Layne Riggs took another step towards the South Boston Speedway NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division title with a sweep of the twin 50-lap NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined Saturday night’s Billy’s A/C Service Night event at South Boston Speedway.
Riggs, of Bahama, North Carolina, grabbed the lead from Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina on the final lap and edged Borst by .217-second to win the first 50-lap race.
After starting ninth in the second race as the result of an inverted start among the top finishers of the opening race, Riggs quickly sped to the front of the field, passing Bruce Anderson of South Boston, Virginia for the lead with 24 laps to go. From there, Riggs led the rest of the way, pulling away to edge runner-up Camden Gullie of Durham, North Carolina by 1.208 seconds.
“This was two big wins for us,” Riggs said after the sweep that ran his season win total at South Boston Speedway to nine victories in 13 starts. “I feel like our car is back. We’ve kind of struggled since the 200-lap race on July 2 and a little before that with bad luck or getting wrecked or something. Tonight, the cards fell our way.
Defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and six-time South Boston Speedway Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia finished third in the first race with Gullie and Conner Jones of Fredericksburg, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
Anderson finished third in the second race in what was his best effort of the season while racing a limited schedule. Chris Denny of Timberlake, North Carolina and Terry Dease of Oxford, North Carolina rounded out the top five finishers in the second race.
Borst and Sellers were involved in early-race accidents, but both returned to finish the race, although being many laps down. Sellers finished 10th and Borst finished 11th. Borst had led 49 laps of the first 50-lap race.
There were two lead changes among three drivers in the second race.
KYLE BARNES SCORES WIN IN THRILLING 50-LAP BUDWEISER LIMITED SPORTSMAN DIVISION RACE
Kyle Barnes of Draper, Virginia continued his recent domination of the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race by winning Saturday night’s 50-lap race at South Boston Speedway.
While Barnes scored his third straight win and his fourth win in the past five races, it was perhaps his most difficult win of the season.
Barnes started 11th in the 13-car field, and while several drivers swapped the lead and positions at the front of the field, Barnes picked them off one-by-one. He took the lead from North Carolinian Ronald Renfrow on the 30th circuit and led the final 21 laps, edging Carter Russo of Rougemont, North Carolina by 1.568 seconds at the finish.
Renfrow, making his first start at South Boston Speedway, finished third with Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia completing the top five finishers.
There were five lead changes among five drivers in the race that was slowed by two caution periods.
NATHAN CREWS, JOHNNY LAYNE SPLIT SOUTHSIDE DISPOSAL PURE STOCK DIVISION TWINBILL
In what was some of the best racing of the season in South Boston Speedway’s Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia and Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia split wins in Saturday night’s twin 15-lap races.
In the first race, Crews took the lead from Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia with two laps to go and edged Phillips by a car length to earn the win. Layne finished third with Zach Reaves of South Boston, Virginia and Andrew Turner rounding out the top five finishers.
Layne started second in the second race, got a good jump on the initial start, and held off fast-closing Nathan Crews by .207 second to pick up the win.
Phillips, Zach Reaves and Andrea Ruotolo of South Boston, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
Crews’ win in the opening race was his fifth of the season. Layne’s win was his fourth of the season.
KEVIN CURRIN TAKES VIRGINIA STATE POLICE HEAT HORNETS DIVISION VICTORY
Kevin Currin of Chase City, Virginia won Saturday night’s 20-lap Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division race, edging runner-up Kendall Milam of Keeling, Virginia by almost a second.
The win was the fourth win of the season for Currin in seven starts.
Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia, Steven Layne of Nathalie, Virginia and Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
Currin took the lead from Layne with nine laps to go in the race and led the rest of the way.
NEXT EVENT AT SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY
South Boston Speedway will celebrate its 65th Anniversary during the month of August with two big events.
The first of those events is the Davenport Energy Night event on Saturday night, August 6.
To highlight the track’s 65th anniversary, the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division competitors will battle it out in Twin 65-lap races.
The six-race card will also include a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
Fans will be able to see a glimpse of the past as they will be treated to a 25-lap race for the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club to round out the night’s action
Grandstand gates will open at 5:30 p.m., qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets for the August 6 Davenport Energy Night event are priced at $10 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, through Friday night, August 5. Advance tickets may also be purchased by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Tickets at the gate on race night will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $10 each at the gate on race night.
SBS PR
