James Lowe Survives Lap 90 Wreck to Seal Season 3 Crown

The season-ending 125-lap feature for the YesterYear Racing (YYR) Tour Modified Series—Season 3, Round 15, billed as the YesterYear Fall Final—took center stage at Concord Speedway’s notorious 0.5-mile tri-oval. Concord’s unique three-cornered geometry presents a brutal tactical puzzle: drivers must decide on corner entry whether to arc the turn wide or dive in early, knowing that getting squeezed out of position entering Turn 3 destroys entry momentum and pushes open-wheel modifieds wide into the outside concrete wall. Recreating the historic 2009 7th Annual North-South Shootout—an event dominated by Bert Myers—the finale carried massive championship stakes. Points leader James Lowe entered holding a 52-point cushion over Luke Logan Allen (“Kid Lemon Lime”) after winning the Pocono Race of Champions. League lore established an ironclad rule of thumb: in both 2024 and 2025, the Pocono Race of Champions winner went on to capture the series title and hoist the most unique prize on the iRacing platform, the “Old Red Boot” trophy. The grid set a dramatic scene: father and son Papa Kenny Allen and Luke Logan Allen locked down the front row with points leader James Lowe starting in 7th.

In these machines, cold tire dynamics are notoriously unforgiving; without heat and pressure, the tires feel like hard rocks, offering zero center-corner grip and exposing drivers to instant, unprovoked cold-tire snap oversteer upon throttle application. Kenny Allen launched into the early lead over his son Luke, but caution flew on Lap 1 when David Kerr suffered a cold-tire snap entering Turn 1, spinning unprovoked and collecting Allen Wannamaker with a heavy front-end tap to his nerf bar. On the ensuing restart, Lowe showcased his trademark spatial awareness by slicing from 7th up to 4th while steering clear of mid-pack tension. A second yellow flag waved shortly after when Todd Liston got loose navigating the backstretch tri-oval under throttle steer; Luke Logan Allen checked up to avoid him, turning Liston around in the process.

As the race settled into its early stints, mid-pack battles intensified along Concord’s frontstretch, where marbles accumulating on the high groove made side-by-side racing increasingly treacherous. Brian Neff and Josh Buckley engaged in a fierce wheel-to-wheel scrap that resulted in heavy nerf bar contact. Squeezed against the wall, Buckley checked up, forcing Brian Johnson into a self-spin off Turn 1. Johnson’s rotating car kicked up a wall of blinding smoke across the track. Cruising directly behind Scott Negus, Torrance Childs was completely blinded by the smoke screen; unable to see through Negus’s rear decklid, Childs slammed into the back of Negus and struck the outside concrete wall hard with severe right-front chassis destruction, ending his night on the spot while Chris Haizlip executed rapid evasive action. Minutes later, another quick yellow flew when Allen Wannamaker bobbled through Turns 3 and 4 into the outside wall. The accordion stack-up behind him proved disastrous: Chris Haizlip took a heavy hit that broke his front suspension, turning him into a helpless passenger before collecting Tom Hilbert and David Kerr.

The halfway mark between Laps 60 and 70 triggered a critical tactical split on pit road that altered the complexion of the race. Leaders Papa Kenny Allen and Luke Logan Allen opted to pit for four fresh tires to maximize mechanical grip and corner-exit drive, exiting pit lane side-by-side—with Luke barely edging his father off pit road—and restarting deep in traffic in 11th and 12th positions on a track where passing is notoriously difficult. Conversely, James Lowe, Brian Neff, Ethan Troutman, and Brian Johnson chose to stay out on their original rubber to preserve track position and clean air. Meanwhile, Todd Liston and Roger Hurley pitted for two fresh right-side tires, a strategy designed to make their cars freer over long runs and aid rotation as the track surface tightened up. Lowe stayed out long enough to officially lead a lap, securing five crucial bonus championship points. On the restart, Brian Neff put on a clinic along the outside groove, using superior momentum to power past Lowe. Neff seized the lead and pounced on clear air out front, pacing the field for 23 dominant consecutive laps.

High drama struck after Lap 90 while Brian Neff led with James Lowe running closely in 2nd position. Neff’s worn tires began to betray him, yielding a poor drive out of Turn 4 due to a lack of rear drive grip. Spotting an opening, Lowe dove to the inside lane on the entry to the frontstretch to make a move for the lead. Subtle contact occurred between Neff’s nerf bar and Lowe’s left-side panels, hooking Lowe hard into the outside wall. The championship landscape shifted instantly: Lowe dropped to 10th place in a damaged race car while Luke Logan Allen—who had been methodically carving through traffic on four fresh tires alongside his father—ascended into 2nd place directly behind Kenny Allen. With his 52-point cushion suddenly in severe jeopardy, Lowe was forced to reset his focus for the final 20 laps, relieved that his machine had miraculously avoided terminal radiator or chassis damage to remain on the lead lap.

During the frantic closing restarts, Kenny Allen mounted a masterclass in defense from the inside groove. Prioritizing his desire for a long-sought Concord Speedway victory over aiding his son’s title bid, Kenny refused to yield an inch to Luke Logan Allen, later admitting in post-race interviews that after years of bad luck at the half-mile, “Concord owed me one.” Pushing hard on the outside groove, Luke scraped the outside concrete wall, opening the door for Benjamin Campbell—who had charged all the way from 13th on the grid—to dive to the inside. Showing veteran poise, Luke executed a crisp crossover maneuver off Turn 4 to retake 2nd place. Simultaneously, a late caution flew when Eric Essary spun in Turn 3 after over-throttling while trying to hold his car down on corner exit. This final yellow set up a frantic sprint where James Lowe completed a disciplined recovery drive. Navigating late restarts on worn rubber, Lowe methodically picked his way from 10th up to 5th place.

Kenny Allen crossed the finish line to take a victory from the pole position, having led a race-high 89 total laps. Luke Logan Allen finished in 2nd place to cap an impressive season, while Benjamin Campbell completed his heroic charge from 13th to take 3rd. James Lowe’s hard-fought 5th-place recovery secured more than enough points to officially clinch the Season 3 YYR Tour Modified Series Championship. Fulfilling the league’s Pocono harbinger, Lowe celebrated his title-winning campaign by hoisting the coveted “Old Red Boot” trophy to close out the 2026 season.