The Crittenden Automotive Library

Bagwell Bags Second Win of Season

Topics: Charles Ray III Diabetes Association 150, Danny Bagwell

Bagwell Bags Second Win of Season

Devon Holder/ISCARS PR
July 13, 2008

Charles Ray III and Heather King join Danny Bagwell in Victory Lane (Pictured from left to right)

Dillon, SC - Danny Bagwell collected his second victory of the 2008 ISCARS DASH Touring season on Saturday, July 12th at Dillon Motor Speedway, in the Charles Ray III Diabetes Association 150. Bagwell finished ahead of pole sitter Joey Miller, and rookie Chelsea Schillig in the Charles Ray III Diabetes Foundation Dash 150. However, earlier in the day, it did not look like Bagwell would even be in contention for the race win.

During the first practice session for the Charles Ray III Diabetes Foundation Dash 150, Bagwell had to climb from his car on the backstretch as flames erupted under the hood. A fuel line had worked itself lose, and the leaking fuel had been ignited by a spark from the car bottoming out at the entrance of turn one. Fortunately, rescue crews were able to put out the blaze before it did further damage to Bagwell’s machine. Bagwell’s crew was able to make repairs and the car was ready to participate in the second practice session.

After two practice sessions in the South Carolina heat, the ISCARS DASH drivers were ready to set the field for the Charles Ray III Diabetes Foundation Dash 150. Joey Miller of Wilmington, NC earned his second consecutive pole of the 2008 season. “We found something on this car during the off season and evidently its working pretty good,” exclaimed Miller after qualifying. Winnsboro, SC driver Justin Hobgood qualified second, with Cordova, AL native Bagwell earning the third starting spot.

As the green flag waved to start the Charles Ray III Diabetes Foundation Dash 150, Miller sprung to the lead followed closely by Justin Hobgood and Bagwell. The 2002 DASH Champion Jake Hobgood, who was substitute driving for Joey Jones, wasted no time moving up from his starting position at the rear of the field. By lap 5, the former champion had worked his way up to the fourth position. On lap 25 as the leaders exited turn two, Joey Miller got loose allowing Justin Hobgood by for the lead. Bagwell followed Hobgood through into the second position. Miller settled in and held the third position over Jake Hobgood. On lap 33, the first yellow flag of the evening came out as Chelsea Schillig spun in turns three and four. This caution allowed Danny Bagwell to make a pit stop on lap 35 to add fuel and take one pound of air out of the right rear tire. Just after the restart on lap 40, leader Justin Hobgood radioed his crew to inform them that the motor was blowing up. On lap 42 Miller grabbed the lead away as Hobgood slowed on the front stretch. By lap 44, Justin Hobgood was in the pits and done for the night. “The racecar was phenomenal,” said a disappointed Hobgood, “Under that caution it buried the water temp gauge in the dash.” As Hobgood sat idle in the pits, the battle continued on the track.

On lap 63 as Brad Queen, Ned Combs, and Chelsea Schillig battled for the fourth position, Queen got real loose coming off of turn two. As Queen slid down the track his right front caught the right rear of Combs’, sending Combs into the outside wall. The impact into the wall got Combs airborne. Combs was uninjured, but the same could not be said for his Duragloss Car Care Products Mercury. The car had to be towed to the pits, ending Combs’ night. Schillig spun her car to miss the accident and was able to continue without any damage. Queen lost several laps in the pits as his crew made repairs to his Mercury, but he was able to be running at the finish. After the race, Queen assumed full responsibility for the accident, “I was struggling with the way the car was steering and I flat lost it. That’s all there is to it… I hope Ned is alright. I hope his car is not that bad but it looked pretty bad from what I saw, going up in the air like that.”

The field would spend 15 laps under the yellow as track workers cleared the backstretch of debris from the accident. The restart came at lap 78 with Danny Bagwell out in front of Joey Miller, Jake Hobgood, and rookie Chelsea Schillig. Bagwell held a two car length lead over Miller until a caution on lap 100 waved for debris on the front stretch. The restart after the 3rd caution saw Bagwell again jump out to a two car length advantage over Miller. By lap 112, Bagwell and Miller had distanced themselves from Jake Hobgood in third. On lap 135 the fourth and final yellow flag of the evening came out for debris. This caution setup the DASH to the checkered flag.

As the green flag came out on lap 139 Danny Bagwell jolted away at the front of the field. Joey Miller was able to track Bagwell down and made a great run off of turn two on the last lap but it was too late as Danny Bagwell took the checkered flag. In victory lane, Bagwell said, “It's great to win, especially after everything we had to overcome from the situation in practice. The crew really worked hard to get the car back to where it needed to be.”

Rookie Chelsea Schillig came home with her best career finish in third, followed by Jake Hobgood in fourth, and Gary Young in fifth. Brad Queen, Ned Combs, and Justin Hobgood rounded out the finishing order in the Charles Ray III Diabetes Foundation Dash 150 at Dillon Motor Speedway.

Notes and Quotes: Runner up Joey Miller was frustrated with his cars setup, “Too aggressive on the right rear spring tonight. A little bit more practice would have helped but that’s the way it goes.” Miller did not get much practice time in during the second session due to an electrical problem with his car. Chelsea Schillig was ecstatic after overcoming a dehydration spell earlier in the day to earn her best career ISCARS finish, “I started from the back and I worked my way up to third. I would like to thank Yadkin Valley Generators and my crew for their hard work in the pits. This was our first time having to gas the car in a longer race. ” Jake Hobgood replaced Joey Jones in the 53 car to serve as a consultant regarding the chassis setup. “It was fun to get in someone else’s car. I came to the track to help Justin and ended up getting to race in Joey’s car. And, it drove pretty good,” said Hobgood. “I missed the first two races of the season and since Jake wasn’t in his own car, I asked him to race my car and give me some advice on how to make it handle better,” commented Jones. Ned Combs who was involved in the crash on lap 63 with Brad Queen said, “If I hadn’t have been there he would have hit the (inside) wall head on. I saved his car. Mine hit hard.”

Next Race: International Sport Compact Auto Racing Series (ISCARS) DASH Touring heads to Franklin County Speedway on Saturday, July 26th for the Virginia Mountain “150”. For more information log onto iscarsonline.com