February 22, 2025
Southern National Speedway

by Tim Corder

Bootleg Racing’s Street Stocks Series roared into Southern National Speedway for its eighth race of Season 32 on February 22, 2025.  Jeffery Hardin started on the pole and led all 40 laps, beating Scott Negus to the checkered flag by 0.482 seconds.  Aiden Young took the final podium position and James Lowe and Chris Davis rounded out the top 5.

The race was slowed by just one caution on lap 3.  Exiting turn 2 Steve Hilbert contacted Chris Haizlip, Hilbert spinning as a result onto the back stretch.  Karl Graves also spun as the field tried to navigate around the spinning Hilbert.  The green came back out on lap 8 and the BRL drivers put on their typical close, but clean, racing for the rest of the event.  All but five of the 17 drivers completed the race without incident points.

Only two drivers failed to complete all 40 laps of the event.  Scott Negus showed great speed and race craft, winning both the Fastest Lap of the Race and the Hard Charger of the Race Awards in his second place finish.  Negus turned his 13^th lap of the race in just 15.386 seconds, and, he picked up seven spots from his 9^th place starting position.

The next race of the season will be held at Oswego Speedway on March 1^st.  The Series last visited Oswego in Season 31 on October 19^th, 2024.  That event was caution free with Jeffery Hardin claiming the checkered flag.

February 1, 2025
Stafford Speedway

by Tim Corder

Bootleg Racing’s Street Stock series took to historic Stafford Speedway for race 5 of Season 32 on February 1, 2025.   Ryan Senneker brought the field to the green flag but in the end, it was Ed Foster that claimed the checkered flag, his second win of the season. Completing the top 5 were Todd Liston, Jason Menda, James Lowe, and Donny Moore.

Senneker led the first lap of the race but was passed by second-place starter Ed Sprenger in turns 3 & 4 on the second lap.  Sprenger held the lead for 5 laps before Todd Liston took over the point on lap 7 by passing Sprenger on the inside of turns one and two.  On the same lap eventual winner Ed Foster passed Sprenger on the backstretch to move into second. Liston led until lap 19 when he appeared to slightly get loose in turns one and two. Foster moved to the inside of Liston and completed the pass on the backstretch for the lead, ultimately leading 22 laps of the event.

Some drivers speculated that, rather than monitoring the event, the Tower officials may have tuned into the broadcast of the Cook Out Clash heat races in Bowman Gray. The yellow flag failed to wave a single time despite several incidents of spinning cars during the race. The largest melee occurred on lap 3 when Tom Hilbert, running 4^th at the time, got loose exiting turn 4.  Hilbert’s spinning car bounced off John Wilson’s car, which straightened Hilbert out. Wilson spun to the front stretch grass because of the contact. Eighth place Bruce Pearson, trying to avoid the slowed Hilbert, crossed the nose of 10^th place James Lowe. Pearson joined Wilson on the front stretch grass as a result. All cars involved were able to continue. Hilbert finished 13^th, Wilson 14^th, Pearson 12^th, and Lowe an impressive 4^th.

 Notable awards from the race included:

Highest Finishing of Each Model: Ed Foster (1^st, Thunderbird); Todd Liston (2^nd, Monte Carlo); James Lowe (4^th, Camaro)

Fastest Lap of the Race: Scott Negus, 21.575 seconds (Lap 5)

Hard Charger: Donny Moore, gained 10 places (Started 15^th, Finished 5^th)

Clean Machines (Finished Race with 0 incident points): Foster, Liston, Menda, Moore, Young, Blohm, Negus, Sprenger, Senneker

James Lowe continues to lead the championship standings by 4 points over Ed Foster.  Scott Negus kept third in the points, 12 points behind Lowe.  Donny Moore’s 5^th place finish moved him into a tie for 4^th with Aiden Young.  The pair are 13 points out of the championship lead.

Myrtle Beach Speedway hosts the next event of the series on February 8^th. The series last visited The Grand Strand on May 10, 2024, during Season 30. Donny Moore led 37 of the 40 laps to win the caution-free event.

January 25, 2025
Langley Speedway

by Tim Corder

The fourth race of Season 32 of BRL’s Street Stock Series at Langley Speedway was a caution-filled event. The yellow waved five times resulting in 20 of the race’s 40 laps to be run with the pace car leading the field.  James Lowe climbed 4 spots from his 5^th place starting position to win by 0.415 seconds over Scott Negus.  Brennan Myers was the hard charger of the race, improving a field-leading 14 spots from his 17^th place start to join Myers and Menda on the podium in third.

What would turn out to be the pass for the win happened on a lap 7 restart following the first caution of the event. Lowe restarted in third, lined up on the inside behind first place Tom Hilbert. Hilbert and Lowe cleared second place Chris Haizlip in turns one and two. Lowe moved his #99 Camaro to the inside of Hilbert’s #25 Monte Carlo on the backstretch and completed the pass for the lead in turns three and four. Tom Hilbert went on to finish the event in tenth after leading the first six laps.

Jason Menda and Bruce Pearson deftly picked up positions throughout the event, both drivers improving eleven spots from the starting position to finish in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Despite the numerous cautions, 14 of the 18 drivers taking the green flag finished on the lead lap.  Only four drivers left the event without incident points: Lowe, Negus, Pearson, and Chris Davis.

Notable awards from the race included:

• Highest Finishing of Each Model: James Lowe (1^st, Camaro); Scott Negus (2^nd, Thunderbird); Jason Menda (4^th, Monte Carlo)

• Most Laps Led: James Lowe (34 laps)

• Fastest Lap of the Race: James Lowe (16.350 seconds)

Aiden Young and Donny Moore started the race tied for first in the championship standings. They finished this event in 17^th and 18^th, the rough night dropped them to 5^th and 6^th in the point standings, respectively. The night’s win moved James Lowe to the top of the standings with a 7-point lead over Edward Foster, who gained one position in the run for the championship. Scott Negus’s strong run moved him up 4 spots to 3^rd in the points, just one point behind Foster.

Race five of the season will be on February 1^st at historic Stafford Speedway. The series last visited Stafford in Season 29. J R Shepherd won that event in a dominating fashion, holding the point for 30 of the event’s 40 laps and winning by 4.288 seconds over Brian Johnson.

January 18, 2025
by Tim Corder

Five Flags Speedway

A field of 18 drivers took to Five Flags Speedway for Race 3 of Season 32 of BRL’s Street Stock Series on Saturday, January 18, 2025. Having taken over the point from pole sitter Chris Haizlip on lap 1, Scott Negus led the first 15 laps of the event. Edward Foster would assume the helm on lap 16 and would lead the rest of the event, winning by just under one second over Donny Moore. Aiden Young joined Foster and Moore on the podium in third.

Mirroring last week’s race at Lanier, the event was slowed by only one caution. Foster’s pass of Negus for the lead opened the door for Moore to pass Negus for second place as well. This set up a spirited battle between Negus and Todd Liston for third place. The two drivers battled for 5 laps before Negus settled into third on lap 25. James Lowe was challenging Liston for 4th on lap 26 when Liston’s car wiggled coming out of corner two. Attempting to gather his car up, Liston tapped the left rear of Lowe’s Monte Carlo. Both cars spun on the backstretch with Lowe nosing into the inside guardrail. Lowe would go on to finish 9th, and Liston would finish in 12th.

The drivers displayed fantastic car control, 14 of the 18 drivers left the event without a single incident point. Fourteen of the contestants also finished on the lead lap.

Notable awards from the race included:

• Highest Finishing of Each Model: Edward Foster (1st, Thunderbird); Donny Moore (2nd, Camaro); Aiden Young (3rd, Monte Carlo)

• Most Laps Led: Edward Foster (25 laps led)

• Fastest Lap of the Race: Scott Negus (18.471 seconds, besting Foster by just 1/1000th of a second)

• Hard Chargers: Todd Cousins (started 16th, finished 5th); Jeffery Hardin (started 17th, finished 6th)

Aiden Young and Donny Moore left Five Flags tied for the points lead, Young moving up one position and Moore moving up two spots in the standings. The win moved Edward foster up 4 spots, tying him with James Lowe for 3rd. John Wilson held on to 5th in the points, just one point ahead of Tre Blohm in sixth.

The fourth race of Season 32 will be held at Langley Speedway on January 25th. Todd Cousins led every lap of Season 31’s race at the 4/10ths of a mile oval in a dominating performance.

January 11, 2025
by Tim Corder

Lanier National Speedway

Bootleg Racing’s Street Stock Series held its second race of Season 32 at Lanier National Speedway on Saturday, January 11, 2025. The race saw fantastic, clean, short track racing, being slowed by the caution flag only once over the 40-lap event. John Wilson in the #14 Camaro put on a dominating performance, leading every lap of the race to take home the checkered flag. Tre Blohm and Ryan Senneker join Wilson on the podium.

The single caution flag came out early in the race on lap 4 when #16 Ed Sprenger got loose coming out of turn 2, collecting #4 Ed Foster, Foster losing the nose from the front of his car in the altercation. Number 62 Karl Graves was unsuccessful in avoiding Sprenger’s car as it slid down the back stretch banking, Graves crashing into the passenger side of the #16 hard.

The green came back out on lap 9 and the race would go uninterrupted to the scheduled 40 laps. The drivers put on a clinic of clean short track racing, nine of the 17 competitors leaving the event with no incident points. While the race was clean, it was evident that the drivers were on their toes as it was common to see them turning their machines to the right coming out of both turns to keep their rear wheels under them.

Notable awards from the race included:

• Highest Finishing of Each Model: John Wilson (1st, Monte Carlo); Tre Blohm (2nd, Thunderbird); James Lowe (5th, Camaro)

• Most Laps Led: John Wilson (40 laps)

• Fastest Lap of the Race: Tre Blohm (14.769 seconds)

• Hard Charger: Lowell Jewel, gained 9 positions (Started 16th, Finished 7th)

James Lowe continues to lead the early championship point standings with 76 points. Joining Lowe in the top 5 of the points are Aiden Young, Ryan Senneker, Donny Moore, and John Wilson. The top 4 in the standings are separated by just 2 points. John Wilson was the biggest mover in the points, gaining 7 positions with his win.

The series travels to Five Flags Speedway for its third race on January 18th. Todd Liston won last season’s race at the historic half mile oval.

BRL Street Stock Summary
by Tim Corder

Hickory Motor Speedway

Saturday, December 7, 2024, saw the Bootleg Racing Series visit historic Hickory Motor Speedway, the Birthplace of NASCAR Stars, for the penultimate race of Season 31. Donny Moore in the #26 Camaro led flag to flag besting Jeffery Hardin’s #36 Camaro by just 0.2 seconds to claim the checkered flag. Rounding out the top five were Bruce Pearson, Scott Negus, and John Wilson. The race was slowed by just one caution, and all but 2 of the 15 entries finished on the lead lap.  The top 10 in the Season Championship remained unchanged with Bruce Pearson leaving Hickory still holding the Championship lead.

The single caution flag came out on lap 9 after Chris Haizlip in the #93 Camaro and Lowell Jewell’s #2 Monte Carlo made contact in turn 2, with Haizlip spinning but avoiding any further contact.  Over the short 9 lap green flag run James Lowe in the #99 Camaro picked up an impressive 5 spots, moving from his 15^th starting position to 10^th in the field.

The green flag came back out on lap 15 and would stay out for the rest of the 40-lap event. The final green flag stint would see two drivers pick up 4 spots, Todd Liston in his #87 Monte Carlo improved from 12^th to finish 8^th and Tim Corder’s #60 Thunderbird moved up from 14^th to 10^th.

Scott Negus’s Thunderbird (4^th) and John Wilson’s Monte Carlo (5^th) joined Moore’s winning Camaro as the highest finishing of the three car models in the race.   The Hard Charger of the race was James Lowe, picking up a field-leading 8 spots to finish 7^th after starting 15^th.  Jeffrey Hardin had the fastest lap of the race, completing lap 4 in 15.459 seconds. The drivers did an excellent job of keeping the race clean with 10 of the 15 drivers finishing the race with no incident points.

The Championship will be decided December 14^th when the BRL travels to Pensacola Florida’s Five Flags Speedway. Bruce Pearson heads into the race with a somewhat comfortable 25-point lead over Jeffery Hardin.  Pearson likely needs only to avoid disaster on the high-banked half-mile oval to claim the Championship.  Lowell Jewell, Joe Segalla, and Todd Liston remain in the top 5 in the season standings.  Segalla and Liston are separated by just 2 points for 4^th in the Championship.  Sixth through tenth in the season standings are currently held by John Wilson, Tom Hilbert, Steve Hilbert, Chris Haizlip, and Donny Moore, respectively.