Brent McLean wins OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modified Autumn Colors Classic 50
After taking the lead at halfway, Brent McLean wouldn’t look back as he would lead the rest of the way en route to scoring the victory in the OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modified Autumn Colors Classic 50.
“I was sick to my stomach in what could happen,” Brent commented post-race. “I just wanted it over with our luck for this year. I didn’t know what way it’d go. I may have run him a little high, but it’s the Classic and I wanted it badly.”
While Brent celebrated in victory lane, uncle Gary McLean would be officially crowned the 2014 OSCAAR Hanover Holiday Modified Champion, marking his third straight series championship.
When the feature started, it’d be Max Beyore and Davey Terry starting on the front row after finishing one-two at the Chase for the Colors in August. Matt Barton started third, followed by Gary Elliott, Dustin Jackson, Gary McLean, Brent McLean, Chad Strawn, Cory Horner, Drew Stieler, Tommy Robb and Erin McLean. Beyore would pull out to the early lead on the start ahead of Terry and Barton. Elliott would fall back after being passed by Gary Mclean before the first caution flew at lap three as a result of Horner spinning. Strawn would run sixth, followed by Brent McLean, Jackson, Brian McLean, Erin McLean, Ryan Dick, Stieler, Nick Lees, Terry Baker, Robb, Daniel Bois, Dean Scott, Duane Cinnamon, Bill Burrows and Richard Warnes.
The first attempt at a restart brought forth a caution as Gary McLean would spin Beyore out while the pair battled with Terry for the lead. Under caution, both Cinnamon and Warnes would stop in turn four. The second attempt at a restart would be messy as well, with Elliott taking a trip through the grass; Elliott would keep it clean and going, though, resulting in no caution.
Meanwhile, Barton would get by Terry to take over the lead in the event. Brian McLean’s poor luck at Peterborough would continue as he’d get backflagged for smoking on lap nine. Both Burrows and Cinnamon would go a lap down, making it dicey for the leaders as they went by. With the pair of lap cars battling for position, it blocked up the track and resulted in a chain reaction deal that sent Stieler for the spin at lap 20. With Stieler down out of the way in the grass and getting it back going, there would once again be no caution. The caution would fly two laps later, though, as a result of Dick stopping in turn two. Under the caution, Strawn would head down pit road with a motor issue. With 28 laps to go, Barton led Terry, Brent McLean, Baker, Lees, Gary McLean, Jackson, Beyore, Scott, Robb, Elliott, Bois, Stieler, Dick, Erin McLean, Strawn, Cinnamon and Burrows.
Brent McLean would get a good restart, clearing Terry for second before passing Barton for the race lead at the halfway mark at lap 25. He would be dealt a restart three laps later as the caution would fly for Gary Mclean going sliding through the infield grass and into the inside retaining wall, virtue of contact from Terry. With 22 laps to go, Brent McLean led Barton, Baker, Lees, Jackson, Beyore, Scott, Elliott, Robb, Horner, Dick, Terry, Stieler and Erin McLean.
Brent McLean would get a good restart ahead of Barton, Baker and Lees while Beyore would be able to get by Jackson for fifth before the next caution. The fifth caution would fly at lap 34 as a result of Scott spinning on the backstretch and collecting Horner and Cinnamon. With 16 laps to go, Brent McLean led Barton, Baker, Lees, Beyore, Jackson, Elliott, Robb, Terry, Dick, Bois, Stieler, Horner, Erin McLean, Scott, Burrows and Cinnamon.
Brent McLean would get another good restart and looked to be set to grab the checkered flag without anymore drama, though wouldn’t have it go as smoothly as he wanted. The caution would fly on the last lap when Jackson would spin, collecting both Burrows and Terry. As a result, there’d be a green-white-checkered.
Brent McLean mastered the GWC, running Barton up the track a little, picking up the victory. Max Beyore would get second after getting into Terry Baker on the final lap and sending him up the track. Nick Lees finished third, followed by Matt Barton, Gary Elliott, Tommy Robb, Cory Horner, Ryan Dick, Drew Stieler, Daniel Bois, Erin McLean, Terry Baker, Dustin Jackson, Dean Scott, Duane Cinnamon and Bill Buorrows.
What’s Next — Charlotte Race Recap
I’ve always said that Charlotte Motor Speedway is the crown palace of NASCAR. The track sits in the sleepy town of Concord, NC (some say it’s closer to Harrisburg, but locals say Concord), and has plenty of camping and lots of trams and golf carts to get you around the 1.5-mile racetrack in quick order. Most of the seats are chair seats, which is good if you’ve ever sat on those aluminum bleachers and had to sit beside an unusually large person. I like the place. The only trouble is that the racing is usually tepid.
Normally, the race belongs to Hendrick Motorsports and that was pretty much the case on Saturday night. If you’re a fan of that organization, it’s almost a party just waiting to see which of Rick’s car will win. Brad Keselowski ruined that last year coming from behind in the October race. It was not to be this year. In fact, as much as he probably hated it, he stole the show this time, too. In the meantime, you could see the yawns in the crowd—big yawns. The racing was good back in the pack, but Kevin Harvick dominated the event with a little help from Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. Harvick, you know, drives for Stewart-Haas Racing, pretty much a satellite of Rick Hendrick’s empire, so it was all in the family, especially since HMS’s Jeff Gordon finished second. As usual.
The big surprise is that usual Charlotte master Jimmie Johnson couldn’t get it in gear and a series of misfortunes found fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. having shifter trouble. Both finished poorly, which led to one fan saying Junior would win at Talladega and another saying it would be Johnson, and you know the rest. Needless to say, the faithful were pretty upset at this revolting development. So much so, that a real fight broke out in the Chrysler section which resulted in several fans being led out by police. Then the drivers got into the act, and Twitter and Facebook blew up.
It’s almost funny how NASCAR fans turn on drivers. The usual victims are the Busch brothers. The boos from the stands tell that story, but on this night everything was about Keselowski. He used his car as a weapon, as if that hasn’t been done before. Matt Kenseth whipped his, uh, bottom. It looked a lot like Jeff Gordon’s right hook at Jeff Burton and his shoving Matt Kenseth at Bristol. Tony Stewart did a full reverse burnout into Keselowski’s car—no reaction. Never mind that under caution, Keselowski lost the right front of his car to Kenseth or well, too many things to recount. One thing fans must remember, it’s not the first time it’s happened and won’t be the last as long as guys who win all year get eliminated like Johnson, Earnhardt and Keselowski (10 wins from those three). Win and in? Not this year.
Talladega will be it’s usual, two abreast dance with a few coming up to the front late after the two big wrecks. If Keselowski, Johnson, and Junior aren’t at the front, expect more fireworks after the race. It sounded like a good idea to emphasize winning, but I wonder how this will work out? It should be interesting.
