Survey says…Night of Games at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the big winner for Round 8 of the Cook Out Summer Shootout presented by Automotive Service Excellence. Drivers played to ‘beat the buzzer’ and each other, as fans played ‘Let’s Make A Deal’ on a night filled with celebrity game show hosts and wheel-spinning wins.
Wyatt Coffey (Bandits) and George Phillips (VP Racing Fuel Semi-Pro) won a grand prize, while Gerald White III (Beginner Bandoleros), TJ Moon (Bojangles Outlaws), Nathan Lyons (The UNC Charlotte Young Lions), Lee Jordan (Old Armor Beer Co. Masters) and Jake Bollman (Boston Reid & Co. Pro) discovered the price was right as they found their way to victory lane amongst a competitive group of 138 total drivers on hand.
BandoleroBandits Division
In the Bandits division for more experienced drivers ages 7-to-11, Wyatt Coffey kept his eye on the prize and captured the checkered flag for the 20-lap A-main feature.
The Waynesville, Virginia driver didn’t need a lifeline, as he started on the pole and led every lap, despite five cautions that jumbled up the field throughout the race. Laquan McCoy got to Coffey’s bumper following the last caution of the night, but Coffey maintained the inside line to win his first feature race of the Cook Out Summer Shootout season.
Coffey had 12 total wins across multiple events in the Bandolero Bandits division in 2023 coming into tonight, but was visibly relieved to finally capture first-place at the Shootout after multiple wins last season at Charlotte.
VP Racing Fuel Semi-Pro Division
George Phillips stayed hot in his Legends Car, driving away with his third victory in the VP Racing Fuel Semi-Pro competition. Phillips began the 25-lap feature on the pole but was challenged immediately from the inside by Austin McDonald on Lap 1. McDonald’s lead was short-lived as Brody Gunter went to the front on Lap 3 sending Phillips into second-place.
Phillips executed a perfect bump-and-run on Gunter to recapture the lead in Turn 3 on Lap 10. Three laps later, Gunter returned the favor with his own bump-and-run on Phillips heading into Turn 3, but a quick caution before the stripe kept Gunter in second-place on the restart. It didn’t take Gunter’s No. 1 machine long to get to the front, but Phillips responded quickly and seized the lead for the final time on Lap 15. With the sixth caution flag flying on Lap 19, the race was called due to time constraints.
“They all gave me a fight. The nine (Michael Crafton), the 31 (Sam Mazzo), and the 17 (Mason Lastra), they did an amazing job,” said Phillips.
With three wins under his belt, Phillips’ mentality entering the last two rounds of the Cook Out Summer Shootout is to “be consistent, and just drive my race.” The 13-year-old Charlotte native is chasing his first Cook Out Summer Shootout championship title.
NEXT UP: On Tuesday, July 25, the track cools down due to a North Pole chill as Christmas in July presented by Trackhouse Motorplex takes place at the Cook Out Summer Shootout. Drivers will saddle up their four-wheeled sleighs for the summer season’s penultimate night of competition. The speedway will be in the spirit of giving with an offer of free admission for any adult fan who brings a new, unwrapped toy for donation.
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