BRL Skitter Creek Shootout Recap

21 September 2024
Bootleg Racing League | 9th Annual Shootout
ARCA Stock Cars | Southern National Motorsports Park

On Saturday, September 21st, the Bootleg Racing League celebrated its 30th anniversary with the 9th annual Shootout from Southern National Motorsports Park, presented by Skitter Creek Outfitters. This 125-lap race featured past BRL champions, along with a few lucky drivers who earned their way in through a qualifier round earlier in the evening. The Shootout also differed from the usual BRL fare by featuring the ARCA stock car, a change from the SK Modifieds and Late Models the drivers typically compete in.

Jason Menda, with a strong qualifying performance, earned the pole position, with Matt Hoose starting alongside him on the front row. As the green flag dropped, Menda launched perfectly into the lead, while Hoose, fighting from the outside, faced immediate pressure from Rubin Altice in 3rd. However, Hoose showed strength early, making the outside line work to defend his position against Altice.

The ARCA car proved to be a challenge for the field, with its looser handling characteristics compared to the more familiar SK Modifieds and Late Models. This led to multiple cautions throughout the race as drivers struggled with grip and handling. One of these incidents nearly derailed Hoose’s night—on lap 20, he tried to overtake Menda on the outside but overcooked the entry into turn 3, sending his car sliding across the track on the backstretch. Fortunately, he avoided making contact with other cars, but the mistake relegated him to the back of the field.

Despite the setback, Hoose quietly began a determined charge through the field, finding speed on the outside line where others struggled. Meanwhile, Menda continued to dominate out front, fending off each challenge on restarts as his rivals attempted the same outside move that Hoose had tried earlier. But none could find the grip to unseat him from the lead.

The race appeared to be firmly in Menda’s control as the laps wound down, but on lap 112, the night took a dramatic turn. In a chaotic sequence down the backstretch, Mike Holloway and Todd Liston collided, triggering a multi-car pile-up that collected several top contenders. Hoose, avoiding the melee, moved up into the 2nd position as the field regrouped for the restart.

When the green flag waved again, Hoose made his move. He attacked Menda from the outside, finally inching ahead of him coming out of turn 2 just before the final caution of the night was triggered. With just a few laps remaining, Hoose now had the lead, and for the GWC (Green-White-Checkered) finish, he strategically chose to restart from the outside lane.

As the final restart unfolded, Menda spun his tires, losing valuable ground, and Matt Hoose with Team TCR blasted away from the pack, cruising to the checkered flag to win the 9th Annual Skitter Creek Shootout.

“I’ve been running with these [shootouts] since they started doing them, and this is the first one I’ve actually won, so I’m really excited about that,” Hoose said after the race. “I was just driving the car for all it was worth, but then some luck played out there towards the end.”

The Bootleg Racing League will kick off its next season on Saturday, September 28th, at North Wilkesboro Speedway with both the Outlaw SK Modified Series and Late Model Series, with live coverage beginning at 7:40PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!