South Boston, Va. (July 1, 2017) — Philip Morris is $6,500 richer and has a leg up in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown series.
The four-time NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Champion and two-time South Boston Speedway NASCAR track champion sped past Nick Smith with 42 laps to go and drove to a .635-second win over Stacy Puryear of Danville in Saturday night’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson NASCAR Whelen Late Model 200, snapping Lee Pulliam’s streak of having won this race at South Boston Speedway each of the last six years.
The race, the first in the three-race series that includes this race, the Langley Heat 200 at Langley Speedway later this month, and the Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway in late September, featured a 26-car starting field that included the top names in the region’s NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division ranks.
Smith finished third with former NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Champion and former South Boston Speedway Champion Lee Pulliam of Alton, Virginia finishing fourth and former NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Champion and current South Boston Speedway points leader Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
Bobby McCarty of Summerfield, North Carolina, defending NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Champion and South Boston Speedway Champion Matt Bowling of Ridgeway, Virginia, Brenden Queen of Chesapeake, Virginia, Ryan Repko of Denver, North Carolina and Mark Wertz of Chesapeake, Virginia completed the top 10 finishers.
There were four lead changes among five drivers, with Sellers, who led 97 of the first 100 laps, leading the most laps in the race.
Sellers won $1,500 of the $2,500 in bonus awards that were presented. The Danville, Virginia resident won the Stallings Collision Center $1,000 Halfway Leader Award and the $500 Sparks Oil Company Lap Leader Award for the driver leading the most laps.
Bowling won the $1,000 Sparks Oil Company Pole Award for winning the pole in pre-race qualifying.
Crews Wins 100-Lap Limited Sportsman Race
Trey Crews of Halifax, Virginia scored his third win of the season Saturday night, taking the lead from Mike Jones of South Boston, Virginia with 18 laps to go and driving away to win the night’s 100-lap NASCAR Limited Sportsman Division race.
The win was Crews’ second career victory in South Boston Speedway’s pre-Fourth Of July 100-lap Limited Sportsman Division race.
Last year’s event winner, Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton of Greensboro, North Carolina, finished second .828-second behind Crews. Colin Garrett of South Boston, Virginia, Jones and Billy Myers of Hurt, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
The race was a very competitive affair with Crews and Jones exchanging the lead four times during the race that was slowed by four cautions that consumed 17 laps. There was one red flag.
Jones swept the bonus awards posted for the race, winning the $500 Stallings Collision
Center Pole Award and the Stallings Collision Center $250 Halfway Leader Award.
Autry Wins 50-Lap Pure Stock Race
Former South Boston Speedway Budweiser Pure Stock Division Champion Greg Autry of South Boston, Virginia made his first start of the season in Saturday night’s 50-lap Pure Stock Division race at South Boston Speedway.
He made the most of it.
Autry, who won back-to-back division titles in 2014 and 2015, won the pole and led flag-to-flag to win the night’s 50-lap Budweiser Pure Stock Division race.
Apparent runner-up Eric Crews of Long Island, Virginia was disqualified after his car failed to pass a post-race technical inspection by track NASCAR officials, thus elevating division points leader Harrison Walker of Buffalo Junction, Virginia to the runner-up spot.
Quincy Adkins of Danville, Virginia, defending division champion Johnny Layne of Nathalie, Virginia and Tyler Conner of Scottsburg, Virginia completed the top five finishers.
Priest Takes Win In Hornets Division
Conner Priest scored his first career win Saturday night and did it in the longest and richest race of the season for the Budweiser Hornets Division competitors.
The Dewitt, Virginia resident took the lead from Kenny Mills, Jr, of Alton, Virginia on the fifth lap and led the rest of the way to win the 20-lap Hornets Division race.
Saturday night’s win made Priest the third different winner in the division this season.
Division points leader Tyler Crute of Alton, Virginia started at the rear of the 13-car field and finished second, with Mills, Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Kevin Currin of Chase City, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
NASCAR racing action returns to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, July 15 with the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center NASCAR Late Model Twin 75s racing program.
The action starts at 7 p.m., with the six-race card being highlighted by twin 75-lap races for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division. Competitors in the Limited Sportsman Division will be featured in twin 25-lap races, with the competitors in the Budweiser Pure Stock Division doing battle in a 30-lap race and the Budweiser Hornets Division drivers squaring off in a 15-lap race.
Registration and pit gates open at 2:30 p.m., practice runs from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m. Grandstand gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and qualifying starts at 6 p.m. The first race gets the green flag at 7 p.m.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for youth ages 7-12. Kids ages six and under are admitted free with a paid adult.
For additional information about the NASCAR Late Model 100 racing program or any other events at South Boston Speedway, please visit the speedway’s website at www.southbostonspeedway.com
