CONCORD, N.C. – The CookOut Summer Shootout continued Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with both Bandoleros and Legends Cars featured across seven divisions.
In the Bandolero Bandits division, Beckham Malone took the early lead heading into the first corner by going three-wide, but lost the position to Darren Krantz Jr., who pulled away from the field.
Ben Morabito brought out caution No. 1 with a spin on lap four. Malone and Krantz battled on the restart, opening the door for Colt Johnson, who moved up to second in a three-way battle for the lead.
Contact between Malone and Johnson sent Johnson spinning and bringing out the second caution of the night on lap eight. On the ensuing restart, Krantz took control. Morabito, charging back from his earlier spin, moved into second, while Johnson held off Mardy Roberts III for third.
The caution flew for a third time when Bryson Brinkley’s machine came to a stop on the frontstretch. Krantz’s dominance on restarts proved to be the difference as the young driver pulled away on the final restart of the contest, leading Morabito, Johnson, Malon and Carson Cauble to the checkered flag.
“It feels great,” he said of the round two win. “I was trying to stay calm, make sure I got good starts, make my line better and just be faster on the restarts.”
Carson Brown went wire-to-wire in a time-shortened VP Racing Semi-Pro division victory. The 21-lap affair was marred by a lengthy red flag after hard-charging Jayden Daniels and Michael Crafton got tangled up in turn 2, with Crafton driving over the front of Daniels’ Legend Car.
With his strongest competition relegated to the pits, Brown, who finished runner-up to Daniels in last night’s opening round of the CookOut Summer Shootout, pulled away from the field to earn his first win of the young season.
“I was struggling there at the end on exit,” Brown said. “It’s awesome to win here at Charlotte. It’s a big track to win at – a big accomplishment.”
The night also featured a principal bus racing event, where Charlotte-area school principals raced in school buses. The special event was won by Cabarrus County Schools Virtual Academy principal Kenneth Simeone.
“That was awesome,” Simeone said as he climbed out of his bus victoriously. “That was one of the coolest things I’ve done.”