Legends Million Produces Surprise Winner by Mike Neff
After plenty of hype, the day of reckoning arrived for the competitors aiming to take home their share of the Legends Million at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Over 300 Legends cars had a chance to make the A-main field, and ultimately 34 drivers were able to take the green flag for the richest race in the history of the sport.
The evening started off with the B-main events for each of the Legends divisions. The top-5 finishers in each of the B-main events transferred to the A-main for their category of entry. Once the Mains were set, it was time to run them and set the final lineup for the Million Dollar race. Unfortunately, a major rain storm blew through the area and delayed activity for the better part of an hour. Eventually, the A-mains for both of the support divisions were run under wet conditions, ultimately resulting in some drivers who were very strong during preliminary activities being rather uncompetitive because they’d never competed in such weather before. Unlike the Cup Series, Legends races are run rain or shine on many tracks in the country, as long as there is no lightning in the area. Fortunately, by the end of the Masters B-main the track had begun to dry quite a bit, and when the Million was run the track was primarily a dry racing surface.
The B-main top-5 finishers in the Young Lions/Semi-Pro division who transferred to the A-main were:
B-main #2 – Luke Demis, Dusty Summers, Corey Gordon, Brian Kolb, and Justin Thomas
In the Masters Division B-mains the top-5 finishers to move on to the A-main were:
B-main #1 – Jamie Lane, Jan Ingram, Chris Freeland, John Barilka, and Dave Gleason.
B-main #2 – Ira Langley, George Whitney, Jackie Ryan, Scott Anderson, and Steve Pye
When the green flag dropped on the Young Lions/Semi-Pro A-main, the track was very wet and drivers were faced with a completely different racing surface than they’d run on during the previous two days of Million competition. Experienced drivers who’ve run Legends cars in the rain at Charlotte have learned that the fast way around the track is actually in the outside lane, unlike when the track is dry where the fastest groove is around the very bottom of the track. Gregory Lang started on the outside of the front row and gave everyone a hint of what the racing was going to be like in the wet when he slid straight off of the track in turn one and ran out through the grass, dropping well back into the field and giving Sean Rayhall an easy pass into the initial lead in the race. Rayhall went on to lead the first 37 laps until there was a caution for Kason Plott, who was unable to get his car refired after he spun. Rayhall spun his tires on the restart and Brady Boswell, who’d chosen the outside lane, swung by to grab the lead. Boswell led until lap 46, when he and Rayhall had caught up to backmarkers. Rayhall made a wise choice, as Boswell got stuck behind lapped traffic, diving to the bottom going into turn three. Rayhall was then able to pull ahead of Boswell and resume the lead, pacing the field for the remaining laps and taking home $25,000 for his efforts.
Brian Sockwell was able to use his considerable experience at racing in the rain to quickly move through traffic in the Masters A-main and gain the lead on lap six. Sockwell is a former runner-up in the Pro division season points championship in the Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte, also doubling as an occasional competitor in the Camping World Truck Series. After taking the lead on lap six, Sockwell was unstoppable and went on to lap the majority of the field while leading the remaining 44 laps for the victory. Behind Sockwell, Brian Weimer and Jason Rochelle had a tremendous battle for second place. Over the last 17 laps of the event the two drivers swapped the second position back and forth. Diving into turn three on the final lap, Weimer and Rochelle bumped and Rochelle ended up in the grass on the outside of the turn, while Weimer continued on to take second place. That encounter allowed Will Cagle to finish third.
Don Hawk then took to the stage to conduct his version of Deal or No Deal, and he offered the highest finishing drivers who were not already locked into the Million with other cars the option to forego some of their prize money to race in the big race. Rayhall had already qualified his other car into the Million, so Dusty Summers was given the chance to race the A-main. Summers took the money instead, so Gray Gaulding was asked if he’d like to run, since Boswell had also qualified a car for the Million. Gaulding jumped at the opportunity and became the youngest competitor in the Main event at 12 years old. Brian Sockwell had decided to race for the big money instead of taking a family vacation to the beach so, when Hawk gave him the chance to run in the Million, he jumped at the chance. The Main event lineup was then set, with the addition of two promoter’s provisional starters – Kenzie Ruston, the Young Lions National Champion from last year and Geoff Bodine, the former Cup driver who was running for the Alzheimer’s Association Florida Chapter.
The top two finishers in the Pro division B-mains also slotted into the main event behind the cars who locked in via the heat races on Friday. The B-main transfer drivers were:
B-main #1 – Kyle Plott and Travis Braden
B-main #2 – Jake Crum and John Freeman
B-main #3 – Harrison Rhodes and Justin Lloyd
B-main #4 – Kory Abbott and John Sossoman
B-main #5 – Adam Gay and Donny St. Ours
Doug Stevens led the field to the green for the Million, with David Ragan on his outside. Stevens immediately jumped to the lead, while Ragan was shuffled back to fourth place before he could get down to the preferred bottom lane. Stevens led the first 90 laps of the event with plenty of competition behind him. There were several spins that did not bring out caution flags and a handful that did require restarts but, for the most part, the competition was tight but clean, without anyone’s feathers getting ruffled during the first half of the race. At the halfway point, some drivers chose to change their right-side tires while others only took on fuel, including Stevens who felt that his tires were not worn badly because he’d been doing his best to conserve his equipment - just keeping a safe distance between himself and second place. Nick Carey was proving to be one of his biggest challengers; a big mover early in the event, he came from 20th starting position to the top 5 by the halfway break. However, that's where he stalled out, eventually dropping to eighth ove the race's final laps.
The second half started exactly like the first, with Stevens moving out to the lead and David Ragan trying to make headway on the outside but not being able to get back in line. Stevens continued to stay out front, with Daniel Hemric right on his back bumper just as he’d been for the last 10 laps of the first half. Hemric did his best to pressure Stevens into a mistake, but the veteran Legends racer from Georgia was unfazed until lap 89. Heading into turn one, Stevens locked up his left front tire, partly because his right front brake had failed a few laps earlier, and he slid up off of the bottom of the track for the first time all night. That was the only opening Hemric, the 2008 and 2009 Pro division National Champion, needed as he turned his nose in below Stevens and forced his way to the lead. Stevens got back in line right behind Hemric and was all over his back bumper for the next four laps before Hemric was able to slowly pull away and secure victory in the biggest Legends race in history. Stevens held on for second place, with Steven Cantrell pressuring him to the finish line. After Cantrell took the checkered flag third, David Ragan and Tyler Green, son of full-time Nationwide driver Mark, crossed the start/finish line fourth and fifth.
Hemric, from nearby Kannapolis, NC, had no idea what he was going to do with the $250,000 first prize. He was just happy that he was able to win the race and keep the money in the Charlotte area. The final results of the Million looked like this:
Legends Million A-Feature: 1. Daniel Hemric 2. Doug Stevens 3. Steven Cantrell 4. David Ragan 5. Tyler Green 6. Chris Dilbeck 7. Justin Lloyd 8. Nick Carey 9. Kyle Plott 10. Travis Braden 11. John Freeman 12. Kyle Beattie 13. David Moyes 14. Evan Swilling 15. Chad Finchum 16. Zachary Hausler 17. Jake Crum 18. Dennis Lambert 19. Brian Sockwell 20. John Sossoman 21. Darrell Wallace 22. Kyle Weatherman 23. Harrison Rhodes 24. Brady Boswell 25. Justin Swilling 26. Adam Gay 27. Donny St. Ours 28. Kenzie Ruston 29. Kory Abbott 30. Adam Burton 31. Gray Gaulding 32. Geoff Bodine 33. Sean Rayhall 34. Samuel McAulay
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