Chase Burrow charges from worst to first at Southern National

Chase Burrow raced his way from the rear of the field to the front in just under 100 laps in Saturday afternoon’s I-95 Showdown race at Southern National Motorsports Park.

Burrow’s qualifying effort was plagued by transmission issues, which caused his car to get stuck in second gear.  By the 23^rd lap, Burrow had raced his way to the fifth position.  By the 75^th lap, he was in the runner-up position, but trailed Ayden Millette.

The complexion of the race changed when Phoenyx Kimball spun in turn two to draw a caution with 27 laps remaining, erasing Burrow’s deficit to Millette.  Burrow was able to make the pass with a crossover move on lap 100 and held Millette off for the final 25 laps to take the victory.

“I knew we had a really good car,” Burrow said.  “I knew we had plenty of tire but I didn’t know what he had, obviously.  Starting last, struggled a little bit to get through traffic but I was able to do it without slipping a tire.  I knew, when the yellow came out, that was our shot so we had to take advantage of that shot.  Huge shout out to all my guys.  They worked hard this weekend and it feels good.”

Ayden Millette took the lead from pole-sitter Landon McGowan on the opening lap of the 125-lap race and led much of the race, but ultimately settled for a runner-up finish.

“I thought we had it won there,” Millette said.  “25 to go, the lapped car spun out.  It really sucks but, I mean, we had a lot of good speed.  I think, on that restart, obviously were getting later in these races and I didn’t know what it was going to do firing off.  It was just a tick to free on entry and he had that little bit of an edge on me.”

Tristan Brunelli finished in the third position while Andrew Grady and Cole Robie rounded out the top-five.

Remembering Lloyd Garner

Southern National Motorsports Park paid tribute to longtime spotter Lloyd Garner, who passed away earlier this weekend following a battle with cancer.

The flagstand was dedicated in Garner’s memory with a banner depicting his image and the slogans “Eye in the Sky” and “Spotter Strong.”

Garner had been spotting for Andrew Grady in recent years.  Grady was in the field, finishing fourth in the race.  Prior to the race, he reflected on Garner.

“It’s been rough, man,” Grady said.  “This whole week has just been rough on the entire racing community, man.  He was such a great guy.  He helped so many people.  He was the life in every room.  I sure as hell miss his phone call this morning.  I used to talk to the man every day and now I wanted to talk to him this morning so bad on the way to this racetrack.  I didn’t know what to do, so I called my wife and was just, hey, maybe talk to me, I’m upset, I’m losing it.  She was like, go do your thing and, like Lloyd always told me, keep all four wheels engaged, don’t spin them or slide them.”

Track owner Michael Diaz also paid tribute to Garner during pre-race ceremonies.

While race season is winding down in the Mid-Atlantic, Southern National Motorsports Park will host two of the region’s biggest events in November, the North-South Shootout for Open Wheel Modifieds on Saturday, November 7, and the Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday, November 29 (with racing also taking place on November 27-28).

Unofficial Results

1. Chase Burrow
2. Ayden Millette
3. Tristan Brunelli
4. Andrew Grady
5. Cole robie
6. Landon McGowan
7. Chris Chapman
8. Kyle Brnes
9. Adam Medek
10. Phoenyx Kimball
11. Clay Jones
12. Matthew Laparde
13. Delaney Gray
14. Brian Rundstrom