Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 “Who to Watch”
Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. It’s that time! Time for some big time Late Model Stock Car Racing. Round one of the 2019 Virginia Triple Crown series kicks off this evening at South Boston Speedway for their annual Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200. Thirty plus cars have converged on the .400-mile Speedway all bunting for the big pay day.
As always The Weekly Racer will have you covered from the start of practice to the checkered flag. You can follow all the action here at this link ->> https://www.24live.co/live/2289885268277396739. Coverage will begin approx. 1:00 PM EDT.
Need to know who to keep your eye on tonight. We got you covered there too! Here are our top five picks for tonight’s race. What about you? Who do you have coming home the winner?
1:30 PM: Practice
4:30 PM: Euro Qualifying
5:30 PM: On track Fan Appreciation
7:00 PM: GREEN FLAG
- Hornets: 20
- Pure Stock: 40
- Late Model: 200
- Limited Sportsman: 75
To Follow: Fireworks
Josh’s Pick 5
Phillip Morris – It’s Phillip Morris, how could you not pick him as a favorite? Yeah he’s had an up and down season, but when you put Morris and a big race at SoBo together, you’re going to get the best Morris there is. After finishing second to Sellers last year in this race, Phillip looks to get that one extra position to put him in victory lane this year.
Lee Pulliam – He’s put all his dedication into South Boston this season by running a full season there. He’s fourth in points at the track and has two wins, he’s coming off a last place finish in the most recent Late Model race. He’ll be looking to turn his luck around with a strong finish.
Bobby McCarty – Bobby has ran the CARS tour series for a few years now and he won the championship last season. Anywhere McCarty goes, he’s a top three runner. This will be McCartys first appearance at South Boston since last years 200 lap race where he finished fifth.
Peyton Sellers – Sellers will be looking to defend his title as last years winner this year. He’s the points leader at the track, he’s had strong runs at multiple tracks and wins at multiple tracks this season. Being first in national points also gives him a boost to run his best with a big car count expected for more points towards a national championship.
Josh Berry – Berry has been strong in every single CARS tour race this season. Late race luck just hasn’t been on his side, but the other drivers know who’s been the top performer. After breaking through and picking up the win at Dominion last weekend, Berry looks to continue his dominant performances going into this weekend.
Dark Horse:
Thomas Scott – Scott runs well in any big race he goes to. He’s third in points at South Boston, five out of nine races this season he’s finished in the top five with two runner up finishes. He had a chance to win the inaugural Grass Roots 200 at Langley Speedway earlier this year, until a late race wreck ended his night. He finished 17th last year, he’s looking to improve that stat a lot this year.
Justin’s Pick 5
Peyton Sellers – You would be crazy to count Peyton Sellers out of any race he shows up to. It would be even more wild to count him out at his home track of South Boston. Sellers is your current points leader at the speedway as well as NWAAS points. Sellers also posted times in the low 15’s yesterday during practice. Keep your eyes in that white and orange two-six come race time.
Philip Morris – I would have to second Josh’s statement from above. It’s Philip Morris, how can you not pick this man as a favorite. He has won at just about every track he’s been to. You could also argue that Morris is not hitting on all cylinders this year like he was last year. Either way, Morris will certainly be a front runner and a contender at the end of the feature.
Mike Looney – The saying strike when the iron is hot comes to mind with this pick. The former ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner knows how to deal with pressure in these big races and has certainly been hitting on something out at his home track in the mountains of Virginia. Last week he picks up a win in his first visit to Langley Speedway. Look for Looney to ride that momentum into tonight feature.
Timothy Peters – So he hasn’t been in a Late Model Stock much this year but it’s Timothy Peters. Not to mention when you have the backing of Berry Nelson you know your going to have some of the best equipment out there. If Peters can keep the nose clean he will most certainly be a car to watch in the closing laps.
Brenden Queen – You might say this is more suited for a dark horse or sleeper pick but let me take a second to tell you why we don’t think so. Queen has always done well in these long distances races. He has also been more determined than ever this year to perform. He has also teamed up with car owner Andre Grier which, despite some obvious growing pains and learning the car, has proven to be a good partnership. Queen will need to focus on keeping tires under his machine and make the right moves at the right time. If he can do that there is a chance we may see him in victory lane.
Dark Horse
Mark Wertz – Yup, I said it! Don’t sleep on the Chesapeake native. Wertz stepped back from full time competition this year to assist in the development of Connor Hall. One thing this has allowed him to do is pick and choose the races he wants to run. What’s the benefit in that? Focused attention. Wertz has plenty of experience at South Boston to be a real threat. With him stepping away from full time driving it’s just enough for other drivers to “count him out” which makes him dangerous.
It is hard to believe that it is already that time of year again – Race Season! Seems like just yesterday we were telling you about the final chapter of the 2018 season and crowning champions. Here we are just hours away from what we can call the “official” green flag of the year down at the World Center of Racing – others may simply call it Daytona. In just a few short hours ARCA will drop the green flag on their season and go racing for 200-miles and you won’t have to look but too far to see some local names that TWR is very familiar with.
Lee Pulliam
