a late race restart. Michael O’Brien capitalized on the opportunity to score the victory. Virginia drivers Jeff Stump and Jeff Davis scored the wins in the Virginia Mini Cup and Piedmont Mini Cup features respectively while Will Bristle scored his first win of the season in the Legends feature.
Southern National Motorsports Park will be back in action on Saturday night, June 27th for the Summer Heat Wave presented by Bridgestone featuring twin Late Model races as well as racing in the Charger, Legends, U-CAR and Bandolero divisions. The Piedmont Mini Cups will also be in action on June 27th.
For more information about Southern National Motorsports Park, check out SNMP’s website at www.snmpark.com, “like” Southern National Motorsports Park on Facebook or “follow” @SNM_Park on Twitter.
Race Results:
Late Model (Race #1):
1. #1 Andrew Grady
2. #4 Jonathan Findley
3. #16 Rusty Daniels
4. #07 Ronald Renfrow
5. #63 Tyler Matthews
6. #7 Dillon Spain
7. #55 Gerald Benton
8. #29 Melvin Langley
9. #19 Brandon Hobbs
Late Model (Race #2):
1. #1 Andrew Grady
2. #4 Jonathan Findley
3. #16 Rusty Daniels
4. #19 Brandon Hobbs
5. #55 Gerald Benton
6. #07 Ronald Renfrow
7. #63 Tyler Matthews
8. #29 Melvin Langley
9. #7 Dillon Spain
Chargers:
1. #61 Michael O’Brien
2. #31 Wayne Goss
3. #06 Al Coombs
4. #33 Jonathan Kornegay
5. #11 Travis Green
6. #29 Paul Williamson
7. #77 Nicholas Fulgham
8. #45 Tom Sauls
U-CARs:
1. #4 Buckshot Jones
2. #99 Travis Miller
3. #60 Lee Horner
4. #28 Tyler Horne
5. #77 Jamie Tucker
6. #18 Aaron Miller
7. #8 Mike Lucas
8. #14 David Wiggins
9. #03 Greg Wood
10. #89 John Ordiway
11. #01 Chad Scott
12. #86 Brandon Allen
13. #08 Joseph Pittman
14. #14b Hailey Wilson
15. #1 Alex Whatley — DNS
Legends:
1. #91 Will Bristle
2. #30 Billy Hall
3. #10 Justin Mitchell
4. #24 Mason Diaz
5. #84 Tony Mangini
6. #11 Chris Stancil
7. #110 Kade Lambert
8. #12 Eric Courtney
9. #7 Kevin Jeffreys
10. #29 Brandon Rice
11. #88 Zack Brown
Bandoleros:
1. #44 Josh Kossek
2. #81 Kailey Murray
3. #7 Zack Lightfoot
4. #07 DJ Elzey
5. #31 Cole Bruce
6. #51 Ethan Johnson
7. #19 Jaiden Reyna
8. #12 Savannah Beasley
9. #42 Jacob Bradley
10. #24 Kaleb Bradley
11. #06 Camryn Rice
12. #110 Kade Lambert
13. #25 Dustin Yeoman
14. #11 Tailor Wilson
Piedmont Mini Cup Racing Association:
1. #81 Jeff Davis
2. #93 Eric Coomes
3. #8 Russell Bush
4. #70 Jeff Stump
5. #66 Andy Lombi
6. #3 Brett Suggs
7. #36 Ryan Sharp
8. #6 Matt Howell
9. #40 Thomas Heavey
10. #01 Doug Watts
Virginia Mini Cup Racing Association:
1. #70 Jeff Stump
2. #7 Tim Brown
3. #09 Kevin Berkstresser
4. #01 Doug Watts
5. #21 Tyler Roach
6. #28 Loran Legacy
7. #19 Corey Berkstresser
8. #08 Jimmy Grady
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Andy Marquis
Editor/Content Manager: RACE22.com
Media Relations: Southern National Motorsports Park
Office: 919.284.1114 | Cell: 252.281.3945
Email: andymarquis@gmail.com
Twitter: @amarquis32
