Blake Stallings and Peyton Sellers emerged from tough battles to split victories in the twin 75-lap Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined Saturday night’s Oak River Realty Race Night event at South Boston Speedway.
Saturday night’s twin-race event represented the final opportunity for competitors to take home a win and hone car setups under race conditions before gearing up for the track’s 200-lap race on Saturday, June 29 that marks the opening race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.
Stallings, from Danville, Virginia, earned his second victory of the season in the opening 7ap race, wrestling the lead from former Virginia state champion Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia with nine laps left and driving away to a 1.5656-second win.
“I knew they (Looney and Sellers) were racing hard in front of me,” Stallings said of his being in third place with 11 laps to go in the race. “I saw an opportunity and I had to take it. My hat’s off to all the racers here tonight. There was a lot of really, really hard racing, good racing. Any night that you come to South Boston Speedway and can be competitive, compete for the win, and hang a fender of your car beside the 87 of Mike Looney or the 26 of Peyton Sellers who are legends in our sport, it’s a good night.”
Sellers, of Danville, Virginia, finished third with pole winner Justin Hicks of Marston, North Carolina and Stacy Puryear of South Boston, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
The race was one of the most competitive races of the season to date with three lead changes among four different drivers. Two of the lead changes occurred in the final 12 laps of the race.
Craig Moore of Rougemont, North Carolina led the first 44 laps before encountering an issue that left him on the sidelines the rest of the race. Sellers inherited the lead on the restart on lap 45 and led 19 circuits before Looney slipped past him to grab the lead on lap 64.
A caution flag on lap 62 allowed Stallings to close the gap on Looney and Sellers. Stallings saw a brief opening as Looney and Sellers were battling for the lead and darted past Looney to grab the lead on lap 67. Stallings was able to open up some daylight and pull away for the win.
In the nightcap, Sellers won an early battle with Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina for the lead, grabbing the top spot on lap 37. Sellers led the remaining the 39 circuits to earn the win, but had to survive a battle with Looney and then hang on as Stalling, who started eighth in the race, drove into second place with 15 laps to go and made a real race of it, with Sellers edging Stallings by .651-seconds to take his third South Boston Speedway win in his last four starts at the .4-mile oval.
“Any time you get a win and a third-place finish it’s a good night,” Sellers remarked. “The waters definitely parted for us. I actually took the wrong line one time to get on the outside where I wanted to be. I took the outside line, fell back an extra row and went back eighth at one time. I knew the outside line would roll good and Jacob was up there, and he was rolling good. I took my chances and went with it, got by those guys, and it made for a good show.”
A restart on lap 45 and the restart that followed the race’s final caution on lap 59 were key for Sellers.
“When we fired off, I was way loose, and Mike was firing off really well,” Sellers said of the restart on lap 45. “I was glad the next caution came out because it let me cool my tires back off and regroup a little bit. My team told me Blake was coming hard on the top side, so I had to get up there. He forced me up there and my car liked it and took off pretty well.”
Looney finished third with Borst rebounding from an incident with Hicks on lap 45 to finish fourth. Ryan Wilson of Randleman, North Carolina rounded out the top five finishers.
There were two lead changes among three drivers with Sellers leading 39 laps, Borst holding the top spot for 34 circuits and Mark Keesee Jr. leading the first two laps of the race.
Nathan Crews Wins 50-Lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division Race
Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia racked up his second straight win Saturday night, cruising to a quarter of a lap win over defending division champion Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia in Saturday night’s 50-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race.
Crews’ flag-to-flag win made him the first repeat winner in the division this season.
Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia finished third, Eric Winslow of Pelham, North Carolina finished fourth and Jared Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia completed the top five finishers.
The race was slowed by three caution flags, one for a multi-car crash that sidelined Zach Peregoy, Karl Budzevski, Drew Dawson and Cory Dunn, all of whom were among the top contenders in the early part of the race.
Johnny Layne Captures Win In 25-Lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division Race
Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia won the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race that was part of Saturday night’s Oak River Realty Race Night event at South Boston Speedway, but not without a battle from B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia.
Layne has now won three of the season’s first four races.
Reaves wrestled the lead from Layne shortly after an early-race restart and led for seven laps before Layne regrouped and took the lead away with a dozen laps left in the race. Once back in the lead, Layne was able to fend to fend off Reaves’ challenges and pull away to cross the finish line .629-seconds ahead of Reaves.
Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia, Kenny Mills of South Boston, Virginia and Bruce Mayo of Halifax, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
Landon Milam Sweeps First-Ever Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division Twinbill
To say that Saturday night was a big night for Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia would be a huge understatement.
The young Keeling, Virginia resident swept the twin 15-lap Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division races, the track’s first-ever twin-race event for the division.
In the first race, Milam inherited the lead after an incident in which race leader Cameron Goble lost a wheel with two laps to go. From there, Milam held on to score his first career Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division win.
Under the track’s handicapping system, Milam had to start mid-field in the second race. He quickly worked his way into contention, took the lead from Jordaine Penick with seven laps to go and held on to win the race and complete the sweep.
Milam’s wins in the two races were declared official by track NASCAR officials. However, the remainder of the finishing order for both races was declared unofficial by track NASCAR officials.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
NASCAR racing returns to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, June 29 when the track will host its showcase event, the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200. The first race of the night will start at 7 p.m.
The event will be headlined by a 200-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division paying $10,000 to win that will be the first race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.
Also scheduled are a 40-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 20-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
A dazzling Fourth of July fireworks show will be held immediately following the final race of the night. Special patriotic festivities will be featured during pre-race ceremonies and a driver autograph session is scheduled as part of the event’s festivities.
Friday, June 28 will be Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 Practice Day.
Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $20 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or 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 day will be $25 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $20 each at the gate on race day.
Fans and competitors can find the latest updates and information about the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 and all South Boston Speedway events on the speedway’s website and through the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Oak River Realty Race Night – June 8 Feature Results
Sentara Late Model Feature 1 Results (75 Laps)
(Finishing Position, Car Number, Driver, Starting Position)
1. 77-Blake Stallings[3]
2. 87L-Mike Looney[6]
3. 26-Peyton Sellers[8]
4. 61-Justin Hicks[1]
5. 17P-Stacy Puryear[5]
6. 25-Jacob Borst[4]
7. 2W-Matthew Waltz[7]
8. 2-Ryan Wilson[10]
9. 38-Mark Keesee Jr[9]
10. 51-Toby Layne[13]
11. 50-Raymond Pittman[15]
12. 17M-Jason Myers[11]
13. 40-Brian Thomas[14]
14. 1-Craig Moore[2]
15. 19C-Jessica Cann[16]
16. 26X-Jordan Pickrel[17]
17. 1Y-Jamie York[12]
Sentara Late Model Feature 2 Results (75 Laps)
1. 26-Peyton Sellers[6]
2. 77-Blake Stallings[8]
3. 87L-Mike Looney[7]
4. 25-Jacob Borst[4]
5. 2-Ryan Wilson[3]
6. 51-Toby Layne[1]
7. 50-Raymond Pittman[9]
8. 17M-Jason Myers[10]
9. 19C-Jessica Cann[12]
10. 38-Mark Keesee Jr[2]
11. 61-Justin Hicks[5]
12. 1-Craig Moore[17]
13. 26X-Jordan Pickrel[13]
14. 40-Brian Thomas[11]
15. 17P-Stacy Puryear[15]
16. 2W-Matthew Waltz[16]
17. 1Y-Jamie York[14]
Budweiser Limited Sportsman Feature Results (50 Laps):
1. 75C-Nathan Crews[2]
2. 17-Jason Myers[1]
3. 88-Justin Dawson[7]
4. 22-Eric Winslow[3]
5. 01-Jared Dawson[9]
6. 62-Ross Mountcasel[11]
7. 51-Jason Pittman[12]
8. 38-Brad Foy[13]
9. 88R-Brian Rundstrom[10]
10. 12T-John Thorton[16]
11. 45-Justin Towler[14]
12. 5-Beverly Peregoy[15]
13. 12-Zachary Peregoy[5]
14. 7-Karl Budzevski[4]
15. 8-Drew Dawson[6]
16. 75D-Cory Dunn[8]
Southside Disposal Pure Stocks Feature Results (25 Laps):
1. 9-Johnny Layne[1]
2. 11-Barry Reaves[2]
3. 77-Zach Reaves[3]
4. 00-Bruce Mayo[8]
5. 2-Kenny Mills[7]
6. 29-Colby Pool[9]
7. 66-Scott Phillips[6]
8. 76T-Andrew Turner[11]
9. 63-Dillon Davis[4]
10. 28-Kendall Milam[5]
11. (DNS) 31-Caleb Sanford
VSP HEAT Hornets Feature 1 Unofficial Results (15 Laps):
1. 83-Landon Milam[1]
2. 3-Steven Layne[3]
3. 07-Jordaine Penick[4]
4. 33-Christian Sangillo[6]
5. 29-Cameron Moss[9]
6. 24-Chris Penick[5]
7. 42B-Daniel Byrd[8]
8. 1-Larry Dickerson[11]
9. 24G-Cameron Goble[7]
10. 51-Dustin Davis[2]
11. 02-Colton Moore[12]
12. 76-Kristian Armstead[10]
VSP HEAT Hornets Feature 2 Unofficial Results (15 Laps):
1. 83-Landon Milam[5]
2. 24G-Cameron Goble[11]
3. 3-Steven Layne[4]
4. 07-Jordaine Penick[3]
5. 33-Christian Sangillo[2]
6. 29-Cameron Moss[1]
7. 42B-Daniel Byrd[6]
8. 1-Larry Dickerson[7]
9. 76-Kristian Armstead[10]
10. (DNS) 51-Dustin Davis
11. (DNS) 02-Colton Moore
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