Freedom 40 to Randy Hannagan at Atomic
Atomic Speedway FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Freedom 40 to Randy Hannagan
Pinkerton AMRA Marksman
Highland Happy, Martin Masterful
By Scott Wolfe
CHILLICOTHE, OHIO- Thirty-seven of the nation's fastest sprint cars made history Saturday night (August 23, 2014) when the Renegade Sprints made their inaugural start at the Atomic Speedway for the 16th Annual Freedom 40. Also making history was Randy "The Hurricane" Hannagan, originally from San Jose, California, who pocketed the $5,000 winner’s paycheck. Hannagan inherited the lead from dominating leader Cole Duncan with two laps to go to win the 2014 version of the Freedom 40 event. Dave Fireball Pinkerton won the shortened AMRA Octane Advanced Services Modified feature; a race that ended with violent flip by Kenny Johnson.
Despite the high humidity, a large crowd turned out to salute the stars of open wheel racing. Not only did the Renegade Series deliver with a host of talent, they also created a fan-friendly atmosphere that allowed fans to connect with the drivers. Multiple opportunities were given for fans to get up-close and personal with the drivers. Ten of the series cars and drivers set up a meet-and-greet at the front gate to welcome race fans and sign autographs.
Support features were won by Harley Martin in the Sport Mods, Larry Highland in the Street Stocks and Tim Howard in the Enduro.
Heavy rains over Thursday and Friday put the race in doubt, but the Atomic crew worked hard to prep the track in adverse conditions. The extra moisture left the track super fast for the races as moisture worked out of the track surface for excellent traction, albeit a few choppy soft spots.
Like a Greek epic, Saturday's racing unfolded with classic drama. For some it was heartbreak; for others it was heaven. For Shane Helms and the Renegade Series it was a huge success. Excitement filled the air all evening long.
The first-ever Renegade Sprint feature event saw Caleb Armstrong and Cole Duncan pace the field to starter Frank Lemaster's green flag.
New Castle, Indiana driver Armstrong took the early lead with a good start over outside pole sitter Cole Duncan. Surviving a caution on lap two for Caleb Helms, and a red on the restart on a flip by Aaron Higgins, Armstrong continued to lead. Armstrong was smooth and fast through the turns with great forward bite off the high side. The young driver led through lap five when he jumped the cushion and spun over the back-chute.
That spin was followed by a flip by Brian Sabetto who jumped the cushion on the restart following Armstrong's misfortune. Both flip victims, Sabetto and Higgins were ok, but unable to continue.
With Armstrong restarting on tail, Cole Duncan 'blasted off' in what looked like a dominating drive to victory. Duncan sliced and diced through traffic, turning lap times reflective of qualifying times . Duncan lapped all the way up to sixth place by lap 25 and was working on sixth place Chad Kemenah. Great racing took place throughout the pack among some of the biggest names in racing. Duncan's effort, however, was delightful to watch.
Young Lady driver Taylor Ferns held a top five most of the race. The young feminine phenom remained poised and fast, holding down a strong third behind Andrew Palker who now had anchored a solid second. Randy Hannagan chased down Ferns by lap 26. Ferns made contact with another car and went headlong into the wall then rode the circumference through turn four before bringing her mount down on all fours on lap 34.
By this time Duncan was 3/4 lap ahead of his nearest competition. On the restart Duncan again was on a rail and raced some 12 car lengths ahead of the pack. Both Hannagan and Brandon Wimmer blitzed by Palker on the restart, leaving Palker and Danny Smith to battle it out for fifth.
According to the transponders, Hannagan had the second fastest car on the track. Caleb Helms who had gone a lap down early, actually was turning times faster than the leader Duncan in an effort to dig himself out of a hole. By races' end Helms had charged back into a top ten.
Duncan continued to drive as if chased by a pack of hungry wolves. Coming around to take the white flag, Duncan's mount slid high above the cushion, caught the turn four concrete and flipped violently into the catch fence. Duncan emerged unscathed but his newly built #49 was badly damaged.
Hannagan inherited the lead and raced on to the very first Renegade Sprint win. Much to the delight of the fans Hannagan did a wing stand after exiting his mount in victory lane.
Rounding out the top ten were Randy Hannagan, Brandon Wimmer, Chad Kemenah, Danny Smith, Andrew Palker, Caleb Helms, Dean Jacobs, Mike Terry, Jr., Jesse McCreary, and Mark Imler. Imler came from deep in the pack, while McCreary held his own in the top ten all evening long.
"I'll tell you what," said a winded Hannagan. "I gotta thank Brad (McCown) and this entire Renegade series. This series is gonna be a great deal."
"It's really a shame that my car owner Ed Neumeister is not here to see it, but he's probably listening now on the internet. I'd like to thank my crew, Charlie Fisher Engines, and everyone who made it possible to get me here. I was hungry for a win, but I think some guys behind me were just as hungry. (laughing) Ed will probably fix his hauler with the winnings."
"This car was a rocket tonight. We made some wholesale changes and some changes during the open red. It was Cole's race to lose and unfortunately he did. I hated to see that, but Cole is out there racing and knows there are 23 other guys out there behind him. We all race as hard as we can."
"We got ourselves behind in qualifying when the wing fell apart," said second place Brandon Wimmer. "But I can't complain with getting a second here tonight. We fought that qualifying time, but had a good run."
"I'd like to thank the fans for sticking this deal out," noted third place Chad Kemenah. "Continue to support this series. It is going to be a good deal."
"We had some things happen tonight, but the bottom line is you can't beat the weather and you gotta deal with it. We appreciate Brad for putting on this show and appreciate the fans for being here."
Kemenah raced from 9th to third, Terry from 17th to 8th, Jacobs from 19th to 7th, and Imler from 21st to tenth.
Brandon Wimmer was the hard charger in a great run from 18th to second place.
Heat winners were Dean Jacobs, Mark Imler, Wes McGlumphy, and Brandon Wimmer. Caleb Armstrong won the dash, and Jimmy Nier won the B-main. Jimmy Stinson, two-time Atomic Champion flipped in the dash, doing extensive damage to the Jamie Miller #6. Ryan Myers took a nasty end-for-end flip on the last lap of the B-main and actually transferred while flipping across the line. His mount, however, was unable to continue, thus his position and Stinson's allowed six cars instead of four cars to transfer from the B to the A-main.
