Bootleg News, Street Stock Series, Tim Corder

BRL Street Stock Summary

Leave a comment

Season 32, Race 1
by Tim Corder

North Wilkesboro Speedway

The 32nd season of Bootleg Racing’s Street Stock Series began on Saturday, January 4, 2025, at historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. Ryan Senneker’s #19 Thunderbird led the field to the green flag, but James Lowe’s #99 Camaro emerged victorious, claiming the season’s first trophy. Donny Moore (#26 Camaro) finished second, and Aiden Young (#69 Monte Carlo) secured third. Edward Foster (#4 Thunderbird) and Senneker rounded out the top five. The race saw two cautions and concluded with a dramatic green-white-checkered finish.

The first 20 laps ran under green with clean side-by-side racing. On lap 11, Aiden Young passed Senneker with an inside move in turns one and two. Scott Negus (#29 Thunderbird) made the biggest early charge, gaining eight positions from 17th to 9th before the first caution on lap 21. The yellow flag flew after Chris Haizlip spun in turn four, sending his #93 Camaro into the inside wall.

Racing resumed on lap 26, with Lowe taking the lead from Young immediately and holding it for the rest of the race. A second green-flag stint of 12 laps followed, marked again by competitive but clean short-track racing. Tom Hilbert (#25 Thunderbird) was the standout during this run, gaining five positions before the second caution on lap 38. This yellow came after Steve Hilbert (#52 Monte Carlo) got loose in turn four, collecting Karl Grave (#62 Monte Carlo) and sending both into the inside wall.

The race culminated in a green-white-checkered finish. Treacherous turn four caused last-lap chaos as drivers pushed hard for positions. Bruce Pearson (#22 Camaro) appeared to, running fifth, appeared to get loose and spun after slight contact with Lowell Jewell (#2 Monte Carlo), sending both into the wall. Pearson finished 17th, and Jewell 19th. Tom Hilbert also spun coming to the checkered flag, finishing 18th.

Notable Performances:
• Hard Charger: Scott Negus gained 11 positions to finish 6th after starting 17th.
• Fastest Lap & Most Laps Led: James Lowe clocked the fastest lap (20.477 seconds) and led 20 laps.
• Clean Machines: Nine of 21 drivers completed the race without incident: Lowe, Moore, Young, Foster, Senneker, Liston, Sprenger, Isaacs, and Corder.

The series now heads to Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Georgia, for the second race of the season. The 3/8-mile oval was last visited in Season 29, where Jason Menda claimed victory after leading 21 of 40 laps.

Bootleg News, iRacing, Street Stock Series, Tim Corder

Street Stock Recap

Leave a comment

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 15th starting position to 10th 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 12th to finish 8th and Tim Corder’s #60 Thunderbird moved up from 14th to 10th.

Scott Negus’s Thunderbird (4th) and John Wilson’s Monte Carlo (5th) 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 7th after starting 15th.  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 14th 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 4th 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.