Denham captures runnerup spot in Legends Winter Heat Series

Expected to be one of the favorites entering this year’s Hardees Summer Series Shootout at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, Whiteville’s Drew Denham began tuning up for the 2006 Legends season with a second place finish in the Winter Heat Series points championship that concluded last weekend.

Denham, starting ninth in the final race of the Winter Heat Semi-Pro Series at Lowes fifth-mile asphalt track, pushed his #22 Legends Chevy Coup through the field to place second and secure a runner-up Series finish in the points championship.

Denham finished ahead of 44 drivers in the Winter Heat Series, which included four road course races.

“It would have been great to win the overall title, but I guess second isn’t so bad,” said Denham, a 2005 graduate of South Columbus High School who attends NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville.

“We were right there (near or in the points lead) the whole season. That’s the best we’ve run from beginning to end in any series. We finished 12 points out. We were close.”

Although held winless during the Series, Denham was a picture of consistency. He had six top 5 finishes in eight races, including two seconds and three thirds.

“I had a couple of shots at some wins but it just wasn’t meant to be,” he said.

The Hardees Summer Shootout, the mostly hotly contested Legends racing in the U.S., begins in June and will run for 10 weeks. It will be televised by Speed Channel on a delay broadcast in the fall.

Denham likes his chances. Nick Pistone Racing took over responsibilities for the #22 car just before the Winter Series and enjoys one of the finest reputations in Legends setups. Pistone Racing cars won the last two Shootout Pro titles and two of the past three Semi-Pro championships.

Nick Pistone is the grandson of “Tiger” Tom Pistone, a former Grand National stock car driver who ran against the likes of Curtis Turner and Ned Jarrett during the 1950s and 60s. Nick’s younger brother, Chase Pistone, competes in the Hooters Pro Cup USAR Series and was last year’s Pro Legends Shootout champion.

“There’s no doubt we believe that Drew can win the Shootout,” Pistone said. “He will be one of three Semi Pro cars we have in the field.”

In the meantime, Denham is hustling to find sponsorship money so he can run his #22 car between now and when the Summer Shootout begins. His favorite tracks are Caraway Speedway near Asheboro and Hickory Speedway.

“My biggest concern is making sure I stay in the car,” he said. “If you miss a weekend, you just give your competition that much more of an advantage. A lot of the guys I run against have more money than you can imagine. Parents fly in their sons from Texas and Florida to race. It’s amazing.

“We’d love to put the names of several more Columbus County businesses on our car. It would help us and I really believe give them some exposure if we do well in the Shootout.”

The #22 Chevy Coupe is sponsored by Denham Construction, Inc., of Mooresville, BB&T, 701 Lanes of Whiteville and Odis Cribb Upholstery of Williams Township.