Lowe Strikes in Hickory Return: Late-Race Surge Upends Roster in Penultimate Round

Hickory, NC — James Lowe completed a spectacular charge from the 16th starting position to capture the victory in the penultimate round of the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at Hickory Motor Speedway. The 100-lap feature dramatically reshaped the championship hunt as a multi-car accident late in the event altered the path to the title.

The race began with an all-Hilbert front row, as Tom Hilbert started on the pole flanked by his brother, Steve Hilbert. However, the family advantage was short-lived; Jeffery Hardin wasted no time charging from third to the lead within the first four corners. While Hardin established himself at the front, Tom Hilbert lost control and spun off turn two while running in second place. Ruben Altice, the championship points leader, narrowly avoided the incident with a quick high-line maneuver to protect his car.

For the majority of the event, Hardin appeared untouchable, leading every lap through the halfway mark. Behind him, the field scrambled for position as Adam Schoen made a massive early move from ninth to third. The primary storyline of the mid-race was the return of James Lowe following a three-race suspension. Starting deep in the field, Lowe methodically picked his way through traffic. By lap 30, he had entered the top ten, though his progress was momentarily slowed by a multi-car incident involving Luke Logan Allen and John Wilson.

As the laps clicked away, the focus shifted to the tight championship battle between Ruben Altice and Louis Flowers. Altice maintained a steady position in the top three, while Flowers struggled to move forward from seventh, desperate to bridge the thin gap in the standings. Todd Liston, also in the title conversation, challenged Altice fiercely for second place during the middle stages, attempting to use the inside line before Altice eventually prevailed on the high side.

The complexion of the race changed on lap 86 when a massive pile-up triggered a late caution. The wreck claimed several front-runners, most notably Louis Flowers, dealing a severe blow to his championship hopes. During this caution, scoring rules awarded James Lowe the second position for the restart. This placed Lowe on the outside of the dominant leader, Jeffery Hardin, for the final sprint to the finish.

On the restart, Hardin’s tires began to fade, and he struggled to keep his car from drifting up the track. James Lowe used the high line to muscle his way alongside Hardin, eventually clearing him with five laps to go. While Lowe checked out to claim the victory in his return, Hardin continued to lose grip, surrendering second place to Altice on the final lap. John Wilson rounded out the podium in third, followed by Kyle Feimster and Todd Liston in the top five. With only the season finale remaining at Southern National, Ruben Altice sits in prime position to claim the series championship.

Hardin Untouchable at Hickory: Chaos Reigns Behind Super Late Model Winner

Hickory, NC — Jeffery Hardin delivered a masterful performance at Hickory Motor Speedway, leading nearly every lap of the 100-lap feature to secure the victory in Round 10 of the Bootleg Racing League’s Bushtalk Radio Super Late Model Series. The race, marking the penultimate round of Season 27, intensified the championship battle heading into next week’s finale.

The night began with championship implications front and center. Jeffery Hardin secured the pole position, flanked by title contender Luke Logan Allen, while points rival Louis Flowers started third. Notably absent from the grid was Chris Worrell, who has seemingly stepped away from the cockpit following recent disciplinary actions. Conversely, James Lowe made his return to the track after serving a month-long suspension for poor sportsmanship, though he is mathematically out of the title hunt.

From the drop of the green flag, the historic North Carolina short track proved treacherous. A flurry of caution periods plagued the event, sweeping nearly every driver in the field into the ensuing mayhem at some point during the night. Amidst the carnage, Allen’s early pace faded, causing him to slide into the bottom half of the top ten during the final stages.

Throughout the chaos, Hardin remained under immense pressure from Flowers, who refused to grant the leader any breathing room. Hardin lost the top spot only once—briefly under a caution period early in the event—but instantly reclaimed it on the subsequent restart.

Hardin held off every challenge to cross the finish line first, making a statement victory before the season epilogue. Flowers protected his championship hopes by finishing a strong second, while a hard-charging Chris Davis completed the podium in third. James Lowe overcame his long absence to scrape out a fourth-place finish, and Kurt Smith rounded out the top five.

Sirois Masters the Glen: Fuel Savings and Canadian 1-2 Highlight Watkins Glen Battle

Watkins Glen, NY — The second round of the ISRA Retro Series took place at the legendary Watkins Glen International, returning the classic Lotus 79 to its natural road course environment. Precision and bravery were paramount as a 20-driver field tackled the high-speed twists, though only 19 took the green flag after Hunter Funderburke failed to start.

Alex Guyon secured the pole position, flanked on the front row by teammate David Sirois, with Michael Goodman and previous winner Richie Hearn lined up in the second row. The standing start immediately shook up the order; while Guyon launched from the pole, he fell back to fourth early, allowing Sirois to take the lead. The start was not without drama, as Lionel Calisto was involved in a collision and forced into an early pit stop for damage control. Meanwhile, Ryan O’Donoghue and David Dunwoody suffered contact in the opening laps, which eventually led to O’Donoghue’s retirement from the race.

As Sirois established a gap of approximately 2.2 seconds at the front, a tight battle for second place emerged between Hearn, Goodman, and Guyon. The trailing drivers initially avoided aggressive fighting to prevent Sirois from pulling further away. Further back, a fierce five-car battle for fifth place developed between Chris Stofer, Justin Kirby, Craig Forsythe, Matt Wagner, and a hard-charging Lionel Calisto. Mechanical issues also claimed early victims, with Jim Herrick suffering a loose wheel and contact with the wall, forcing him to limp into the pits and fall a lap down.

The 55-minute timed race required a one-stop strategy for the field. Justin Kirby was the first to blink, pitting on lap 14 in an attempt to perform an undercut. The lead pack—Sirois, Goodman, Hearn, and Guyon—answered the call for service around lap 18. However, the race was decided in the pit lane for two top contenders; both Richie Hearn and Michael Goodman were assessed stop-and-hold penalties for speeding upon exiting the pits, effectively removing them from podium contention.

As the race entered its final quarter, fuel mileage became the central narrative. David Sirois, who had built a massive lead, began to lose time as he was forced to nurse his car to ensure he could reach the finish, later admitting he was short on fuel for the last two laps of his first stint just to make it to his pit box. The tension peaked on the final lap when Rodrigo Munoz ran out of gas, surrendering his position in the top ten.

David Sirois crossed the finish line to take the victory, leading a French-Canadian 1-2 finish with teammate Alex Guyon in second place. Lionel Calisto surged from a 15th-place starting position to finish third and round out the podium, capitalizing on the mid-race pit lane chaos. Chris Stofer and Matt Wagner completed the top five. The series heads next to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for round three, where drivers will have to contend with the Magic Mile.

Essary Shines in the Irish Hills and Secures Michigan Victory

Brooklyn, MI — The OBRL YesterYear Gen 4 Cup Series Round 15 at Michigan International Speedway brought 30 cars to the Irish Hills for a high-speed, 100-lap feature. Known for its wide racing surface and speeds topping 205 mph, the two-mile oval demanded a blend of finesse and tire management as drivers grappled with significant aero dependency and heavy rubber fall-off.

Tom Ogle led the field to the green flag from the pole position alongside Michael Everhart. Ogle secured the early jump, but the field quickly fanned out multi-wide behind him. The first caution flew on lap four when Allen Wannamaker got loose and made heavy contact with Randy Schuler, prompting an early pit strategy gamble from Ralph Blair and Larry Corey. When the race restarted, Ogle maintained his lead under heavy pressure from Everhart and Scott Negus, with Everhart managing to nose ahead to lead lap 13 on the inside.

As the first long green-flag run progressed, tire degradation became evident as lap times dropped by nearly a second after 20 laps of hard driving. Dwayne McArthur and Cortney Nelson began to showcase their long-run skills, with Nelson moving to the inside of Ogle to take the point late in the stint. Green-flag pit stops began around lap 38. Cortney Nelson attempted an overcut strategy by staying out until lap 41, but the move didn’t pay off, dropping him to sixth after cycling through the pits.

The race’s second caution occurred on lap 46 for a significant multi-car wreck involving Kenny Allen, Jeffery Lyden, and Dave Matson. This prompted the entire field to pit for fresh tires and fuel, leaving Larry Corey on an alternate strategy to inherit the lead. The subsequent restart was short-lived; while Eric Essary jumped to the front, another caution erupted when Jack Jagerman got loose, triggering a pileup that collected Wannamaker and Torrance Childs.

The final green-flag segment began around lap 60. Greg McDaniel led the field after taking fuel only, but his older tires and fuel-saving needs allowed the pack to reel him in. With 15 laps to go, the battle for the win intensified between Tom Ogle and Eric Essary. Essary utilized the bottom lane to complete a pass on Ogle, taking the lead as the race became a desperate fuel-saving mission. Eric Essary pulled away in the closing laps to claim his fifth win of the season, while Tom Ogle ran completely out of fuel crossing the line to hold onto second. Cortney Nelson completed the podium in third, securing a redemption finish following his heartbreaking outing at Pocono.

Wilson Conquers the Desert as Caution-Free Night Reshapes the Championship Hunt

Las Vegas, NV — The Bootleg Racing League Late Model Invitational Series headed to the desert for Round 9 of Season 34 at The Bullring at Las Vegas. The event was framed by high stakes in the championship battle, as point leader Chris Worrell was absent, leaving the door wide open for Ruben Altice and Louis Flowers to seize the lead in the standings.

The race began with a surprising shift on the starting grid; while Kurt Smith was slated for the pole, he failed to grid in time, moving John Wilson to the top spot alongside Flowers. As the green flag waved over the 0.375-mile track, Wilson took the initial lead, but he was soon under pressure from Joe Segalla. Segalla, returning to the series after some time away, showed strong short-run pace, moving up four spots early to take the lead and pull away from the field.

For the middle portion of the 100-lap event, Segalla dominated the pace, leading a total of 52 laps. Behind him, the championship contenders were forced to be patient. Ruben Altice sat in third, saving his equipment while watching Wilson and Segalla battle ahead. Meanwhile, the sun began to dip low over the Nevada sky, cooling the track temperature and assisting handling as the field navigated heavy lap traffic.

The turning point of the race occurred around lap 60. Wilson, who had been patiently stalking Segalla, finally saw an opening as Segalla’s tires began to fade. Wilson drove underneath his competitor to reclaim the lead, a move that allowed the trailing pack to close in. Shortly after, Todd Liston and Adam Schoen began their charge, with Liston moving past Segalla and Altice into the second position.

In a historic display of discipline for the league, the race went 100 laps wire-to-wire without a single caution flag. This forced the drivers to manage their tire equity and focus on long-run speed. While Kurt Smith’s night ended early due to a technical disconnection, the rest of the field remained remarkably clean despite the tight quarters of the Bullring.

John Wilson cruised to the finish line with a nearly two-second gap, securing his third career victory and his first Saturday broadcast win in quite some time. Todd Liston capped off a resilient performance to finish second, noting after the race that he might have had something for Wilson if the race had been just five laps longer. Adam Schoen completed the podium in third after an impressive charge from the 10th starting position.

The championship hunt saw a significant shift as well; Ruben Altice finished fifth, a result that propels him into the points lead heading into Round 10 at Hickory Motor Speedway. Tre Blohm finished fourth, while Louis Flowers took sixth, and Joe Segalla hung on for a seventh-place finish after his dominant early-run performance. Following the race, Wilson credited his win to patience, stating he simply waited for Segalla to drift up before making the winning pass.

Altice Breaks Through at Las Vegas Following Opening-Lap Chaos

Las Vegas, NV — The Bootleg Racing League Super Late Model Series took to the high-stakes environment of The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a chaotic and historic 100-lap feature. With 17 cars on the grid and the season championship wide open, the tight short track promised intense racing where the slightest throttle mistake could prove costly.

Steve Hilbert started on the pole, but the green flag immediately brought disaster. On the opening lap, Hilbert lost the backend of his car on cold tires, triggering a massive six-car pile-up that involved Joe Segalla and Adam Schoen. Amidst the smoke, Ruben Altice navigated the wreckage to climb 12 spots instantly and inherit the lead. A second caution quickly followed when Hilbert was involved in another incident with Charles Roth and Joseph Snyder. Shortly after, a third yellow flag flew when points leader Louis Flowers drifted into Jeffery Hardin and slammed into the tire barrier, continuing a nightmare evening where Flowers was involved in every early caution.

Once the field settled into a rhythm, the battle for the win became a three-way contest between Altice, Mark Hertzog, and Tre Blohm. While Altice held a slim lead, drivers contended with a disorienting sun glare on the back straightaway and treacherous rumble strips on the apron. Tre Blohm pressured Hertzog for second early on, but his handling faded due to an aggressive front brake strategy, allowing Hertzog to reclaim the spot and begin a relentless pursuit of Altice.

The championship contenders faced a grueling night of attrition. Luke Logan Allen dealt with an ill-handling car and heavy damage but fought to stay on the lead lap to protect his points position over the struggling Flowers. Meanwhile, Todd Liston, who was forced to start from pit road due to technical difficulties, methodically picked up positions as other drivers fell victim to incidents.

As the laps ticked down, the track surface became increasingly slick. With 15 laps to go, Altice and Hertzog were separated by mere car lengths while navigating heavy lap traffic. A tense moment occurred near the end when Hertzog collided with a lapped Luke Logan Allen, overheating his right-front tire and ending his chance to make a pass for the lead. Despite a brief connection blink on the final lap, Ruben Altice held steady to cross the finish line first. This marked a monumental milestone for Altice, securing his first-ever victory in the series in his 55th career attempt.

Mark Hertzog finished second, followed by Tre Blohm in third and Adam Schoen in fourth. John Wilson completed the top five. Mike Corriveau impressed with a sixth-place finish in his series debut, while Jeffery Hardin secured the pole position for the next event at Hickory Motor Speedway due to the field inversion.

Allen Dominates The Rock: Zero-Caution Shootout Secures Issacs and Jamieson All-Star Transfer Spots

Rockingham, NC — The Hooligan 125 at Rockingham Speedway served as a high-stakes shootout presented by the Red Light Racing League, delivering a flag-to-flag green-flag run that tested the endurance of the field. The 125-lap event featured Super Late Models tackling the abrasive and high-banked D-shaped oval known as The Rock, where heavy tire wear made right-front conservation the ultimate priority.

The 15-driver field was led to green by pole-sitter Luke Logan Allen, flanked by Roger Hurley on the front row, with Tony Strano and Brian Neff lining up in row two. At the drop of the green flag, Allen immediately flexed his muscle, opening a 1.4-second lead over the pack. Behind him, the field struggled to find a rhythm as drivers battled for position while trying to manage the treacherous exit of turn two, which frequently pushed cars toward the outside wall.

Early drama struck when Jeffery Hardin and Josh Buckley were involved in a significant incident. Buckley suffered a connection issue, leaving Hardin with nowhere to go in turn three, ending Hardin’s night prematurely. As the race progressed, the track surface heavily punished the right-front tires. Drivers enjoyed excellent grip for the first 25 laps before performance plateaued, forcing a strategic decision on when to pit for fresh rubber.

Chris Davis was the first front-runner to gamble, pitting around lap 55 to utilize fresh tires. Just past the halfway point, leader Luke Logan Allen struck the wall hard off turn two, sustaining visible body damage that shrunk his lead by two seconds. Despite the impact, Allen remained on track until lap 70, joining the majority of the field in the pits. Ethan Troutman briefly inherited the lead by attempting a long fuel-stretching strategy, but his hope for a caution went unrewarded. Once Troutman pitted on lap 79, Allen regained a commanding six-second lead.

With Allen and Sean Single already locked into the upcoming All-Star race at Indianapolis, the real battle centered on the remaining transfer spots. The closing stages featured a fierce three-way battle for the podium between Single, Jerry Isaacs, and Mark Poe. Isaacs, running in the transfer position, clipped the front-stretch wall late, sustaining toe damage that allowed Poe to close within half a second in the final five laps.

Luke Logan Allen cruised to a dominant victory, leading the vast majority of the caution-free race. Sean Single finished second, while Jerry Isaacs successfully fended off Poe to secure third and earn his invitation to the All-Star race. Glenn Jamieson earned the final transfer spot by capturing the Hard Charger honors, gaining six positions to finish eighth. The qualifiers now transition from the Super Late Models to Dallara IR18 to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks.

Hearn Triumphs at Homestead: Flag-to-Flag Green Opens Retro Series Season

Homestead, FL — The opening round of the ISRA Retro Series Season 2 kicked off at the palm-tree-lined Homestead-Miami Speedway with a thrilling 75-minute timed showcase. This throwback campaign features the classic Lotus 79, a 1979 Formula 1 machine adapted for oval competition that rewards aerodynamic faith and high-speed commitment. Competitors raced with fixed setups, meaning they had no modern hybrid systems or push-to-pass tools, relying purely on race craft.

David Sirois secured the pole position, flanked by Chris Stofer in second. The green flag saw an immediate three-wide stampede into turn one as tires warmed up. While Sirois led the opening moments, Stofer executed an early pass to the inside to take the point. The racing quickly developed a pack-racing rhythm on the straights as drivers utilized the draft to save fuel. Matt Wagner, starting from the third row, mounted a strong charge to become the third distinct leader of the race by lap 28.

Because the Lotus 79 is equipped with a small fuel tank and a slow refueling rate, pit strategy became the deciding factor. The first pit window opened around lap 40, with Stofer and Christopher Ragan being the first to peel off. Hugo Galaz attempted an alternate strategy, pitting very early and falling two laps down in hopes of a caution that never came. Drivers faced the technical challenge of manually controlling their speed on pit road without pit limiters. Richie Hearn and Craig Forsythe gained an advantage during the mid-race cycles by staying out longer than Stofer.

Throughout the middle stages, Stofer and Forsythe engaged in a ferocious over-under battle for the lead, constantly swapping positions coming out of turn four. However, Stofer’s aggressive pace and early pit stops backfired. By the final stint, he had fallen back to lead the trailing pack, leaving the victory to be contested by Hearn, Forsythe, and Sirois.

In the final pit cycle, Richie Hearn made a decisive move by taking only a right-front tire to minimize his time stationary. David Sirois executed a lightning-fast 19-second stop to emerge as a major threat, while Craig Forsythe fell out of the lead battle after an over-fueling error cost him two seconds. Because it was a timed race, drivers had to calculate exactly when the white flag would fall to manage their remaining fuel. In a remarkable display of discipline, the entire 75-minute race ran flag-to-flag without a single caution flag.

Richie Hearn took the checkered flag, having led a race-high 63 laps. He credited his win to his pit strategy and precise fuel calculations. David Sirois finished a close second, followed by Craig Forsythe in third. Michael Goodman earned highest climber honors by advancing 12 spots to finish fourth, while Alex Guyon rounded out the top five. In post-race interviews, the podium finishers expressed their appreciation for the pure racing offered by the Lotus 79 over modern hybrid machinery. The series continues next Monday as the drivers transition to the road course at Watkins Glen.

Watkins Masters the Tricky Triangle: Late Restarts and Clean Air Steal Pocono Win

Long Pond, PA — The OBRL YesterYear Gen 4 Cup Series Round 14 at Pocono Raceway featured high-stakes strategy and a dramatic late-race shift in momentum during a 90-lap battle at the Tricky Triangle. Cortney Nelson started on the pole after a blistering qualifying lap, leading a field of 900-horsepower machines onto the new, smooth repave of the challenging three-turn circuit.

The action began immediately as Tom Ogle challenged Nelson on the opening lap, but the first caution flew almost instantly when a multi-car wreck erupted in turn one involving Kevin Strandberg and Rick Nitz. Once the race resumed, Nelson established himself as the class of the field, building a lead of nearly three seconds. Behind him, the race was characterized by extreme tire wear, forcing drivers to manage their equipment as the cars became greasy and slippery deep into the runs. While Nelson dominated the front, Dan Hill and Jack Jagerman provided the excitement in the mid-pack, both making massive climbs from the rear of the grid.

The race’s complexion changed during the final stint. A caution caused by an equipment failure for Gavin Adams bunched the field and set up a strategic gamble. On the ensuing pit stops, Greg McDaniel took only two tires to leapfrog into the lead, while the rest of the leaders, including Matt Watkins and Cortney Nelson, opted for four. On the restart with 14 laps to go, Watkins used his fresh rubber to muscle past McDaniel for the lead. Meanwhile, the longtime leader Nelson struggled significantly in dirty air and traffic for the first time all night, eventually falling all the way back to a 14th-place finish.

A late-race incident between Eric Essary and Robert Guarisco triggered a final yellow flag, setting up a high-tension Green-White-Checkered finish. Matt Watkins and Tom Ogle lined up on the front row for the two-lap dash. Watkins got a perfect jump on the restart, clearing Ogle into turn one and maintaining clean air to secure the victory.

Matt Watkins took the win, crediting a fast final pit stop and the advantage of clean air for his victory. Tom Ogle finished second, noting that while he was fast earlier in the race, he couldn’t overcome Watkins on the final restart. Dwayne McArthur rounded out the podium in third, surviving a terrible green-flag pit stop earlier in the night to finish strong. Dan Hill earned highest climber honors, finishing fourth after starting 27th—an impressive gain of 23 positions. Kelvin Masur completed the top five after a late-race surge. Despite leading the most laps, Cortney Nelson was the night’s biggest victim of the late-race cautions, proving that you only need to lead the final lap.

Schoen’s Patient Strategy Pays Off at Kern: Calculated Decline and Late Surge Secures First Win

Bakersfield, CA — The Bootleg Racing League Late Model Invitational Series visited Kern Raceway for Round 8 of Season 34. The event was marked by significant pre-race drama, as three-time champion James Lowe and current points leader Chris Worrell were both serving suspensions for unsportsmanlike behavior, leaving the championship race wide open for a new face to find victory lane on the high-banked short track.

The race format consisted of 100 laps with a 13-car invert based on previous results, placing Ruben Altice on the pole alongside Adam Schoen. When the green flag dropped, Altice jumped out to an early lead, while Tre Blohm quickly worked his way into second place, setting the fastest lap of the race early on. The initial stages saw a mix of strategies; while Altice held the point, Schoen deliberately drifted back through the field to conserve his tire equity for a late-race charge. The first caution came out when Kenny Allen spun after joining the race several laps late, and a second caution followed shortly after when Darryl Wineinger hit the wall in an incident involving Steve Hilbert.

As the race neared the halfway mark, Matt Hoose became the story of the night. Starting from the very back of the 15-car field, Hoose utilized an incredibly fast car to carve through the competition, moving up 12 spots into the top five. He challenged the leaders, including Todd Liston, who had taken the lead from Altice on lap 31. However, Hoose’s charge ended prematurely on lap 64 when he spun off turn two, bringing out the third caution of the night.

Following the restart, the race became a battle of attrition and tire management. Louis Flowers, looking to capitalize on Worrell’s absence to take over the points lead, moved into second and began hounding Liston. Meanwhile, Adam Schoen began his predicted climb back toward the front. The intensity peaked on lap 82 when Schoen and Altice collided while battling for position, sending Altice into a spin and bringing out another caution. While Altice argued he was in a controlled slide before the contact, Schoen maintained he had nowhere to go as Altice lost momentum.

The race restarted for a final sprint with only eight laps remaining. Liston, who had led for 67 laps, faced immediate pressure from Flowers and Schoen. In the closing stages, the battle turned into a door-to-door slugfest between Liston and Schoen. The two cars touched coming off turn four with three laps to go, causing Liston to lose momentum and allowing Schoen to power into the lead.

Adam Schoen cruised to his first victory of the season and the fourth of his career. Tre Blohm made a late charge to secure second place, finishing just 0.093 seconds behind the winner, while a disappointed Todd Liston settled for third. In post-race interviews, Schoen revealed the success of his patient strategy, noting he still had 80% of his tire life remaining at the finish. Liston acknowledged the nature of short-track racing, stating he ultimately couldn’t hold off Schoen’s fresher tires.