Lee Pulliam has been the king in South Boston Speedway’s annual pre-Fourth Of July 200-lap NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division race for a number of years.
The defending NASCAR Whelen All American Series national champion retained his place at the top of the record book Friday night.
Starting from eighth-place on the grid following the inverted start after the halfway break, Pulliam sliced his way through the field, taking the lead from NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standout Timothy Peters of Danville, Virginia with 12 laps to go and speeding to a .761-second win over Peters in Friday night’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division race in front of a packed house of fans.
Friday night marked the sixth straight year that Pulliam has won South Boston Speedway’s pre-Fourth of July 200-lap NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division race. It was also Pulliam’s first win of the season at South Boston Speedway, keeping intact a lengthy string of seasons in which he has managed to win at least one race in a season at the .4-mile oval. The win was worth $5,000 for the Alton, Virginia resident.
Bobby McCarty of Summerfield, North Carolina, who led twice for 57 laps, finished third, with Greg Edwards and Brandon Pierce of Oak Ridge, North Carolina rounding out the top five finishers. Mark Wertz of Chesapeake, Virginia, Matt Waltz, two-time South Boston Speedway track champion Matt Bowling of Ridgeway, Virginia, Justin Carroll of Lanexa, Virginia and former NASCAR national champion and South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia rounding out the top ten finishers.
The race was a highly competitive one with six lead changes among five drivers.
Several drivers earned bonus awards in Friday night’s race. Bowling won a $500 pole award from Sparks Oil Company along with the track’s Pepsi Pole Award. Danny Willis Jr. of South Boston won the Sparks Oil Company $1,000 Halfway Leader Award.
Three drivers, Nathan Crews, Alex Brock and Cameron Bowen each received a $500 award from Sparks Oil Company in a random drawing held during the halfway break for drivers from 11th-place on back in the field.
Dalton Breaks Throckmorton Win Streak In 100-Lap Limited Sportsman Race
Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton broke Joey Throckmorton’s eight-race win streak with a win in the 100-lap NASCAR Limited Sportsman Division race, the season’s longest and richest race of the season for the Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway.
Throckmorton, of South Boston, Virginia, captured the pole with a time of 16.234 seconds, but started fifth under a track rule in which he had to start at mid-pack as a result of his multiple back-to-back wins.
The division points leader took the lead from Dalton on lap 37, and dominated the majority of the race from that point, building as much as a straightaway lead before starting to fade as the laps wound down.
Dalton was at Throckmorton’s bumper with five laps to go, and passed Throckmorton for the lead on lap 98, pulling away to the win by 0.325 seconds over David Latour Jr. of Clemmons, North Carolina.
Throckmorton finished third, former Limited Sportsman Division champion Brian Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia finished fourth and Mike Jones of Halifax, Virginia rounded out the top-five finishers in a race that had two cautions.
Trey Crews Returns To Pure Stock Division For Win In 50-Lap Race
Trey Crews of Halifax, Virginia edged Joe Allred III of Scottsburg, Virginia in a battle of former South Boston Speedway Pure Stock Division champions to win Friday night’s 50-lap Pure Stock Division race and take home the Clark Daniel Memorial Trophy that was presented to the winner in honor of long-time Pure Stock Division supporter Clark Daniel, who died earlier this year.
Crews, who has been racing in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division this season, won the pole in his first Pure Stock Division start of the season with a time of 18.629 seconds.
Allred passed Crews for the lead on lap 35, and led the race until lap 43, when Crews returned the favor and pulled away to the win.
Allred finished second, with Johnny Layne of Nathalie, Virginia being awarded third place following the disqualification of apparent third-place finisher Eric Crews of Long Island, Virginia after Crews’ car failed to pass a post-race technical inspection by track NASCAR officials. Jordan Pickrel of Keeling, Virginia was elevated to fourth place, with Ryan Creed moving up in the finishing order to round out the top five finishers.
Mills Wins Hornets Division Race
Kenny Mills Jr. of Alton, Virginia drew the pole for the start of Friday’s 15-lap Hornets Division race and parlayed it into his second win of the season.
Mills took the lead from Justin Dawson with two laps to go and held on to win Friday night’s race. Division points leader Todd Garnett of Drakes Branch, Virginia finished second, with Michael Farmer of Halifax, Virginia, Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Kevin Currin of Chase City, Virginia rounding out the top-five finishers in the race slowed by one caution period.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
NASCAR racing will return to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, July 16, with the 7 p.m. running of the NASCAR Whelen Late Model Twin 75’s racing program.
Twin 75-lap races for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model Stock Car Division competitors will headline the seven-race card. Also on the night’s schedule is a 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race, a 30-lap race for the Budweiser Pure Stock Division, a 15-lap race for the Budweiser Hornets Division and twin 25-lap Modified Division races.
Registration and pit gate opens at 2:30 p.m. and practice will start at 4 p.m. Grandstand gates open at 5:30 p.m., qualifying starts at 6 p.m. and the first race gets the green flag at 7 p.m.
Adult General Admission tickets are $10 each, with youth ages 7-12 admitted for $5 and kids ages six and under being admitted free with a paid adult.
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