SOUTH BOSTON, Va. - It was a tough task but Peyton Sellers staged a pair of torrid rallies to sweep Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Late Model Twin 75s at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway.
The five-time track champion powered his way through the field from his fifth-place starting spot, grabbed the lead from rookie Jacob Borst on lap 12 and edged Borst by 1.315 seconds to win the first of the pair of 75-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division races.
Mike Looney finished third with Chris Johnson in fourth and Stuart Crews in fifth.
Sellers started ninth in the nightcap as a result of the top nine finishers of the opener being inverted for the start of the second race. The Danville, Virginia resident took the lead from Mark Wertz on the eighth circuit and appeared to be headed to a comfortable win.
A caution flag on lap 41 closed up the field and set up an intense battle between Sellers and Looney to decide the outcome. The pair made contact as they battled for the lead, with Looney edging in front on lap 42 before Sellers rallied to reclaim the lead on lap 50. Sellers held on for the final 26 laps, crossing the finish line .341-second ahead Looney to complete the sweep of the twinbill and run his early-season win total at South Boston Speedway to four.
Aaron Donnelly finished third with Wertz and Borst rounding out the top five.
“Any time you can win at your home track is a huge relief,” Sellers said, “but when you can beat this caliber of cars it’s a huge feather in your cap. The competition level is always at a premium here at South Boston Speedway because this place is truly one of the hardest short tracks in the world to get around and get your car worked out around.
“There are a lot of good cars here right now, a lot of young guys with fast racecars,” Sellers continued. “They are not easy (to beat). When we have a guy like Mike Looney come in and compete with us, we’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game.”
Looney’s third-place and runner-up efforts were his best career finishes at South Boston Speedway.
“We were really close with this new car,” Looney remarked at the end of the afternoon. “We just got outrun. It was good racing. It was a couple of old veterans beating and banging like youngsters again. Second wasn’t what I was looking for, but I had a good time.”
The veteran racer said the opportunity he had to make a run at Sellers after the lap 41 restart in the second 75-lap race was his best shot at getting the win.
“That’s all we had,” Looney remarked. “I got a good jump and got around him on the outside, pinched him down pretty good. I got around him and we made a race out of it. I think the cars were nearly equal. He made one less mistake than I did.”
The nightcap was a highly competitive race with four lead changes among four drivers. Sellers led twice for a total of 60 laps. There were two lead changes among three drivers in the first 75-lap race, with Sellers leading a total of 64 laps.
Drew Dawson Scores First Career Limited Sportsman Win
It has been a long two years for Limited Sportsman Division competitor Drew Dawson, but he finally broke the ice, winning Saturday’s 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race.
The Nathalie, Virginia resident sped past J.D. Eversole on lap 32 and held on the rest of the way to score his first career victory in the division. He edged Jason Myers by .963-second to claim the win.
“Words can’t explain how much this win means to me,” Dawson said. “Just to be able to get my family, my dad, my crew chief, brothers, friends and all in Victory Lane means the world to me. I can’t thank my sponsors enough. I thank my dad. He puts a whole lot of work into this car to get it where it has been.”
Myers passed Eversole with five laps to go to take the runner-up spot, leaving Eversole to settle for a third-place finish. Pole winner Daniel Moss finished fourth after electing to start at the rear of the field to collect passing points in an attempt to boost his points total. Mark Cook came home in fifth.
Nathan Crews Wins Third Straight In Pure Stock Division
Nathan Crews continued his early-season success, scoring his third straight win in Saturday’s 30-lap Budweiser Pure Stock division race.
Crews took the lead from Johnny Layne on the 16th lap and edged Layne by .465-second in taking the win.
Bruce Mayo finished third with Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia finishing fourth and Jimmy Wade fifth.
The race was slowed by five caution periods.
Jared Dawson Takes Hornets Division Win
Jared Dawson earned his first win of the season in Saturday’s 15-lap Budweiser Hornets division race.
Dawson took the lead from Kevin Currin on the fifth lap and led the rest of the way to pick up the win.
Steven Layne took the runner-up spot with Josh Dawson, winner of the first two races of the season, finishing third. Dillon Davis finished fourth, with Andrea Ruotolo in fifth.
Sauls, Butcher Take Wins In Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club Race
Dwight Sauls won in the Modified division and Greg Butcher won in the Sportsman division in Saturday’s 25-lap combined race for the competitors of the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club.
Barry Dalton took the runner-up spot in the Modified division with Jeff Amaral finishing third.
Bobby Griffin finished second in the Sportsman division with Bobby Wallace in third.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
South Boston Speedway will hold its first night race of the 2021 season on Saturday, May 1. For more information, visit https://www.southbostonspeedway.com.
South Boston Speedway – South Boston, VA
Race Results – April 17, 2021
Late Model Stock Car Race 1
1. Peyton Sellers
2. Jacob Borst
3. Mike Looney
4. Chris Johnson
5. Stuart Crews
6. Terry Dease
7. Camden Gullie
8. Mark Wertz
9. Eddie Johnson
10. Chris Elliott
11. Carter Langley
12. Jason Barnes
13. Raymond Pittman III
14. Aaron Donelly
Late Model Stock Car Race 2
1. Peyton Sellers
2. Mike Looney
3. Arron Donelly
4. Mark Wertz
5. Jacob Borst
6. Stuart Crews
7. Jason Barnes
8. Carter Langley
9. Camden Gullie
10. Terry Dease
11. Chris Elliott
12. Raymond Pittman III
13. Eddie Johnson
14. Chris Johnson
Limited Sportsman
1. Drew Dawson
2. Jason Myers
3. J.D. Eversole
4. Daniel Moss
5. Mark Cook
6. Ryan Joyner
7. Andrew Amos
8. Caleb Dyer
9. Brent Younger
10. Penn Grim, Jr.
Pure Stock
1. Nathan Crews
2. Johnny Layne
3. Bruce Mayo
4. Justin Dawson
5. Jimmy Wade
6. Jared Dawson
7. Josh Paynter
Hornets
1. Jared Dawson
2. Steven Layne
3. Josh Dawson
4. Dillon Davis
5. Andrea Ruotolo
6. Kevin Currin
7. Donald Clay
8. Kendall Milam
9. Aylssa Spencer
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