Earlier in 2014, Lee Pulliam said he wasn’t really worried about points, either at SNMP or in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national points. That philosophy has changed.
The defending two-time national champion came into tonight with six wins on the season, and in the first half of the twin 75-lap LMSC, the Semora, NC driver showed why he’s still the man to beat. Pulliam set the fast time in qualifying by only a tenth of a second over Mike Darne. As soon as the green flag flew, however, it was clear Pulliam was the man to beat. Pulliam led all 75 laps, taking his seventh race of the season. Behind him, SNMP point leader Tommy Lemons Jr. fought with Mike Darne for second, with Lemons taking the advantage and holding on for second, while Darne took third. Dalton Sargeant finished fourth, and Josh Berry fifth.
A seven car invert for the second race put Craig Stallard on the pole for the first time in 2014, with Tyler Ankrum to his outside. Pulliam chose to start back in 13th, looking to pick up valuable national title points. Ankrum led the first lap, but would cede the position to Stallard on Lap 2. Stallard held on to the lead all the way to the competition caution on Lap 43. On the restart, Lemons Jr. took the lead using the high groove. Lemons could only hold on for three laps until Josh Berry in the JR Motorsports entry took over. As Berry continued to lead, Pulliam worked his way up to second, with only Berry to beat. Pulliam kept pace with Berry, but was unable to catch him, and Josh Berry finished the evening with his first win of 2014 at SNMP. Pulliam finished second, while Lemons Jr. held onto third. Jonathan Findley finished fourth, while Myatt Snider took fifth.
Despite finishing behind Pulliam in both halves of the twin-bill, Tommy Lemons Jr. still holds an 18 point advantage over Lee Pullaim. With a lackluster first race, Myatt Snider drops to 50 points behind Lemons Jr. and 38 behind Pulliam. Mike Darne and Ryan Wilson continue to sit fourth and fifth in points.
The point battle has tightened up in Limited Late Models. Rusty Daniels sat on the pole for the 50 laps event, and clearly had the car to beat. An early caution for a Haley Moody incident bunched the field up, but even then, nobody had anything for Daniels. Andrew Grady and Daryn Cochran battled for second, with Grady getting the advantage. Cochran fell back late, giving Michael Fose third and Dillon Spain fourth, with Cochran finishing fifth.
Moody, the point leader, finished 11th. That finish, coupled with Spain’s fourth place finish moves Spain within just 8 points of the lead. Travis Greene moves within 22 points of Moody in third.
In Chargers, Bill Barber and Gerald Benton put on a 30 lap show. Despite Benton leading all the laps, Barber kept the pressure on, never falling further back than five car lengths. Barber mounted one final charge on Lap 29, but fell short, and at the end of 30 laps it seemed as though he would have to settle for silver yet again. In post-race inspection, however, Benton was deemed to have a small infraction, but it was enough to have him disqualified, giving the win to Barber. Wayne Goss was credited with a season-best second place (taking over the point lead in the process), while Jeremy Bohne was credited with third.
Brandon Maready took his first pole of 2014 in Street Stocks, and backed that up with a dominating 25 lap run. Mack Parker kept pace for a while, but struggled on the long run, finishing second, while Kyle Smith took third. Tyler Horne held off a set of frantic runs by Travis Miller and Brian Obiedzenski to win his fourth race of the season in UCARs. In Legends Billy Hall won his second in a row, keeping back Will Bristle and pole-sitter Justin Mitchell, while Blaise Brinkley continued his dominating ways in Bandoleros, winning his sixth in a row.
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