By James Stewart
May 14 dawned as a bright, sunny day, no rain in the forecast for the first time in 2 weeks! When Tim Brown broke the track record opening week, he said he felt that he left something on the track. Would a new qualifying record come tonight? The day was sunny but unseasonably cool with highs only in the 60’s. When the gates opened and the cars took the track for practice, the track didn’t seem as sticky as it did the first week. Of course 2 weeks with lots of rain can do that! The modifieds would be running the Kevin Powell Motorsports 100 later in the night, and as with all 100 lap races at the Stadium, the qualifying was just for the record books as the field would be set by a draw. This year, as a result of the popularity of it last year, is the fans challenge. The top 4 modified qualifiers can decide if they will give up drawing and choose to start in the back. If they can race their way into a top 4 finish they have a chance at an extra $3000.
The first qualifier out was J points leader John Smith and his lap of 13.7 told us that a new track record would not come tonight. And when Jason Myers, who had the most poles last year, posted a 13.9, you knew it wasn’t going to happen. Tim Brown won the pole with a 13.4, followed by Brandon Ward, Dean Ward, and Burt Myers. Only Dean Ward accepted the fans challenge and if he could finish in the top 4 would get the whole $3000!
The nights first race was a 20 lap race for the Street Stocks. 2 time champion Doug Wall started from the pole with 22-year-old female driver Taylor Robbins on the outside. When the green flag unfurled, the two drag raced into turn one, with Robbins pulling into the lead. 3 years ago Robbins led the first 19 laps of a race and received the white flag when an accident happened and when she came off turn 4 the yellow flag was waving instead of the checkers. NASCAR rules clearly state that once the white flag is given, the race is over if a caution comes out and the next flag will be the checkered. But BG has its own rules sometimes and this one cost Robbins the win as she got beat into turn one on the final restart and lost the race. Robbins was pulling away from the field tonight and by lap 8 was nearly a straightaway ahead when the caution came out for a spin. Robbins again jumped into the lead and was pulling away when the another caution came on lap 15 as 5 or 6 cars piled up in turn 2 including the cars that were running 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. This allowed 2015 Street Stock champion Derrick Rice to move into 2nd place and when the green fell Robbins jumped with Rice on her back bumper.
These 2 drivers battled many times years ago in a karting series and as they came around to complete lap 19 another caution came out. Rice would have 1 lap to try to beat Robbins. I’m sure Taylor was thinking deja vu, but while the wreck was being cleaned up, the 20 minute time limit for the race expired, and Taylor Robbins had captured her first win at Bowman Gray Stadium!! The entire crowd was cheering for her!! She became only the 3rd female to win a race at BG, the others being Glenda Merritt in the Blunderbust and Street in the 80’s, and Susan Kimel in the Street in the 90’s. Almost 20 years later and Taylor joined this exclusive group! I look for more wins from her! Congrats to Taylor on her win!
The next race up would be the first 20 lap race for the Sportsman series. Jeff Garrison and Billy Gregg would start from the front row. When the green flag fell Tommy Neal’s car failed to get up to speed and John Holleman went for the hole between Neal and Robbie Brewer making it 3 wide in turn 1. That usually doesn’t fare well at BG and Brewer spun. Since 1 lap was not completed, there would be a complete restart. On the next start Garrison jumped into the lead and Tommy Neal’s ailing car fell to the inside allowing traffic to go by. He would run the entire race this way collecting points. Garrison’s lead was short-lived as Zack Clifton took the lead on lap 6 and cruised to his 2nd win of the year.
Next up was the KP Motorsports 100 for the modifieds. Chris Fleming had drawn the pole with Burt Myers drawing the outside, Brandon Ward 3rd, and Jonathan Brown 4th. Jason Myers would start 10th and Tim Brown 13th. Dean Ward would start shotgun as the only top 4 qualifier to accept the challenge. Chris Fleming rocketed into the lead with Brandon Ward slipping inside of Burt Myers to take 2nd place. Myers settled into 3rd and Bobo Brown got inside his brother Jonathan for 4th. Shortly after the start Dean Ward’s night and bid for the extra money was over after contact with another car heavily damaged Ward’s car. The $3000 bonus will be added to the next 100 lap race June 4 where the bonus will be $6000!! A caution at lap 49 allowed Myers to get around BWard on the restart, but Fleming once again jumped into the lead ahead of Myers, BWard, and BBrown. That’s the way the race would finish with Fleming, who is running part-time this year, winning his first race since August of 2014. Tim Brown finished 9th and Jason Myers 10th.
The 2nd Sportsman race started with Zack Ore and Kevin Neal as a result of the madhouse scramble draw from the first race. When the modified and sportsman divisions run 2 races in 1 night, the winner draws an even number 8-16 out of a hat to see how many cars will be inverted for the 2nd race, thus the name the madhouse scramble. Clifton drew the number 8 after the first race. This race was pretty much uneventful as Zack Ore led all 20 laps for his first win of the year. Clifton raced from 8th to as high as 3rd in his bid to win the double before John Holleman passed him with 2 laps to go and Clifton finished 4th.
AJ Sanders won his 2nd race of the year in the first stadium stock series race and Bryan Sykes won the 2nd stadium stock race
AJ Sanders won his 2nd race of the year in the first stadium stock series race and Bryan Sykes won the 2nd stadium stock race
Jeff Moser won a 10 lap skid race.
Next up May 21 is the annual 50 lap event for the street stocks, this year the Whelen 50. There will be twin 25 lap modified races, twin 20 lap races for the sportsman, 2 15 lap races for the stadium stocks and a chain race. where 2 cars are chained together, the lead car with an engine and no brakes and the rear car with brakes and no engine. If the chain breaks, you’re out. Always a fun race to watch! See you there!
Kevin Powell Motorsports 100
Kevin Powell Motorsports 100
| FINISH | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 16 | Chris Fleming |
| 2 | 1 | Burt Myers |
| 3 | 04 | Brandon Ward |
| 4 | 2 | Joseph Brown |
| 5 | 22 | Jonathan Brown |
| 6 | 77 | Lee Jeffreys |
| 7 | 87 | Mike Speeney |
| 8 | 27 | Joe Ryan Osborne |
| 9 | 83 | Tim Brown |
| 10 | 4 | Jason Myers |
| 11 | 53 | John Smith |
| 12 | 50 | Michael Clifton |
| 13 | 18 | Daniel Yates |
| 14 | 66 | Ronnie Clifton |
| 15 | 11 | Junior Miller |
| 16 | 5 | Randy Butner |
| 17 | 71 | Dean Ward |
Sportsman Results
Race One
Race Two
| FINISH | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 81 | Zack Clifton |
| 2 | 3 | Jeff Garrison |
| 3 | 28 | Billy Gregg |
| 4 | 4 | John Holleman |
| 5 | 68 | Robbie Brewer |
| 6 | 21 | Tommy Neal |
| 7 | 07 | Kevin Neal |
| 8 | 55 | Zack Ore |
| 9 | 7 | Dylan Ward |
| 10 | 12 | Justin Taylor |
| 11 | 26 | Michael Tilley |
| 12 | 0 | Michael Adams |
| 13 | 70 | Noah Triplett |
| 14 | 31 | Mike Robertson |
| 15 | 72 | Bryant Robertson |
| 16 | 11 | Wayne Hill |
| 17 | 92 | Kyle Southern |
| 18 | 14 | Darren Jordan |
| 19 | 41 | Terry Thompson |
| 20 | 19 | Rob Dixon |
Race Two
| FINISH | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 55 | Zack Ore |
| 2 | 07 | Kevin Neal |
| 3 | 4 | John Holleman |
| 4 | 81 | Zack Clifton |
| 5 | 68 | Robbie Brewer |
| 6 | 0 | Michael Adams |
| 7 | 28 | Billy Gregg |
| 8 | 3 | Jeff Garrison |
| 9 | 12 | Justin Taylor |
| 10 | 31 | Mike Robertson |
| 11 | 26 | Michael Tilley |
| 12 | 11 | Wayne Hill |
| 13 | 7 | Dylan Ward |
| 14 | 70 | Noah Triplett |
| 15 | 92 | Kyle Southern |
| 16 | 21 | Tommy Neal |
| 17 | 72 | Bryant Robertson |
Street Stock results
| FINISH | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 40 | Taylor Robbins |
| 2 | 20 | Derrick Rice |
| 3 | 19 | Tom Zachary |
| 4 | 97 | Jeremy Warren |
| 5 | 50 | Austin Edwards |
| 6 | 30 | Blake Shupe |
| 7 | 7 | Jamie Byrd |
| 8 | 13 | Kevin Gilbert |
| 9 | 14 | Aaron Hylton |
| 10 | 69 | Gerald Robinson Jr |
| 11 | 2 | Willie Wall |
| 12 | 12 | Doug Wall |
| 13 | 22 | Brian Wall |
| 14 | 29 | Bradley Potts |
| 15 | 49 | Phillip Jones |
| 16 | 24 | Chris Thomas |
| 17 | 5 | Spencer Martin |
| 18 | 16 | Brad Lewis |
| 19 | 1 | Jasper Sumner |
| 20 | 10 | Zach Linville |
| 21 | 52 | Fletcher Whaley |
| 22 | 0 | Kirk Sheets |
| 23 | 17 | Jeremiah Simonis |
Stadium Stock Results from May 14
Race One
Race Two
| FINISH | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 24 | A.J. Sanders |
| 2 | 10 | David Hopkins |
| 3 | 17 | Andy Southern |
| 4 | 62 | Kevin Hedgecock |
| 5 | 76 | Billy Cameron Jr |
| 6 | 38 | Christopher Joyce |
| 7 | 48 | Junior Smith |
| 8 | 68 | Tyler Bush |
| 9 | 22 | Adam Thomas |
| 10 | 23 | Andy Spears |
| 11 | 27 | Austin Cates |
| 12 | 83 | Shane Tuttle |
| 13 | 54 | Justin Owens |
Race Two
| FINISH | CAR | DRIVER |
| 1 | 97 | Bryan Sykes |
| 2 | 77 | Randy McElveen |
| 3 | 71 | Auston McElveen |
| 4 | 30 | Stephen Sanders |
| 5 | 02 | Wesley Thompson |
| 6 | 81 | Chuck Wall |
| 7 | 09 | Tim Evans |
| 8 | 7 | Barry Wilson |
| 9 | 06 | Derek Sheets |
| 10 | 14 | Ken Bridges |
| 11 | 88 | Ronnie Cranfill |
| 12 | 31 | Zack Staley |
| 13 | 29 | Cody Arrington |
| 14 | 40 | Brandon Brendle |
