BRL LM S22 R4 Recap

22 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 4
Late Model Series | Martinsville Speedway

At Martinsville Speedway, the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series saw Matt Hoose from Thunder Ridge Racing take the checkered flag in a thrilling race. Hoose began the race from the pole position, while other notable drivers included Todd Liston, Donny Moore, Mike Holloway, Jeffery Hardin, and Kurt Smith, who started from various positions on the grid. As the green flag waved, Hoose took an early lead, with Lowell Jewell hot on his heels. However, the field was chaotic in the opening laps, with drivers struggling to settle into a single-file formation. Joe Segalla found himself stuck on the outside, losing positions to other drivers.

Holloway, on the other hand, quickly made up positions and began to climb through the field, with Hardin following suit. Segalla was eventually able to slot into the inside line in 13th and started his climb back up the field. Despite the challenges from other drivers, Hoose was able to maintain a 1-second lead over the rest of the field in the first 15 laps of the race. Unfortunately, a lap traffic incident caused a pile-up in turn 4, which collected several drivers, including Jeffery Hardin, Kurt Smith, and Adam Schoen, and brought out the first caution on lap 23.

After the restart on lap 29, Hoose again took the lead, with Bruce Pearson battling Jewell for 2nd. However, contact in the middle of the field brought out another quick caution, which halted the action. The racing resumed on lap 35, with Jewell eventually taking 2nd place from Pearson, while Hoose quickly pulled away again. Holloway, who had been climbing through the field quietly, was up to 4th place as the drivers crossed the halfway point of the race.

On lap 62, Darryl Wineinger tried to pass Donny Moore for 5th place, but contact caused a blockage on the track, which collected multiple drivers who couldn’t avoid the incident in time. This caused another caution flag, but Hoose was still in control of the field, with Jewell in 2nd. Holloway quickly took 3rd place from Pearson as the green flag came back out and started pressuring Jewell going into the last 30 laps of the race. Meanwhile, Segalla had started his climb back up the field and was running in 7th place, closing on Smith ahead.

Hardin and Pearson battled side by side for 4th place, but they collided with each other, and both hit the outside wall, allowing Smith to pass around both drivers. Segalla saw an opportunity and quickly dove low to move up into 5th place without incident. Holloway got a nose under Jewell, clearing into 2nd place on lap 82, with Smith taking advantage and pushing Jewell back to 4th place. Segalla and Schoen battled side by side, with Schoen eventually taking away 5th place.

In the final laps of the race, Smith and Holloway battled door to door for 2nd place, but Holloway made contact with the outside wall, dropping back to 4th place before he was able to recover. Hoose was the dominant driver throughout the race and took the checkered flag unchallenged as he crossed the finish line.

Holloway currently leads the point standings by one point over Moore, and the next event for the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series will take place on April 29th at Lucas Oil Raceway. Fans can catch all the live action on the Virtual Grip Network at 8:55PM ET.