Logan Avoids Last Lap Crash to Get First PBG Legends Tour Win
by Dave Westerman
Andy Logan of West Palm Beach became the first Masters Division driver to win a PBG Legends Car Tour race Saturday night as he avoided a last lap tangle involving the three lead cars to take the win at Desoto Super Speedway.
Twenty PBG Legends checked in for a little Memorial Day Weekend racing but things did not go well in practice as a tangle sent the cars of Doug Hall and Chris McDonald hard into the wall. Hall was done for the night while McDonald would borrow Stuart Dutton's back-up car for the rest of the evening and actually finish the race ahead of his "boss."
St. Cloud's Brandon Thomson topped the field in qualifying with a quick lap of 17.116 seconds. Kory Abbott would time in second quick at 15.130 followed by Matt Bowers, Andy Logan, Chelsea Schillig, Bryan Silas and Stuart Dutton.
Thomson pulled a "3" for the inversion putting Bowers on the pole with point leader Abbott on the outside on row one and Thomson third on the grid for the 35 lap race.
Bowers assumed the point at the drop of the green as Thomson snuck underneath Abbott and into second. Thomson made his move into the lead on lap four bringing Abbott with him. Bowers dropped to third with Logan right on his tail while Schillig and Silas dueled for the fifth spot.
Abbott put the pressure on Thomson lap after lap and was finally able to take the point during lap ten. One lap later, Tim Osterlund spun in turn four to bring out the first caution of the race.
Abbott continued to set the pace with Thomson and Bowers following close behind. As the field took the half-way signal, it was Abbott out front trailed by Thomson, Bowers, Logan, Schillig, Silas, McDonald (doing a great job in an unfamiliar car), Dutton, Wesley McLeod and James Rodriguez as the top ten.
Spike Sabo looped his car in turn four to bring out the second yellow on lap 19 (exiting the race with a broken shifter) with Mitch Verhaagh taking a spin four laps later coming out of turn four, however the running order up front remained the same.
The caution came out again on lap 27 as Osterland and Mitch Verhaagh got together in turn four. Once the green came out, Abbott appeared to have things well in hand with the running order virtually unchanged since the half-way mark.
Abbott's run to the checker and the complexion of the race was changed with two laps to go as Osterlund spun down the front stretch, stalling his car in the process.
Following the restart, Thomson was all over Abbott. But going into turn three on the final lap Bowers surprised both of them by moving to the outside lane, going by Thomson and moving up to challenge Abbott.
At this point the three cars all came together in turn four with Bowers' machine slamming hard into the wall. As Abbott and Thomson spun, Andy Logan drove through the middle of everything and took the checker for the "surprise" win. Chelsea Schillig checked up to avoid the spinning cars, but Bryan Silas didn't and sped past Schillig to claim second place managing to keep from hitting any of the other spinning cars.
Schillig was third while McDonald slipped through in fourth. Abbott came across the line backwards in fifth with the machines of Stuart Dutton and Wesley Mcleod actually pushing him across as they also got involved in the melee with McLeod's car nearly flipping. Dutton was scored sixth and McLeod seventh with Thomson recovering for eighth. Mike Fazio and James Rodriguez steered through the mess to complete the top ten. Bowers' car slid off the track and, although a bit shaken, Bowers was OK except for a bruised leg.
There were a number of versions regarding the last lap incident but the Desoto Speedway Flagman had the best seat in the house to get a view of what happened. "It looked like the #5 (Abbott) checked up just a bit trying to block both the cars behind him. Then the #54 car (Thomson) either hooked his bumper or touched his left rear wheel and that got them out of shape with the #84 (Bowers) getting bumped into the wall," he said. Most everyone agreed it was just a racing incident with three drivers all wanting to win. Unfortunately none of them did as Logan became the first Masters Division (age 40+) driver to win a PBG Legends Tour race.
Logan, who returned to Legends car racing this year after a several year layoff and is well-respected among the current crop of drivers, was humble yet truthful in victory lane. "We weren't the fastest car tonight, but you take 'em when you can get 'em. I can remember a couple of times several years back when I lost races just like what happened tonight, so maybe this is a bit of a pay-back for me," he said.
Logan's win made it four different winners in four races so far in the PBG Florida Legends Tour for 2006. Silas' second place was also his best career PBG Tour finish.
The next race on the Tour is Saturday night, June 24th at Orlando Speedworld.
OFFICIAL FINISH - PBG 2006 FLORIDA LEGENDS CAR TOUR... DESOTO SUPER SPEEDWAY - 5/27/06:
1) Andy Logan, West Palm Beach #1FL 2) Bryan Silas, Royal Palm Beach #57 3) Chelsea Schillig, Apopka #75 4) Chris McDonald, Havana #82 5) Kory Abbott, Apopka #5 6) Stuart Dutton, Tallahassee #32 7) Wesley McLeod, Altamonte Springs #22 8) Brandon Thomson, St. Cloud #54 9) Mike Fazio, Davie #38 10) James Rodriguez, West Palm Beach #19 11) Eric Eichelberger, West Palm Beach #47 12) Mike Verhaagh, Ft. Myers #7 13) Mitch Verhaagh, Bonita Springs #9 14) Shaughn McCormick, Oviedo #34 15) Matt Bowers, Mt. Dora #84 16) Dave Richardson, Clearwater #01 17) Tim Osterlund, Sebring #49 18) Spike Sabo, Tampa #5X 19) Austin Aguirre, Tallahassee #59 DNS Doug Hall, St. Petersburg Beach #55
