MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The infield of Myrtle Beach Speedway looked like it had just been hit by a category two hurricane after a marathon wreckfest ensued in the Southeast Limited Late Model Series race on Saturday night.
The caution came out 23 times in the crash marred 100 lap, two-and-a-half hour race. Many of the cautions came in the final 50 laps, which included multiple aborted restarts. The cautions continuously interrupted a thrilling battle between Dylan Hall and Terry Evans. The race descended into chaos and anarchy in the final laps as, during a red flag, Evans’ teams came onto the track to refuel his car as he, and other drivers, were running out of fuel.
Evans’ team claimed series officials told them they could put a can of fuel in. After refueling, Evans was black flagged and sent to the rear of the field. When approached for comment by RACE22.com staff, he and his team declined.
For his part, Hall had run inside the top-five all race long much like he did one year ago when he won in the same event.
“We had a good car all weekend,” Hall said. “Can’t thank Hawk McCall Motorsports enough for giving me a great car. We worked on it a lot yesterday and got it a lot better and came here today, were pretty good and had a good car all throughout the race.”
Other drivers pointed to Hall’s restarts as the cause of many of the cautions that took place late in the race. When asked about the restarts, Hall said he missed a shift one time and had electrical issues late in the race.
“There on that one restart, I missed a shift,” Hall remarked. “There at the end of the race, end of the straightaways, battery just started going dead and stopped pulling at the end of the straightaways and got lucky there. I held them off there until the end and got the win.”
Chris Chapman was one of the drivers who was critical of Dylan Hall’s restarts. He ended up finishing second in the race, which ended under caution when track officials finally decided they had enough.
“This is the most screwed up race I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Chapman explained. “Half of these guys don’t even need to be out here on the freaking racetrack. [Dylan Hal] needs to learn how to quit spinning the tires. If he wouldn’t have backed the pace down, we had the car to win this race. I was sitting there riding the whole time until we killed the front of it. He needs to learn to take off and change gears if he’s going to race a racecar.”
The Southeast Limited Late Model Series race at Myrtle Beach has frustrated Chris Chapman who was hoping to win for Matt and Meredith McCall who are expecting a baby any day.
“But, anyway, I want to thank all these guys, Wendell Davis and the Sandy Bottom Gang,” Chapman stated. “I was trying to get [Matt McCall] a win for his new baby coming but didn’t get it.”
Mack Little clinched the Southeast Limited Late Model Series championship and, while happy to do so, his championship celebration took a backseat to his frustration over the events in Saturday night’s race.
“I was just trying to bide my time there and we ran seven laps of then race and some, I don’t know what the idiot was in the 54, I mean he bent the rear clip down on it he hit me so hard,” Little said. “Turned me around in front of the field. It bent the left rear shock. But we were able to maintain and, through all the disaster-ness and crashing, I mean, at one time, they were starting three wide. I mean, they wouldn’t even give any positions. I ain’t ever seen anything like that in my life.
“I don’t know. Like I said, it was a lot of drivers, I don’t know if they were inexperienced. They just wouldn’t give anybody anything. You’ve got 100 laps at this track, you’ve got to run slow. They just totaled awesome racecars over nothing, for 20th place.”
(NOTE: There was not a 54 car in the race)
Kate Dallenbach, who experienced a wild roller coaster day at Myrtle Beach Speedway was simply left speechless at the events that took place.
“I don’t even know what to say right now,” Dallenbach remarked. “Pretty much everything that could happen in the race did. There are people running out on the track putting gas in on the red flag. I don’t know.”
Dallenbach transferred in from the Last Chance Qualifier after getting turned while leading the sprint and then, in the race, worked her way up inside the top-six before things went downhill fast. After managing to drive through several incidents, she ended up collected two late race incidents – both entering turn one on the restarts.
“We missed a lot of wrecks in the first half but, towards the end, we got caught up in a couple. It was pretty much body damage,” Dallenbach elaborated. “But for starting 37th, we got to finish. I think we were still around the top 10-15 so, all I’ve got to say.”
Many of the cars running at the end of the race, even up inside the top-five, sustained significant body damage (or worse) throughout the duration of the event that might as well have been a charity race for the fiberglass industry.
Cole Glasson scored the win in the Southeast Super Truck Series, his first win in the series and his second win of the weekend. Glasson had run in all three races but was one of the many victims of Saturday night’s man made disaster at Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina.
RACE22.com is still awaiting results from all three races run during the first weekend of Myrtle Beach Speedweeks 2015.
