SOUTH BOSTON, Va. - There was no question Corey Heim and Jacob Borst left it all on the track in Saturday night’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway.
There is also no question they gave the fans that packed South Boston Speedway for the pre-Fourth of July showcase event one of the most thrilling finishes in the event’s history.
Heim, from Marietta, Georgia, and Borst battled side-by-side over the final couple of laps. On the last lap, the pair made contact on the front straightaway as they sped toward the checkered flag. Both cars slid sideways as they crossed the finish line under the checkered flag, with Heim edging Borst to take the $10,000 first prize and the first race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown series that also includes races at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway on July 23 and at Martinsville Speedway on September 24.
Heim also pocketed an extra $1,000, sweeping awards for leading at the halfway break at lap 100 and for leading at Stage 1 at lap 50 and Stage Three at lap 150.
“I’ve been in some exciting finishes before, but this might take the tea right there,” Heim said with a huge smile. “This means a lot. I felt like this place owed me one. I came here in 2018 and had issues in the tech shed. We came back with a determination to win this race.”
Borst said he left everything on the track trying to score what would have been the biggest victory of his career.
“I couldn’t do anything differently,” Borst pointed out. “I gave it all I had. That was the only chance I had. He had an excellent car, and we had a good car. I got underneath him, he slipped up. I made a little contact with him on the frontstretch. We both got a little bit of damage, but we were both going for $10,000 and a good trophy.”
The win was a big one for car owner Lee Pulliam of Alton, Virginia, who won the event six years in a row as a driver. Now, Pulliam is a winner as a car owner.
“This is special to me,” Pulliam said. “It’s been two years since we’ve been to victory lane. For him to dominate tonight was very special to me. I’m proud. This is my home track. It’s a special place to be in victory lane.”
For much of the night, Heim and Borst were in control. Heim, who has two wins in the NASCAR Truck Series this season while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, led 191 laps of the 200-lap race. Borst led eight circuits and Carter Langley led one lap.
Defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Peyton Sellers rebounded after being involved in an incident to finish third. Mason Diaz finished fourth, with Langley fifth.
Mark Wertz and Camden Gullie finished sixth and seventh respectively and were the final drivers to finish on the lead lap.
Kyle Dudley, Bobby McCarty, and Jared Fryar rounded out the top 10.
The race was slowed by seven cautions that consumed 32 laps. There was one red flag for a major crash in turn one with 12 laps to go in the race that involved approximately a dozen cars. The race was stopped for about 50 minutes to allow safety teams and track crews to remove the damaged cars and clean up the track.
Barnes Wins Limited Sportsman Division Race
Kyle Barnes earned his sixth win in nine starts this season at South Boston Speedway, driving to victory in Saturday night’s 50-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race on the .4-mile oval.
Barnes took the lead from Justin Dawson on the ninth lap and drove to a 1.366-second victory over Jason Myers. Chris Donnelly finished third, with Dawson fourth, and Brian Obiedzenski fifth.
Crews Remains Perfect In Pure Stock Division
Nathan is not competing in the full slate of Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division races at South Boston Speedway this season. When he does compete, he makes it count.
Crews kept his perfect record in the division this season alive Saturday night, scoring a flag-to-flag win. The race was set for 20 laps or 15 minutes, whichever came first, with the race ending on the time limit during the race’s fourth caution flag with 12 laps complete.
B.J. Reaves, Zach Reaves, Andrea Ruotolo, and Kendall Milam rounded out the top five.
Kevin Currin Tops Hornets Division Race
Former division champion Kevin Currin picked up his third win of the season Saturday night with his victory in the 20-lap Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division race.
Currin has won two of the last three races in the division and has three wins in his six starts in the division this season.
Kendall Milam finished in second, with Landon Milam in third, Dillon Davis in fourth, and Andrea Ruotolo in fifth.
Next Event At South Boston Speedway
Racing Returns to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, July 16. For more information, visit SouthBostonSpeedway.com.
South Boston Speedway – South Boston, VA
Race Results – July 2, 2022
Late Model Stock Car
1. 78 Corey Heim
2. 25 Jacob Borst
3. 26 Peyton Sellers
4. 24 Mason Diaz
5. 5 Carter Langley
6. 55 Mark Wertz
7. 01 Camden Gullie
8. 4 Kyle Dudley
9. 22 Bobby McCarty
10. 14 Jared Fryar
11. 87 Mike Looney
12. 91 Jonathan Shafer
13. 44 Conner Jones
14. 0 Landon Pembleton
15. 77 Connor Hall
16. 16 Sam Yarbrough
17. 81 Mini Tyrrell
18. 4 Parker Eatmon
19. 17 Stacy Puryear
20. 77 Trevor Ward
21. 90 John Goin
22. 31 Aaron Donnelly
23. 99 Layne Riggs
24. 2 Brandon Pierce
25. 05 Mason Bailey
26. 12 Austin Thaxton
27. 91 Chris Elliott
28. 8 Carson Kvapil
29. 8 Thomas Scott
30. 17 Jason Myers
31. 2 Chris Denny
32. 43 Derek Thorn
33. 03 Brenden Queen
34. 57 Eddie Johnson
35. 04 Larry Barrett
36. 06 Terry Dease
37. 74 Quinn Houff
38. 01 Danny Willis, Jr.
39. 97 Eric Winslow
40. 8 Josh Oakley
41. 77 Trey Crews
42. 28 Jason Barnes
Limited Sportsman
1. 00 Kyle Barnes
2. 17 Jason Myers
3. 47 Chris Donnelly
4. 88 Justin Dawson
5. 29 Brian Obiedzenski
6. 21 Carter Russo
7. 19 Bob Davis
8. 12 Zach Peregoy
9. 62 Ross Mountcasel
10. 01 Jared Dawson
11. 8 Drew Dawson
Pure Stock
1. 3 Nathan Crews
2. 11 B.J. Reaves
3. 77 Zach Reaves
4. 12 Andrea Ruotolo
5. 2 Kendall Milam
6. 16 Chris Redman
7. 61 Jimmy Wade
8. 24 Ian Ogden
9. 16 Jeb Redman
10. 66 Scott Phillips
11. 9 Johnny Layne
12. 76 Drew Turner
Hornets
1. 49 Kevin Currin
2. 28 Kendall Milam
3. 50 Landon Milam
4. 63 Dillon Davis
5. 12 Andrea Ruotolo
6. 54 Jason DeCarlo
7. 14 Mark Cauley
8. 3 Steven Layne
9. 07 Jordaine Pennick
10. 02 Colton Moore
