SOUTH BOSTON, Va. - Judging from the looks of the first few races of the early season it appears the championship chase in the Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway will boil down to a battle between six-time track champion Peyton Sellers and Carter Langley.
The pair split wins in the twin 60-lap races that highlighted Saturday night’s event.
Langley won the opening 60-lap race, leading twice for a total of 45 laps and edging Sellers by 1.686-seconds.
Sellers won the nightcap, leading the final 35 laps and edging runner-up Jacob Borst by 3.743 seconds as the field slowed to take the caution flag that flew due to rain that forced the race to end seven laps early.
Saturday night marked the second time this season that Langley and Sellers, who had entered the twinbill tied for the division point lead, had split a twin-race event. Both drivers now have four wins at the .4-mile oval.
“It was tough,” Langley said of his win over Sellers in the opening race that saw the lead swap hands twice between the two drivers. “Peyton definitely gave me a run for the money. We had a good car in the first race and was really rolling. We just didn’t make the right changes for the second race. All in all, it was a good night. We got another win and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Craig Moore finished third behind Langley and Sellers with Borst fourth and Austin Thaxton fifth.
With an inverted start among the top finishers of the first race, Sellers started eighth and Langley rolled off from the ninth spot. It was Sellers that was better able to slice through traffic. He needed only 19 laps to grab the lead from the race’s pole starter, Brandon Pierce. Once in front, Sellers dominated the race and cruised to the win.
“We had a solid car in the second race,” Sellers said. “We just missed it a little in the first race. That’s just racing. These tires were used the whole race last week and we used them again this week. We knew it was going to throw us a little bit of a loop. We made some adjustments for the second race and got it dialed in.
“Brandon Pierce was up there leading and ran me clean,” Sellers added. “I was able to get by him and the car just hooked up and started driving better.”
Langley finished third behind Sellers, with Borst, Pierce, and Moore rounding out the top five finishers.
There was only one caution period in each of the two races.
Myers Wins Limited Sportsman Division Race
Jason Myers grabbed the lead from Nathan Crews on the 17th lap and edged Crews by a narrow .381-second margin to win the 50-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman feature race.
The win was the first of the season for Myers, who became the division’s fourth winner in as many races.
Myers, Carter Russo, and Crews took turns at the front of the field with Myers taking the final lead and the win.
Bob Davis finished third, just over a tenth of a second behind Crews. Drew Dawson finished fourth, and Ronald Renfrow followed in fifth.
Zach Reaves Captures First Career Win In Pure Stock Race
Saturday night was a special night for Zach Reaves.
Reaves led the entire distance and earned his first career win in the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock feature, edging his brother, B.J. Reaves, by .480-second.
Johnny Layne, who had won the season’s first two races in the division, finished third with defending division champion Scott Phillips in fourth and Jared Milam in fifth.
Milam Wins Hornets Division Race
Kendall Milam was the winner in the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division feature.
Dillon Davis, Steven Layne, Landon Milam, and Jordaine Penick rounded out the top five.
Griffin, Dalton Winners In Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club Race
Bobby Griffin, driving a 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle, took the lead from Chris Hicks with eight laps to go and earned the overall race win and the Sportsman Division win in Saturday night’s 25-lap race for the regional touring Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club race. Hicks, driving a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle, finished as the Sportsman Division runner-up.
Barry Dalton, driving a 1936 Chevy Coupe, finished third overall and won the Modified Division. Mack Tatum, driving a 1974 Chevy Vega, finished fourth overall and took runner-up honors in the Modified Division.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
Racing will return to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, June 3. For more information, visit SouthBostonSpeedway.com.
South Boston Speedway – South Boston, VA
Race Results – May 13, 2023
Late Model Stock Car Race 1
1. 5-Carter Langley
2. 26-Peyton Sellers
3. 1-Craig Moore
4. 25-Jacob Borst
5. 12-Austin Thaxton
6. 01-Camden Gullie
7. 77-Blake Stallings
8. 31-Aaron Donnelly
9. 2-Brandon Pierce
10. 91-Chris Elliott
11. 09-Michael Rogers
12. 17-Jason Myers
DQ: 17S-Stacy Puryear
Late Model Stock Car Race 2
1. 26-Peyton Sellers
2. 25-Jacob Borst
3. 5-Carter Langley
4. 2-Brandon Pierce
5. 1-Craig Moore
6. 01-Camden Gullie
7. 12-Austin Thaxton
8. 31-Aaron Donnelly
9. 77-Blake Stallings
10. 91-Chris Elliott
11. 17-Jason Myers
12. 09-Michael Rogers
DQ: 17S-Stacy Puryear
Limited Sportsman
1. 17-Jason Myers
2. 75-Nathan Crews
3. 19-Bob Davis
4. 8-Drew Dawson
5. 07-Ronald Renfrow, Jr.
6. 4-Ronnie Jones
7. 21-Carter Russo
8. 01-Jared Dawson
9. 88-Justin Dawson
10. 62-Ross Mountcasel
11. 45-Justin Towler
12. 12-Zachary Peregoy
13. 22-Dusty Garus
Pure Stock
1. 77-Zach Reaves
2. 11-Barry Reaves
3. 9-Johnny Layne
4. 66-Scott Phillips
5. 66W-Jared Milam
6. 15-Jeb Redman
7. 76-Andrew Turner
8. 16-Chris Redman, Jr.
9. 61-Jimmy Wade
10. 31-Caleb Sanford
11. 76A-Jason Turner
Hornets
1. 28-Kendall Milam
2. 63-Dillon Davis
3. 3-Steven Layne
4. 50-Landon Milam
5. 07-Jordaine Penick
6. 12-Andrea Ruotolo
7. 20-D.J. Moser
8. 29-Cameron Moss
9. 33-Christian Sangillo
10. 8-Billy Goble
11. 02-Colton Moore
DQ: 18-Cameron Goble
