Defending South Boston Speedway and NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Peyton Sellers and current South Boston Speedway and NASCAR national points leader Layne Riggs split wins in the twin 65-lap races for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division that highlighted the Italian Delight Family Restaurant presents the South Boston Speedway 65th Anniversary event Saturday night at South Boston Speedway.
Sellers, from Danville, Virginia, won the first 65-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division race, leading the entire distance and edging runner-up Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina by 1.026-seconds. Riggs finished third, with Camden Gullie of Durham, North Carolina and John Goin of Scottsville, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
“It’s hard to win at South Boston Speedway and these 99 guys (Riggs) are on their game this year,” Sellers said after earning his second win of the season at South Boston Speedway and his tenth win overall on the season. “I used a lot of tire, probably more tire than I should have. But, I knew late in the race those guys get to chasing you down and it’s hard to find speed. I wasn’t going to let it (the win) slip away like that.”
With the top 10 finishers of the first race inverted for the start of the second race, Riggs started eighth and Sellers started tenth, forcing both to have to navigate their way through traffic to get to the front of the field.
It didn’t take long, however, as Sellers grabbed the lead from Thomas Scott on the ninth circuit. Riggs chased down Sellers and wrestled the lead away on the 43rd lap. Riggs led the rest of the way, beating Sellers to the checkered flag by a narrow margin of .613-second.
Gullie finished third with Borst and Scott, of Efland, North Carolina rounding out the top five finishers.
Riggs said getting his tenth win of the season at South Boston Speedway is a big accomplishment.
“It’s a huge accomplishment for me, my team and my career,” Riggs pointed out. Now, I’m looking for wins number 11 and 12 at South Boston on the final night of the season on September 3. That would be great if we could pull it off.”
The win in the nightcap was a big mood brightener for Riggs.
“After the first race I was a little disappointed,” he remarked. “I know my car wasn’t up to par like normal and I didn’t know what adjustments to make to get it better. We found a couple of things that were wrong with the car, fixed those, and were back on the rails for the second race.
“It was good, hard racing between Peyton and I there at the end,” Riggs added. “Congrats to him on his win in the first race. He raced hard in finishing second in the second race. We’re going to show we’re the two best drivers in the country, driving like that week-in and week-out and coming away with clean racecars.”
The split of the twinbill with Sellers coming away with a win and a second-place finish and Riggs coming away with a win and a third-place finish on the night could serve to tighten the South Boston Speedway and NASCAR national point races.
Riggs entered the weekend leading Sellers by a narrow 24-point margin in the national standings. In the South Boston Speedway points chase, Riggs entered Saturday night’s twinbill with a 19-point edge over Borst and a 21-point lead over Sellers. With the results of Saturday night’s twinbill, Sellers likely will take over second place and close the gap on Riggs by a small number of points.
South Boston Speedway’s 2022 points season ends on September 3 with another twin-race event.
KYLE BARNESWINS 50-LAP BUDWEISER LIMITED SPORTSMAN DIVISION RACE, SCORES EIGHTH WIN OF THE SEASON AT SBS
Kyle Barnes of Draper, Virginia continued his recent domination of South Boston Speedway’s Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, winning the 50-lap race for the division Saturday night.
The win was Barnes’ fourth victory in a row and was his fourth win in his last six starts at the .4-mile oval.
Speedway officials said, however, that Saturday night’s race finishing order is unofficial as a review of the race and finishing order is pending this coming week.
Barnes got the apparent win the hard way, having to start the race at mid-field under the track’s handicapping system after having won two races in a row. He quickly moved up from his seventh starting spot, chasing down race leader Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia and grabbing the lead from Myers on lap 17 on a restart following the race’s third caution period.
Barnes led the rest of the race, edging Myers by .649-second to score his eighth win of the season at South Boston Speedway.
Carter Russo of Rougemont, North Carolina, Billy Myers of Hurt, Virginia and Parker Brookfield unofficially rounded out the top five finishers.
NATHAN CREWS CAPTURES 25-LAP SOUTHSIDE DISPOSAL PURE STOCK DIVISION RACE TO EARN SIXTH WIN OF THE SEASON
While he is competing in a limited schedule of races this season, defending South Boston Speedway Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division champion Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia continues to prove he is the driver to beat any time he competes at South Boston Speedway.
Crews won Saturday night’s 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race to score his sixth win in seven starts this season.
Leading every lap of the 25-lap race, Crews edged Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia by .714-second. Bruce Mayo of Halifax, Virginia finished third with division points leader Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia finishing fourth and former division champion Joe Allred III of Scottsburg, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
DILLON DAVIS WINS THE 20-LAP VIRGINIA STATE POLICE HEAT HORNETS DIVISION RACE
Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia earned his second win of the season Saturday night, earning the win in the 20-lap race for the on the second lap Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
Davis started on the pole, took the lead from division points leader Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia and drove to a 1.576-second victory over former division champion Kevin Currin of Chase City, Virginia.
Kendall Milam of Keeling, Virginia, DeCarlo and Cameron Goble rounbded out the top five finishers.
SOUTHERN GROUND POUNDERS VINTAGE RACING CLUB, EAST COAST FLATHEAD FORD RACING ASSOCIATION WINNERS
On the night when South Boston Speedway celebrated its 65th anniversary fans got to take step back in time as the member competitors of the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club hit the track in their vintage Modified and Late Model Sportsman cars and the member competitors of the East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association raced each other in their Modified and Sportsman racecars.
In the 25-lap race for the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club, Christopher Werner of Mooresville, North Carolina took the overall race win and the trophy for the Modified Division and Chris Hicks of Powhatan, Virginia took top honors in the Sportsman division.
Jeremy Cox of Indian Valley, Virginia won the 25-lap race for the East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association and the trophy for the Modified division. The Sportsman Division trophy winner was Donovan Freeman of Axton, Virginia.
Cox drove a 1946 Ford Coupe and Freeman piloted a 1937 Ford Humpback.
NEXT RACE AT SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDFWAY
South Boston Speedway’s 2022 season racing division championships will be decided when NASCAR racing returns to the speedway on Saturday night, September 3, with the Halifax Farm Bureau Championship Night event.
Twin 65-lap races for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division will highlight the night’s racing action. The competitors in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division will battle it out in twin 30-lap races.
The seven-race program will also include a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division. In addition, the Mills Family Practice Champ Karts will hit the track for a 20-lap race.
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 event are priced at $10 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, through Friday night, September 2. 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
