Layne Riggs had not won a Late Model Stock Car Division race at South Boston Speedway until he won the first of Saturday’s two 65-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined the Danville Toyota 2022 Season Opener racing program.
Later in the afternoon the Bahama, North Carolina resident scored a repeat win.
Starting from tenth place in the afternoon’s second 65-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division race, Riggs needed only 21 laps to work his way into the lead. Once in front, he pulled away from his challengers to earn the win and a sweep of South Boston Speedway’s twin 65-lap NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division races.
“I had no clue we were going to do that (sweep the twinbill),” Riggs said. “I’m really proud of everybody on this team. Last night (Friday night) we were scratching our heads. We were only about tenth in practice Friday. We were contemplating not even running the race. To rally back like this and win both races, it really means something special being that I consider South Boston Speedway as my home track.”
Riggs started the first 65-lap race on the outside pole next to pole winner, defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion and defending South Boston Speedway Champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia.
Sellers led early, but Riggs grabbed the lead on lap 32 and edged Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia by 0.695-second to take the win. Sellers finished third with Mark Wertz of Chesapeake, Virginia and Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
A multi-car mishap on the second lap of the second race took out Sellers and heavily damaged Pembelton’s car. Riggs started tenth but moved quickly to the front, taking the lead from outside pole starter Mason Bailey on lap 21, and pulling away to a 2.023-second win over Looney.
“I really hated to see the cars get torn up on the initial start,” Riggs remarked. “A couple of cars (Sellers and Pembelton) were cars we thought were going to be in contention for the win at the end. I hated I didn’t get to duke it out with them. I know they will get fixed up and we will be doing it again really soon.”
While Looney was hoping for a sweep, he had a good outing with his pair of second-place finishes.
“What a great field of cars, 25 cars and a lot of talented drivers and a lot of good equipment,” Looney remarked. “We thought if we came down here and beat the national champ (Sellers) we would be sitting pretty. We beat him, but there was a guy in front of him. We just needed to be a little bit better. We needed just a little bit more.”
Bailey finished third, with Thomas Scott of Efland, North Carolina and Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina rounding out the top five finishers.
MYERS WINS BUDWEISER LIMITED SPORTSMAN DIVISION RACE
Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia got his 2022 season off to a good start with a win in the season-opening 65-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race.
Myers took the lead from Chuck Lawson on the second lap and led the rest of the way, finishing 1.637 seconds ahead of runner-up Kyle Barnes of Draper, Virginia.
Bob Davis, Chris Donnelly and Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
JOHNNY LAYNE WINS SOUTHSIDE DISPOSAL PURE STOCK DIVISION RACE
Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia started on the pole and scored a flag-to-flag win in Saturday’s 30-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race.
Layne finished 1.393 seconds ahead of runner-up Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia. Jarrett Milam of Keeling, Virginia finished third with B.J. Reaves of Turbeville, Virginia finishing fourth and Jimmy Wade of Halifax, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
CURRIN CAPTURES HORNETS DIVISION WIN
Two-time former division champion Kevin Currin of Chase City, Virginia took the lead from Ken Daniel of Sutherlin, Virginia with six laps to go and won Saturday’s 15-lap Hornets Division race.
Currin crossed the finish line .532-second ahead of runner-up Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia. Andrea Ruotolo of South Boston, Virginia, Steven Layne of Nathalie, Virginia and Richard Montgomery of South Boston, Virginia completed the top five finishers.
The race featured two lead changes with Currin leading twice for a total of nine laps and Daniel l;eading once for six laps.
NEXT RACE AT SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY
Racing action returns to South Boston Speedway on Saturday, April 2 with the 2 p.m. running the of the SMART Modified Tour Race Day racing program.
The four-race card will be headlined by a 100-lap race for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division and a 99-lap race for the stars and cars of the SMART Modified Tour. A 20-lap race for the Hornets Division and a 15-lap race for Champ Karts will round out the day’s action.
The latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway are available on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, 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.
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