BRL LM S22 R3 Recap
15 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 3
Late Model Series | USA Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman
On a warm evening at USA Speedway, the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series was in full swing with a packed crowd cheering on the racers. The race was already promising to be exciting as drivers Mike Allen and Todd Liston started on the front row. As the green flag waved, Liston surged ahead, clearing Allen to take the lead on the backstretch. Behind them, Mike Holloway and Michael Goodman started making moves, with Goodman pushing his way up to fourth place.
For the next few laps, the drivers settled into a rhythm, staying mostly single file as they conserved their equipment. Liston and Holloway managed to break away from the pack, building up a lead of over a second on third-place driver Jeffrey Hardin. But the drivers knew that they had to keep pushing if they wanted to maintain their positions.
As the second half of the race began, Liston continued to dominate, with Holloway still patiently waiting for an opportunity to make a move. Hardin was starting to close in on the leaders, while the other drivers began to get more aggressive, jostling for position.
Then, on lap 46, Holloway made his move, diving under Liston to take the lead. Hardin saw his chance and tried to overtake Liston for second, but Liston tried to block him, resulting in a spin that collected Goodman and Matt Hoose behind them, causing the first caution of the night. Although Young also sustained significant damage, he managed to continue running, and when the race resumed, he was in third place behind Hardin.
As the front runners began to pull away, drivers further back in the field began to make more daring moves, resulting in another caution. But when the green flag flew again, Hardin managed to hold onto his position, even when Young tried to overtake him. With only ten laps to go, the top three drivers built up a significant lead over fourth-place driver Donny Moore.
Holloway continued to bide his time, waiting for his chance to make a move on the leaders. With only two laps to go, he tried to pass Hardin but misjudged his braking point and made contact, causing Hardin to lose control momentarily. Goodman saw his chance and quickly surged ahead, taking the white flag. Hardin managed to hold off Young for second place, while Holloway and Joseph Snyder battled it out for third.
In the end, Goodman took the checkered flag, with Young securing the points lead over Jason Menda. The crowd erupted into cheers as the drivers celebrated their hard-fought victories. The Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series would be back in action in a week, taking on the challenging Martinsville Speedway. Fans eagerly awaited the next thrilling installment of this exciting series.
PGRL S4 R8 Recap
11 April 2023
Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 8
Premier Series | Bristol Motor Speedway
Scott Eckrich with Loud Pedal Motorsports won his 4th race in a row at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Get Dirty at Bristol, Get Clean with Mane ‘n Tail 125 beating Jake Silvia to the line by 0.205. It was a hard-fought win for Eckrich, who had to battle his way through the field from his 10th place starting position. The race was filled with intense battles and high-speed action, and the fans were treated to an unforgettable night of racing.
The race got off to a thrilling start, with Jeff Ward starting on the pole after winning his heat race earlier in the evening with rookie Shane Davis to his outside. Silvia started 3rd, rookie Brandon Beyke started in 7th, and Eckrich started in 10th. In the opening laps, it was clear which drivers had more dirt racing experience as the field quickly started to get spread out. Davis was keeping the pressure high on Ward out front allowing Siliva to close the gap and make it a 3-wide fight for the lead. Lap traffic complicated matters as Silvia and Davis were forced to lift to avoid contact and Ward jumped out to a 1.5 second lead ahead.
Despite the early dominance of Ward, it was clear that the race was far from over. Eckrich was quickly moving up through the field into 5th with the first 10 laps completed. Many drivers were struggling to wrestle the NASCAR Cup Series cars around the dirt track. On lap 14, Daivs had reeled Ward back in and was fighting for the lead when a lap down driver lost control of his car in front of the leaders collecting Ward and essentially taking away his chances of winning the race. With no cautions thrown for the event, multiple drivers were forced down pit road with damage going several laps down with only 20 laps completed. Davis was one of those drivers that had to get damage fixed before he could continue running, giving the lead of the race to Eckrich.
The entire field was spread out around the track with several seconds between each driver, making the remainder of the night more of an endurance event with the overall goal to just make it to the end in one piece. The one and only competition caution was thrown on lap 65 dividing the race in half and allowing the drivers to get a splash of fuel. Only 5 drivers were still on the lead lap as the green flag came back out and racing resumed with Eckrich still in control of the field.
Silvia took advantage of the restart and stayed close to Eckrich using the outside wall to try to get a run on the leader. Eckrich was able to hold the lead but not able to pull away from Silvia as he had in the first half of the night. Silvia was letting his car contact the outside wall as he continued to try to build up runs on Eckrich and was able to take the lead away on lap 77. Patience paid off for Eckrich as he slowly set Silvia up for a pass and overtook for the lead on lap 92.
Silvia showed his displeasure with the pass giving several taps to Eckrich’s bumper and taking the lead back on lap 98. Eckrich tried to get under Silvia going into the corner, but Silvia cut down hard, and the two slammed doors with tempers starting to flare as the battle for the lead continued. Silvia was running much more aggressively wall riding through the corners trying to get a strong run out to take the lead back from Eckrich but unable to complete the move with 15 laps remaining. Silvia made hard contact into the rear of Eckrich almost sending the leader around, but Eckrich continued to hold onto the lead with the laps quickly counting down.
But Eckrich, showing his veteran experience, held on and continued to defend his lead, even when the track was blocked by Vincent Crow, who was three laps down. Silvia tried to make a move on the inside, but Eckrich was able to defend his line and cross the finish line just 0.205 seconds ahead of Silvia.
After the race, Eckrich spoke about the intensity of the battle for the lead. “I worked my butt off tonight,” he said. “It was a hell of a battle at the end. It was definitely really fun here, it’s hard with these next-gen cars just to get the cars to take any sort of line that you want them to.”
The win extended Eckrich’s lead in the point standings, with Michael Chrobok now 50 points behind in second place. The Pretty Good Racing League will now move on to Martinsville Speedway for the Wallriders Rejoice 200 presented by Octane93 on April 18th, which will be broadcast live at 8:50 PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network.
BRL LM S22 R2 Recap
08 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 2
Late Model Series | Myrtle Beach Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman
J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports took the lead in the last 9 laps to take the checkered flag at Myrtle Beach Speedway in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series presented by Gargamel’s Kitchen. It was an exciting night of racing, filled with intense battles for position and nail-biting moments for both drivers and fans alike.
Lowell Jewell started on the pole, taking the green flag and holding onto the lead for the first 30 laps. However, Donny Moore quickly emerged as a strong contender, battling Jewell for the top spot. Meanwhile, J R Shepherd started the night in 17th place, but he was patiently moving up through the field, picking off drivers one by one.
As the race progressed, Jason Menda also began to make his move, starting in 10th place and quickly pushing toward the front. Jewell put up a good fight, but Moore was eventually able to get a nose to the inside, taking control of the lead.
Menda, now in fifth place, found himself stuck behind Joe Segalla and Matt Hoose, who were running side by side and battling for third. But Menda was determined, and he eventually cleared around both drivers to take third place. He quickly closed on the rear bumper of Jewell, finally clearing into second place on lap 46.
With the race now in the second half, Menda was up on Moore’s bumper, pressuring him for the lead. He was finally able to secure the top spot on lap 54, becoming only the third different leader up to that point. Meanwhile, Shepherd had broken into the top 10 and was now running more aggressively, quickly moving up into third place and closing the gap to Moore.
Shepherd eventually got around Moore for second place on lap 74, keeping the pressure high on Menda. Aiden Young, who had been struggling to get through the dense traffic and was running in 13th place, started quickly climbing up the field, jumping up several positions in the late stages of the race and reaching eighth place with just 17 laps to go.
As the laps ticked by, Menda continued to hold off Shepherd, who was looking for any opportunity to take the lead. Shepherd got his nose to the inside of Menda on lap 88, and the two drivers battled side by side for multiple laps. Finally, after a tense back-and-forth, Shepherd was able to clear himself out front, leading the last nine laps to take the win.
“I just really, really enjoy this racecar, this limited late model,” Shepherd said after the race. “You really have to kind of play a chess game with this car and understand what it’s going to need in the long run.” His hard work and determination had paid off, and he had emerged victorious in what had been a thrilling night of racing.
The next round of the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series will be held on April 15th at USA Speedway, with Mike Allen on the pole. Fans can catch all the action live at 8:50PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!
BRL SLM S21 R2 Recap
07 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 2
Super Late Model Series | Myrtle Beach Speedway
Different Path Motorsports driver J R Shepherd emerged victorious in an epic showdown at Myrtle Beach Speedway, as he beat Aiden Young to the finish line in the Skitter Creek Super Late Model Series with the Bootleg Racing League. Rory Collins and Joe Segalla led the field off the start, while Shepherd started from the sixth position and Young was twelfth on the grid. James Tiernan, the previous round’s winner, began the race in thirteenth, while Matt Hoose started on the inside of row seven alongside Tiernan.
As the green flag dropped, multiple drivers had to slow down, causing a chain reaction that resulted in some cars shuffling for position. Collins built an early lead, with Chris Davis moving into second and Shepherd quickly advancing to third by lap five. The frequent cautions allowed some drivers to pit, but the short green flag runs broke up the pit strategies. Davis attempted to overtake Collins for the lead by going around the outside, but he fell back when Shepherd passed him to claim second place. Shepherd then passed Collins to take the lead on lap 15.
Fifty laps into the race, Shepherd and Davis had pulled away from the rest of the pack, with John Heyn in third place, battling with Tiernan and Jason Menda. Heyn quickly lost ground as Tiernan and Menda closed in on Davis. Another caution on lap 60 brought Tiernan within reach of second place, but Davis managed to hold on to the position, with Menda settling for fourth.
Menda tried to overtake Davis for second place and succeeded on lap 98, while Tiernan fell back after getting loose. The second half of the race saw increased aggression, with multiple cautions causing the running order to shift as drivers pitted in small groups. Mark Hertzog briefly took the lead before Jeffery Hardin claimed it on lap 135, with Shepherd in eleventh place.
Shepherd began aggressively pushing his way back up through the field, with Tiernan right behind him. Young, who had a rough start and was involved in several incidents, made a strong recovery to take third place. Shepherd quickly passed Moore to claim second place, with Tiernan back in fourth. Shepherd and Young battled for the lead through multiple restarts in the final 40 laps.
In the end, Shepherd emerged victorious, beating Young to the finish line by 0.042 seconds after running side by side and leaning on each other coming out of the final corner. “It was really tough on the outside, not a lot of grip out there,” Shepherd said after the race. Next up, the Bootleg Racing League will head to USA Speedway on April 14th, with Tom Hilbert starting from pole position. Fans can catch all the action live at 8:10PM ET on the Virtual Grip Network!
PGRL S4 R7 Recap
04 April 2023
Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 7
Premier Series | Richmond Raceway
Scott Eckrich emerged victorious in the Skitter Creek Motorsports Group 200, held at the Richmond Raceway. Despite starting in 17th position, Eckrich showed remarkable driving skills, making his way up the field and eventually taking the lead in lap 73 of the race.
The Skitter Creek Motorsports Group 200 was a thrilling race from the get-go, with drivers fighting for position and trying to establish an early lead. Jordan Harnish began the race on pole position, thanks to the Mahan Laboratories “You Finished Last” pole award. He held onto the lead for the first 36 laps, fending off challenges from Colton Salek and Brian Yaczik.
As the race progressed, the drivers were faced with frequent cautions, disrupting their rhythm and making it challenging to implement pit strategies. However, some drivers were able to capitalize on the chaos and make significant gains. Cody Dempster and Scott Eckrich were two such drivers, quickly moving up into the top 10 within the first 20 laps.
Eckrich’s impressive driving was on full display, and he continued to make his way up the field, overtaking Jake Silvia to claim second place behind Salek. By lap 73, Eckrich was finally able to make his move, overtaking Salek to take the lead. The race was not without drama, with several cautions threatening to upset Eckrich’s momentum.
However, Eckrich proved to be a skilled and determined driver, holding onto his lead through several restarts. As the final green flag was waved with just four laps remaining, Jake Silvia was hot on his heels, but Eckrich was able to maintain his composure and outpace the rest of the field to claim the win.
After the race, a delighted Eckrich expressed his satisfaction with his performance, saying, “Really happy to bring it together again. This is usually a really good track for me, so I’m glad I could get the result I felt like I could do here.” The win also put Eckrich at the top of the point standings, with a 31-point lead over Chrobok in second place.
Fans of the Pretty Good Racing League can look forward to the next event, the Get Dirty at Bristol, Get Clean with Mane ‘n Tail 125, which will take place at the Bristol Motor Speedway on April 11th. The event promises to be another exciting race, and fans can catch all the action exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network.
PGRL S4 R6 Recap
28 March 2023
Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 6
Premier Series | Circuit of the Americas
The “It’ll Be Something Grand Prix” presented by Brian Yaczik at the Circuit of the Americas was the place to be for racing fans. Woody Mahan had the pole position, thanks to his win of the Mahan Industries “You Finished Last” pole award. However, Colton Salek managed to steal the lead from him on the first lap, leaving Mahan struggling. Unfortunately, Mahan got into a collision with Jordan Harnish and both drivers fell out of the top 20.
Meanwhile, Vincent Crow took the lead on the second lap and began to pull away from Jake Silvia, who was in second place. Scott Eckrich started in 19th place, but he was already up to 8th by the fifth lap, ahead of Cody Dempster. Jeff Ward, who started in 24th place, was running in 10th at that point.
Crow had stretched his lead to more than 7 seconds by the tenth lap of the race, with Mike Rasimas in second place. Eckrich had climbed up to fourth place and was quickly closing the gap to third. Silvia and Rasimas were fighting for second place, with neither driver able to gain a clear advantage. Eckrich was pressuring both drivers as he closed in on them on lap 12.
Ward came down pit road on lap 12 with a unique pit strategy, dropping back to 13th as he rejoined the track. Eckrich made quick work of Silvia and Rasimas, overtaking both drivers and clearing into second place, still more than 9 seconds behind Crow. Thomas George broke into the top 10 as the race approached its halfway point.
The battle between Silvia and Rasimas continued to intensify, with both drivers fiercely competing for the last podium spot. Drivers began cycling through their pit stops on lap 17, with the exception of Ward, who had come down five laps earlier. Crow was still in the lead as the second half of the race began, claiming the PGRL stage points. Crow and Eckrich came down pit road together at the beginning of lap 18, followed by Rasimas and Silvia. Eckrich caught up to Crow on lap 20 and began to overtake him for the lead soon after in turn 20.
Ward caught the battle between Silvia and Rasimas, and the three drivers were aggressively swapping positions, fighting over third place. Ward came down pit road again before lap 24, opting for a two-stop strategy and falling back to 10th place under pressure from Thomas George with 11 laps to go.
In the closing moments of the race, Eckrich was putting down the fastest laps of any driver and extended his lead to more than 18 seconds over Crow, taking the checkered flag. Silvia was able to take third place away from Rasimas in the end. Crow held onto the points lead, finishing 12 points ahead of Eckrich at the end of the night.
Eckrich was thrilled with his performance and commented, “I love these technical tracks; it makes it kind of fun in the driver’s hands. You know, just like get out here, see what you got, wheel it as hard as you can.” Next week, the drivers head to Richmond Raceway for the “Skitter Creek Motorsports Group 200” on April 4th, with the action brought to fans live at 8:50 PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!
BRL LM S22 R1 Recap
25 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 1
Late Model Series | New Smyrna Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman
Tyler Shadduck began the race on pole position, with Aiden Young starting alongside him. As the green flag dropped, Young settled into second place behind Shadduck, while Michael Goodman and Jason Menda engaged in a fierce battle for third, running side by side for the first five laps. Goodman eventually managed to secure the position.
On lap 14, the first caution was called due to contact between Rubin Altice and Steve Hilbert, which spun Hilbert around on the track. When the race resumed on lap 20, Menda and Goodman found themselves battling once again for third place, with neither driver willing to back down. Unfortunately, on lap 21, the two drivers made contact, causing a large pile-up on the track. Shadduck, who had been forced onto the grass to avoid a car that was trying to turn around on the track, had to pit to have his right front fender fixed. He rejoined the pack in eighth place.
As racing resumed on lap 27, Young was still leading, with Goodman in second place. However, on lap 29, the third caution was called after Mike Allen and Bruce Pearson collided coming out of turn three. When the green flag was waved again on lap 35, Shadduck was pushing aggressively through the pack to try and regain his position at the front. He quickly overtook Adam Schoen and Matt Hoose before setting his sights on Jeffrey Hardin for fourth place. On lap 54, Shadduck managed to clear Stephen Spies to take third place.
The fourth caution came out on lap 57 due to a collision between Joseph Snyder and Donny Moore, which resulted in Snyder spinning on the track and collecting several other drivers. Young was still leading when the green flag was waved on lap 62, but Shadduck was hot on his heels. Goodman managed to defend his position in third place, while Hardin moved up to fourth. Meanwhile, Menda was making a strong recovery from his earlier incident and had worked his way back up to sixth place.
On lap 65, the fifth caution was called when Spies and Hardin collided, causing another large pile-up on the front stretch. When the race resumed on lap 71, Shadduck used the restart to overtake Goodman and move into second place behind Young. The sixth caution was called on lap 73 after Menda and Schoen collided coming out of turn two, causing several drivers to spin.
With only 12 laps remaining, Young was working hard to defend his position against Shadduck, who was putting pressure on him. Menda attempted to overtake Shadduck for second place, but was unable to do so. In the end, Young managed to hold on to his lead and cross the finish line first, with Shadduck coming in second and Menda in third. Goodman was named the “Soup of the Day” driver, with an over-under set at fifth place. He ultimately finished the race in fourth place, while Matt Hoose rounded out the top five.
When interviewed after the race, Young said, “I just had to stay smooth… I wasn’t giving this one up. I just knew I had to stay focused and forget the mirror was even there.” Fans of the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series are no doubt looking forward to the next event with excitement and anticipation. Lowell Jewell finished the night in 15th place, but he had reason to celebrate nonetheless. His performance during the race earned him pole position for the next Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series event, which would take place on April 8th at 8:55PM ET at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
BRL SLM S21 R1 Recap
24 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 1
Super Late Model Series | New Smyrna Speedway
James Tiernan took the first win of the new season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Super Late Model Series at New Smyrna Speedway ahead of Aiden Young and Tyler Shadduck. “On the other broadcast, I called out all the late model guys to come over and try our stuff, so I figured I come over here”, Tiernan shared with us as he considers himself a primarily sprint car driver. Admitting that he never had to deal with pit strategies before tonight, he joked, “I’m surprised about how well I did after that pit cycle… Once I realized the people on the lead lap would kind of shuffle back through the pack even if they pit I was like ‘Oh, well, I should do that!'”
Tyler Shadduck with Refined Motorsports led the 22-car field around to take the green flag on opening night for Season 21 with Aiden Young to his outside. Off the jump, J R Shepherd was able to get under Young clearing up into 2nd as the front runners were aggressively going after positions early in the night. Young was able to slot into 4th behind James Tiernan while Shepherd kept the pressure up on Shadduck out front with the front 4 drivers breaking away from the rest of the field.
With the first 25 laps behind them, Shadduck began to build up a gap between himself and Shepherd as Tiernan moved up into 3rd and was challenging Shepherd for 2nd. Coming out of tour four on lap 30, Shepherd made contact with the outside wall and Tiernan was left with nowhere to go spinning Shepherd down to the infield dropping far back in the running order. Shadduck still had a strong hold on the lead with over 1 second back to Tiernan and another 2 seconds from Tiernan back to Young.
Lap traffic became an issue 50 laps into the night. Tiernan continued to pressure Shadduck trying to get his nose under the leader several times unsuccessfully with Shepherd multiple laps down from his earlier incident close on Tiernan’s bumper trying to get one of his laps back. Shepherd was able to tuck in behind Shadduck after Tiernan touched the outside wall losing enough momentum for Shepherd to quickly clear around him while Shadduck aggressively negotiated through dense traffic.
Tiernan was getting impatient as Shadduck struggled to keep pace leading to contact between the two drivers as Tiernan got around into the lead as they approached the halfway point of the run. Matt Hoose was the first car to come down pit road signaling to the rest of the field to come down in 2 or 3 car groups lap after lap with Tiernan regaining the lead as all drivers completed their pit cycle and resumed racing with 84 laps remaining. Shadduck was running in 2nd but found himself being challenged by Young as the laps counted down.
Young was patiently working on Shadduck when he got loose and made hard contact with the outside wall on lap 157 coming down pit road under caution for tires and rejoining the track still on the lead lap in 2nd place while Shadduck stayed out to take the lead and was running on almost 60 lap old tires. Off the jump, Young quickly single filed out behind Shadduck to block Tiernan’s advance in the first corner, but Tiernan made contact going into turn three sending Young around in the middle of the track.
Young was able to recover the spin and continue running in 3rd with 37 laps to go. Jeffery Hardin was having a quiet race patiently making his way up through the field and found himself closing on Young and the battle for the lead between Tiernan and Shadduck. Tiernan took the lead which allowed Young to dive low and follow him around into 2nd as Shadduck struggled on the older tires. Going into the final moments, James Tiernan was proving to be dominant tonight claiming the first win of the season with Aiden Young, Tyler Shadduck, Jeffery Hardin, and Mark Hertzog rounding out the top 5 tonight at New Smyrna Speedway.
James Tiernan starts the season off strong coming out of the night with the points lead ahead of Aiden Young and Tyler Shadduck. The drivers of the Bootleg Racing League will be back in 2 weeks to tackle Myrtle Beach Speedway on April 7th with the action going live at 8:10PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!
PGRL S4 R5 Recap
21 March 2023
Pretty Good Racing League | Season 4 | Round 5
Premier Series | Atlanta Motor Speedway
Scott Eckrich with Loud Pedal Motorsports claimed his first win of the season tonight in the Everything Gets Better with Age 250 presented by GamingGuyL with the Pretty Good Racing League at Atlanta Motor Speedway ahead of Jeff Ward and Adam Jurski “This is one of those tracks where you can definitely undercut but with the aero the way it is if you get stuck behind somebody if you try to over cut it you just you don’t really get a lot of gains so you gotta get kind of luck on that front”, Eckrich shared with us regarding his pitting strategy “It’s a super fine line you gotta run to not blow the right rear off and also, you know, maintain the lead for those guys ripping the lip on the restarts and stuff”
Creighton Carter started off on the pole to take the green flag with Kevin Bartelt to his outside. Alex Graetz didn’t waste any time jumping out ahead to take the lead away from Carter going into the 2nd lap. Cody Dempster was aggressively pushing up through the field on his way to the front up 2 spots from his 6th place starting position and closing on Cosmin Ioanesiu. Graetz had extended his lead out to almost 2 seconds with the first 10 laps completed when he lost his car in the corner and went sliding across the infield handing the lead of the race over to Ioanesiu.
Saif Faires was making a hard charge through the field battling Bartelt for 3rd from his starting position back in 13th. Dempster continued his strong pace and had slowly reeled the leader in 30 laps into the run and was able to clear around Ioanesiu after several intense laps. The first driver to come down pit road was Thomas George on lap 40 trying to undercut the field as the rest of the field came down for their stops a few cars at a time over the next 10 laps as differing strategies split the field up.
George inherited the lead up 32 spots from his 33rd place starting position when the pit cycle was complete with Michael Chrobok in 2nd place almost 2 seconds behind him. Eckrich had cleared around Chrobok and was quickly closing on George with the fresher tires between the two drivers taking the lead away fairly effortlessly on lap 58. Eckrich was pushing his equipment trying to break away from Chrobok behind him building up a large gap between them to secure the bonus stage points going into the 2nd half of the night.
Chrobok and Jeff Ward battled over 2nd place as George was again the first to come down pit road looking to undercut the field again. The first caution of the night came out as Dempster lost control of his car going 90 laps into the run giving Eckrich, and many other drivers, an opportune chance to come down pit road while holding onto the lead for the restart. Racing resumed with 64 laps remaining with Eckrich jumping out to a strong lead ahead of Ward.
Ward was pressuring Eckrich for the lead with Ioanesiu close behind as the top 3 broke away from the rest of the field. Ward got to the inside of Eckrich but couldn’t complete the move with the laps quickly counting down. Going into the last 30 laps, the drivers started working through their last pit cycle. Eckrich was again one of the last cars to come down pit road rejoining the track in 12th. George’s early stop strategy that he’s been running all night put him up into 7th for the last stretch.
Eckrich was making quick work of traffic on his way back up to the front. Eckrich cleared around Adam Jurski into 2nd place and was closing on the rear bumper of Ward for the lead. Going into lap 151, Eckrich dove low to get under Ward to take away the lead and started pulling away from Ward. Coming out of the final corner, Scott Eckrich took the checkered flag 1.9 seconds ahead of Jeff Ward. Adam Jurski, Michael Chrobok, and Will Farmer Jr round out the top 5 tonight at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Vincent Crow holds onto the lead in the point standings with 312 points with Michael Chrobok in 2nd place trailing 17 points behind. Scott Eckrich moves up 2 spots into 3rd with 294 points, Thomas George sits in 4th with 278, and Adam Jusrki rounds out the top 5 with 276 points. The Pretty Good Racing League next heads to Circuit of the Americas for the “It’ll Be Something Grand Prix presented by Brian Yaczik” on March 28th with all the action broadcast live at 8:50PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!
BRL LM S21 R11 Recap
18 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 11
Late Model Series | Five Flags Speedway
Joseph Snyder with Rougarou Racing took his first win in the series and the final checkered flag of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series presented by Gargamel’s Kitchen at Five Flags Speedway ahead of Mike Holloway and Michael Goodman. “All I worked on this week was saving tires and I guess it paid off there because the guys I let by early, they kind of lost their tires and I got back into it”, Snyder shared with us as drivers were putting their cars on the trailers.
Michael Goodman threw down the quickest lap in qualifying clocked at 16.679 starting the night off in 10th from the Bootleg Racing League grid invert with Kevin Nunn sitting on the pole. “It’s a little bit of pressure”, Nunn commented before returning to his car to grid up, “I did learn a lot last week since I had the front tire blow at 82 laps, so I know I’m going to try to conserve a bit more this time around.” Coming out of turn 4, Nunn had a strong launch and quickly went single file ahead of Donny Moore.
Most of the field shuffled to get slotting in single file in the opening laps looks to preserve their equipment with so many laps ahead of them. Mathew Thunhorst was running back in 10th and was patiently taking one position after another as he moved up through the field. Moore took advantage of a mistake made by Nunn on lap 16 to overtake for the lead resulting in Nunn getting stuck on the outside and dropping far down in the running order. Snyder looking under Moore but could make it work allowing Lowell Jewell to take a look under Snyder pushing him back to 8th before slotting back in line behind Michael Goodman.
Thunhorst was up to 5th with the first 30 laps completed as Moore continued to lead the field around with Jewell tight on his bumper. Lowell saw his chance and dove low taking the lead going into lap 35 with Todd Liston following him through. Thunhorst took advantage of the situation to get around into 3rd place. Thunhorst started to turn up the aggression getting around Liston for 2nd and closing on Jewell only 40 laps into the night. Going into lap 42, Thunhorst secured the lead and started to break away from the rest of the field with Jewell and Liston still running 2nd and 3rd.
Matt Hoose was up 5 spots running in 4th and quickly closing on Liston going into the 2nd half of the night with Snyder close behind making a strong recovery. Liston was able to get a nose under Jewell with Hoose following him through pushing Jewell back to 4th with Stephen Spies closing the gap with a group of cars following him as the field merged back together from 2nd place back to 10th. Thunhorst had nearly a 3 second lead going into lap 60 as Hoose overtook Liston for 2nd.
With the laps quickly counting down, Thunhorst had extended his lead out to over 5 seconds with 25 laps remaining. Hoose still held onto 2nd place with Michael Goodman now running in 3rd. Spies was under pressure from Snyder making a strong charge back to front of the pack. Snyder continued his impressive pace making quick work of the drivers ahead clearing into 2nd place with 14 laps to go. Going into the final 10 laps, the gap between Snyder and Thunhorst was shrinking quickly.
Snyder continued to push in the final moments gaining on Thunhorst fast closing by 0.4 seconds each lap. Snyder caught Thunhorst in turn 3 making contact just as the caution flag and white flag came out together when Thunhorst had to check up unexpectedly with his right front tire giving out. Joseph Snyder lead the drivers around the final lap under caution to take the checkered flag with Mike Holloway, Michael Goodman, Kurt Smith, and Mathew Thunhorst round out the top 5 tonight at Five Flags Speedway.
J R Shepherd ran away in the point standings taking the season championship tonight with 471 points. Michael Goodman held onto 2nd place with 419 points. Lowell Jewell secured 3rd place with 377 points over Mathew Thunhorst with 344 points. Joseph Snyder rounds out the top 5 drivers with 342 points going into the final round of the season. Next season for the Bootleg Racing League kicks off at New Smyrna Speedway on March 25th with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!
