Carter Langley added to his Late Model Stock Car win streak on Saturday night, while Aaron Donnelly scored his first career Late Model win at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway.
Langley won the first race, edging Peyton Sellers by just a few feet at the finish line to record his fifth win of the season.
Aaron Donnelly won the second race, edging Sellers by about a foot as they crossed the finish line, and crashed into the wall in the first turn after taking the checkered flag. The damage to the car was extensive enough that the car had to be towed to victory lane by a wrecker.
“It was a heck of a way to get my first Late Model win,” Donnelly said. “I’m glad to finally get a win tonight. We needed this win badly. I was going to do whatever it took.”
Donnelly and Sellers battled each other hard in the closing laps, making contact as they approached and crossed the finish line. Donnelly’s official margin of victory was .088-second.
“Peyton ran me clean,” Donnelly said. “My car started going away the last 15 or 20 laps. He could have jacked me up and probably have wrecked me and won the race. I kind of forced the issue. I wanted to get my first win bad. I’ve been on the other side with him. I was doing my best to not let it happen again tonight.”
Donnelly said coming to the finish line “we didn’t hit too hard. I kind of ran into him and he didn’t run me into the wall. I appreciate him not wrecking me in the last corner.”
Donnelly took the blame for the last-lap crash.
“I was so focused on where Peyton was,” he explained. “I looked back up and got too high on the straightaway. I was going too fast and couldn’t get the car back down. I was going to win at all costs.”
Sellers, who has four wins this season, ended the night with a pair of runner-up finishes. He said it wasn’t a bad night.
“It was good racing for the fans,” Sellers said. “We came up on the short side of it but it’s all about putting on a show for these fans. We had a good average for the most part. You hate to let them get away from you like that too.”
Sellers noted that Donnelly was good on the high side of the track.
“He was rim-riding the whole night,” Sellers said. “He made a lot of speed. On that last corner, he made way more speed than he had the few laps before. When he sent it off in there, I really thought I could get to him and at least get a nose out ahead of him. At the end of the day, it just didn’t work out. He had a good car.”
Langley took the lead from Sellers with six laps left in the race and then had to fend off Sellers in a three-lap dash to the finish that followed the race’s only caution period to win the first 75-lap race.
He had to settle for an eighth-place finish in the second race due to an issue with his car’s clutch. It was the first time he had not finished in the top three at South Boston Speedway this season.
“Peyton puts up a great fight,” Langley pointed out. “I try to give him a run for his money every week. We had a good car in the first race, and I felt we had a really good car for the second race. I was going down the backstretch at the start of the (second) race and was ready to take green flag and the clutch pedal went to the floor. I couldn’t get the car into gear until we came off of turn three. It put us behind.”
Mike Looney finished third behind Langley and Sellers in the first 75-lap race. Trevor Ward finished fourth, with Thomas Scott fifth.
Looney finished third in the second race as well, with Landon Pembelton fourth, and G.R. Waldrop fifth.
The nightcap ran caution free and saw two lead changes between Donnelly and Sellers. Donnelly led all but four laps of the race.
Nathan Crews Scores First Limited Sportsman Race Win
Nathan Crews, who had won two South Boston Speedway Pure Stock division championships, scored his first career win in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman division Saturday night and did it in a dominant fashion.
Crews grabbed the lead with a three-wide move in the third turn on the opening lap and led the entire 50-lap distance, scoring a 7.644-second win over runner-up Bob Davis.
With the win Crews became the fifth different driver in as many races to visit victory lane in the division this season.
Dusty Garus finished in third, with Carter Russo in fourth, and Drew Dawson in fifth.
Johnny Layne Sweeps Pure Stock Twinbill
Johnny Layne had a big night Saturday night, sweeping the twin 15-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock division races.
Saturday night’s sweep gives Layne, a two-time former division champion, four wins in the season’s first five races.
Layne won the pole and led the entire race in the first race, edging B.J. Reaves by .429-second. Zach Reaves finished third, with Jarrett Milam fourth, and Caleb Sanford fifth.
Starting seventh in the nightcap as the result of an inverted start among the top finishers of the first race, Layne quickly got to the front of the field, speeding past Reaves on the fourth lap to take the lead.
Once in front, Layne was able to stay there the rest of the way and finished .473-second ahead of Sanford. B.J. Reaves, Bruce Mayo, and Scott Phillips rounded out the top five.
Cameron Goble Scores Victory In Hornets Race
Cameron Goble won Saturday night’s 20-lap Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets division race to become the first repeat winner in the division this season.
There had been different winners in the season’s first four races heading into the event.
Kendall Milam finished in second, with Jason Decarlo in third, D.J. Moser in fourth, and Andrea Ruotolo in fifth.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
Racing will return to South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, June 17. For more information, visit SouthBostonSpeedway.com.
South Boston Speedway – South Boston, VA
Race Results – June 3, 2023
Late Model Stock Car Race 1
1. 5L-Carter Langley
2. 26-Peyton Sellers
3. 87-Mike Looney
4. 77W-Trevor Ward
5. 8-Thomas Scott
6. 01G-Camden Gullie
7. 28-Jason Barnes
8. 31-Aaron Donnelly
9. 01W-George Waldrop
10. 5S-Eddie Slagle
11. 0-Landon Pembelton
12. 77S-Blake Stallings
13. 50-Raymond Pittman
14. 25-Jacob Borst
15. 09-Michael Rogers
16. 98-J.D. Eversole
17. 9-Trey Crews III
Late Model Stock Car Race 2
1. 31-Aaron Donnelly
2. 26-Peyton Sellers
3. 87-Mike Looney
4. 0-Landon Pembelton
5. 01W-George Waldrop
6. 77W-Trevor Ward
7. 25-Jacob Borst
8. 5L-Carter Langley
9. 77S-Blake Stallings
10. 01G-Camden Gullie
11. 50-Raymond Pittman
12. 09-Michael Rogers
13. 8-Thomas Scott
14. 98-J.D. Eversole
15. 28-Jason Barnes
Limited Sportsman
1. 75-Nathan Crews
2. 19-Bob Davis
3. 22-Dusty Garus
4. 21-Carter Russo
5. 8-Drew Dawson
6. 12-Zachary Peregoy
7. 4-Ronnie Jones
8. 88-Justin Dawson
9. 45-Justin Towler
10. 62-Ross Mountcasel
11. 01-Jared Dawson
12. 16-Kyle Lynch
13. 17-Jason Myers
14. 31-Chris Donnelly
Pure Stock Race 1
1. 9-Johnny Layne
2. 11-Barry Reaves
3. 77-Zach Reaves
4. 66M-Jarrett Milam
5. 31-Caleb Sanford
6. 66P-Scott Phillips
7. 76-Andrew Turner
8. 15-Jeb Redman
9. 16-Chris Redman, Jr.
10. 00-Bruce Mayo
Pure Stock Race 2
1. 9-Johnny Layne
2. 31-Caleb Sanford
3. 11-Barry Reaves
4. 00-Bruce Mayo
5. 66P-Scott Phillips
6. 15-Jeb Redman
7. 76-Andrew Turner
8. 16-Chris Redman, Jr.
9. 77-Zach Reaves
Hornets
1. 18-Cameron Goble
2. 28-Kendall Milam
3. 54-Jason Decarlo
4. 20-D.J. Moser
5. 12-Andrea Ruotolo
6. 50-Landon Milam
7. 02-Colton Moore
8. 29-Cameron Moss
9. 07-Jordaine Penick
10. 24-Chris Penick
11. 33-Christian Sangillo
12. 61-Jimmy Wade
13. 63-Dillon Davis
14. 19-Tyler Stanley
DQ: 3-Steven Layne
http://accesswdun.com/article/2023/6/1187770/langley-donnelly-capture-south-boston-late-model-wins