Thaxton, Pulliam Split SBS LMSC Twinbill

Austin Thaxton of South Boston, Virginia and two-time former NASCAR Whelen All American Series national champion Lee Pulliam of Alton, Virginia split wins in the Charles Anderson Lawn Care NASCAR Late Model Twin 75s Saturday night at South Boston Speedway.

Thaxton’s victory in the first of the night’s pair of 75-lap NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division races was his second career victory at the .4-mile oval.

Pulliam’s win in the nightcap was his third victory in six starts this season at South Boston Speedway.

Thaxton won the pole for the opening race and led twice for a total of 24 laps. He held the lead until Pulliam sped past him on lap 16 to take the top spot. Thaxton regained the lead on lap 67 as Pulliam began to struggle with blistered right-side tires. Matt Bowling followed Thaxton past Pulliam to take second place. By lap 70, Pulliam had dropped back to fifth place and was out of the mix as Bowling, Bruce Anderson and Juan Garcia were locked into a tough battle for second place.

Bowling, of Ridgeway, Virginia, finished second, 1.449 seconds behind Thaxton, with Anderson, from South Boston, Virginia, Garcia, from Bogata, Columbia, and Pulliam completing the top five finishers.

Pulliam had to start at the rear of the field in the nightcap as a penalty for removing the two blistered right side tires after the first race and putting on two scuffed tires in their place.

However, the former national champion needed just 20 laps to gain the lead, as he sped past Thaxton on lap 21 and went on to score his third win of the season. Bowling got past Thaxton with 20 laps to go to take second place, dropping Thaxton to third place. Bowling trailed Pulliam by 1.523 seconds at the finish.

Thaxton finished third with Garcia taking fourth place and Justin Johnson of Semora, North Carolina rounding out the top five finishers.

Thaxton averaged 76.149 mph in winning the first race, and Pulliam averaged 58.412 mph in winning the nightcap.

Crews wins Limited Sportsman race

Trey Crews of Halifax, Virginia survived a torrid three-way battle over the last 15 laps and won Saturday night’s 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race.

The win was the first of the season for Crews, who became the third different winner in the division’s four races this season.

Crews, Joey Throckmorton of South Boston, Virginia and Danny Willis Jr. of Cluster Springs, Virginia all held the lead at one point in the race, with Crews taking the lead from Willis with five laps to go and edging Willis by .316-second at the finish to earn the win.

Throckmorton finished third with former division champion Billy Myers of Hurt, Virginia and Libby Privette of Nathalie, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.

Crews led twice in the race for a total of 11 laps. Throckmorton led the most laps, leading the field for a total of 19 circuits.

Rudy takes win in Modified race

Mike Rudy of Prince George, Virginia took lead from defending division champion Jimmy Humblet of Shiloh, North Carolina on the 40^th circuit and took the win in Saturday night’s 50-lap Modified Division race.

The win was Rudy’s second of the season and was his second in three races this season.

Robbie Babb of Chesapeake, Virginia finished second, .634-second behind Rudy, with Matt Slye of Williamsburg, Virginia, Shawn Balluzzo of Hampton, Virginia and Chris Humblet of Shiloh, North Carolina completing the top five finishers.

Autry wins Budweiser Pure Stock Division race

Defending Budweiser Pure Stock Division champion Greg Autry of South Boston, Virginia started on the pole and led every lap in winning Saturday night’s 30-lap race for the Budweiser Pure Stock Division.

The win was Autry’s first victory of the season, and he became the division’s third different winner in as many races.

Nathan Crews and Stuart Crews, both of Long Island, Virginia, were on Autry’s heels the entire race, and finished second and third respectively. Johnny Layne of Nathalie, Virginia finished fourth, and former division champion Joe Allred III of Scottsburg, Virginia finished fifth in his first appearance of the season.

Winslow makes it three in a row in the Budweiser Hornets Division

Eric Winslow of Pelham, North Carolina fended off challenges from Kirstin Simmons of South Hill, Virginia and Kenny Mills of Alton, Virginia to win Saturday night’s 15-lap Hornets Division race.

The win gave Winslow a sweep of the season’s first three races for the division.

Mills finished second, with Kirstin Simmons, her sister, Kaitlinn Simmons, also of South Hill, Virginia, and last season’s division champion Kevin Currin of Chase City, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.

Next Race At South Boston Speedway

NASCAR racing will return to South Boston Speedway on Saturday, May 23, for the 7 p.m. running of the NASCAR Late Model 100 racing program.

Four of South Boston Speedway’s racing divisions will be featured, with a 100-lap race for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division headlining the night’s action.

The Limited Sportsman Division drivers will be featured in twin 25-lap races with the Budweiser Pure Stock Division competitors doing battle in a 30-lap race and the competitors in the Budweiser Hornets Division taking the track for a 15-lap race.

Registration and pit gates will open at 2 p.m., with practice going from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Grandstand gates will open at 5 p.m. and qualifying time trials will get underway at 5:30 p.m. The first of the night’s five races will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Adult admission is $10, with kids ages six and under admitted free.

South Boston Speedway PR