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Tim's Corner - Issue Two - Pankow Is the All Star
- But Charles Steals Show! What about the IFRT All
Star Race last night? One hundred laps of nothing but hard nosed,
fender to fender excitement lap after lap! The seventeen drivers who
took the green should be proud of their accomplishment last night,
putting on one of the greatest Charlotte Motor Speedway shows I've
seen in a very, very long time.
If you missed the event, you must check it out the
archive on RLMtv.com. Four segments made up the event that simulated
the NASCAR Sprint Cup All Star event. Fifty laps made up the first
segment with a four tire, caution flag pit stop taking place on lap
twenty-six. That said pit stop helped the Central Merchant Services
Inc. Toyota Camry's of Nick MacMillan and Kevin Pankow gain track
position and rode that wave to the top two positions following the
first fifty laps. Dale Charles had a solid run in the first half of
the segment before sliding through the front straight grass,
relegating the Budweiser Chevrolet to sixteenth on the final running
order. Devon Bliss also impressed in the first half of the event,
grabbing a third place run in the segment one. Bad luck would bite
Bliss in the last three portions of the event though as he was caught
up in incidents - deciding not to start segment four.
Dennie Daniels also had a tough night after starting
on the pole for segment one, the #37 went from the penthouse to the
outhouse quickly as the handling went away on the race car and was
involved in a wreck before the end of the first fifty circuits.
Daniels had retired his Dodge to seventeenth in segment one and would
not return for the final three sprints.
Charles would rebound from a tough first segment by
coming to the checkers first in the second portion of the event. The
20-lap event featured some fireworks with Nick MacMillan being
involved in an incident placing him at the back of the segment two
running order. Pankow lost a gear in his #18 which would see him
finishing sixth. A major wreck in the waning laps of the segment would
take out the likes of Wade Menard and Andy Telgenhof and nearly took
out Charles in the making. With a solid run in the second segment,
Craig Burnstein would lead the overall standings in the event
following the first seventy laps over Pankow.
Kevin would do what he had to do in the third segment
by becoming the third different winner of the evening. Pankow had to
hold off a hard charging Nick MacMillan for the victory. Greg Wright
held off Burnstein and John Penninger in the top five, which would
give Pankow a slight advantage in the points heading into the final
ten lap dash.
Pankow knew what he had to do in the second segment
and eyed a top five finish but would have to do it from a starting
position in the back of the pack. In a wild, mad dash in the final ten
lap event it was Charles winning his second segment of the evening
over Wade Menard. Chris Pence, Jay Menard and Nick MacMillan put on a
show for third in the event as the #81 made a spirited late race
charge to the front but had to settle for fourth.
When the points were tallied and the smoke cleared,
Pankow's eighth place run in the final segment was enough to seal the
2010 All Star Event by nine markers over Charles. MacMillan, Burnstein
and Pence completed the top five in the final All Star running order.
A great job was done by all who put on a great show on Tuesday night
and if it was any indication of what to expect during the 300 - you
will not want to miss it on RLMtv!
This race also marked the last ride for Andy Telgenhof.
Telgenhof announced on Tuesday that he is going to be a father and
will be shifting his focus to his family in the back-half of 2010,
retiring from IFRT following a sixth place finish in the final segment
and a twelfth place finish overall. We wish you all the best in the
future Andy, and remember to stop in from time to time!
It was also nice to work with Joe Cortez once again. Cortez was a
member of SRNtv back in the day and made his RLMtv debut last Sunday
during the SRO race at Charlotte. Good to have you back, Cowboy - Pink
Nikes, kilt and all!
Also need to send a hello out to Nick and Geoff from the N-er-G Hour.
The N-er-G Hour is a sixty minute radio show on auto racing, whether
it be of the sim variety or of the local Atlantic Canadian type. If
you are local to the Fredericton, New Brunswick area you can check
them out on 95.7 The Wolf or you can check out their website to listen
online at www.n-er-ghour.com.
Tell them you saw them on 'the Corner! Until next time, keep the hammer
down and we'll see you at the track!
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