Tag Archives: Brenden Queen

Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 “Who to Watch”

Posted on by Leave a comment

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.

Young Guns Connor Hall and Brenden Queen Split Twin Races at Langley Speedway

Posted on by Leave a comment

Hampton, VA – In a stacked field of 18 Late Model Stock Cars, Greg Edwards of Poquoson, VA, put up a time of 15.729 to capture his first pole of the season. Brenden Queen, Danny Edwards Jr, Peyton Sellers, and Connor Hall rounded out the starting five for the first of two 70-lap races of the night.

Once the green flag flew, Greg Edwards got out to an early lead over Chesapeake native Brenden Queen, and brother Danny Edwards Jr. Danny ended up battling Queen for the second position and getting around him as problems began to develop for Queen who was freight trained on the bottom groove before settling back into the ninth position. From there, Queen would drop to the rear of the field and pull his car to pit road with issues under the hood. The issue would put an early end to his chances of victory in the first race.

Looking back towards the front, Greg Edwards kept a solid lead over brother Danny Edwards as the battle for fifth between Peyton Sellers, Nick Sanchez and Terry Carroll began to heat up.

The first caution of the night came out on lap 14 as Craig Eastep took a spin coming out of turn two. On the following restart, Rodney Boyd, Cameron Bowen, Duane Shreeves, and Rick Gdovic all got into a big wreck going into turn two. This incident would end Shreeves, Gdovic, and Bowen’s night for the first race, while Boyd was able to continue.

Green flag would fly and Edwards took off to another lead as the battle for third began to heat up between Hall and Sanchez. Danny would follow in behind Greg but just couldn’t quite get to his bumper to make a move.

Lap 20 came on the scoreboard and your top five were Greg Edwards, Danny Edwards, Conor Hall, Nick Sanchez, and Justin Carroll. After Hall made his was past Sanchez, he had made his way to Danny’s back bumper in no time resulting in a heated side by side, back and forth battle for second position.

Throughout the field, battles were being created everywhere. Zach Lightfoot, Thomas Marks, and Peyton Sellers began to battle for the eighth position for multiple laps leading to Sellers getting the spot. Hall set his eyes on Greg as he gradually began to close the gap for the lead. Lap traffic became a big factor as they were giving Greg no help and allowing Hall to make a move. As lap 51 went up in lights we saw Connor Hall finally take the lead after getting past Greg. Danny began to battle Greg for second which allowed Hall to pull away from the field. With clean air in front of Hall, it was smooth sailing to the checkered flag. Hall picked up his second consecutive win of the season as Greg Edwards, Danny Edwards, Nick Sanchez, and Justin Carroll rounded out your top five finishers.

With the NASCAR rules, on twin nights the top eight from the first race are inverted, this put Rev Racing’s Brooke Storer on the pole for twin number two. Terry Carroll, Peyton Sellers, Justin Carroll, and Nick Sanchez were your starting five.

Once the green flag flew it would be Terry Carroll who jumped out to the early lead followed by his son, Justin. Storer was quickly shuffled back through the field, finally finding a place in eighth. Sanchez would battle Sellers for position eventually giving a little nudge and took third, Danny Edwards Jr would follow right behind him. Sellers would also fall victim to the second groove, and if you know Langley, you know that’s not where you want to be unless your name is Matt Waltz. Sellers finally found a spot to get back down to the inside lane but, unfortunately, it would be eighth position.

Justin Carrol took the lead from dad Terry and immediately put some distance between him and the field. Sanchez putting on an impressive debut at Langley looked to get past Terry for second as well. Just twelve laps in and after starting last due to issues in the first race, Brenden Queen had made his way all the way up to the third position. Just like Sellers, Terry got stuck on the outside line and fell back into seventh position.

Just shy of halfway and Queen had closed the gap and was all over the leaders back bumper giving him a nudge and taking the lead. Queen then had his work cut out for him As the started to catch lap traffic already. Luckily they made it easy for Queen to get by and build a gap between him and Justin who would immediately have focus his attention on Sanchez but before he could make a move a caution would fly. Reason for the caution was contact between Lightfoot and Storer. Lightfoot would spin in turn three.

On the restart, Queen took off as Justin fell back into second and, winner of race number one, Hall took third. Hall then looked to take second, however, Justin did no go without a fight on the outside line. This battle allowed Queen to build a few car length lead over the field and also allowed Greg to make his way into the battle for second. Sanchez also wanted part of the battle as he ended up taking second from everyone. This had allowed Queen a half a straightaway lead over Sanchez with just ten laps to go.

Hall had a mirror full of Greg Edwards front bumper as he did everything he could to hold onto the third position. Justin Carroll also had his hands full with Danny, Sellers, and Terry all wanting the fifth position. Greg still throwing everything he had at Halls back bumper but Hall would not budge and held onto third.

The white flag flew for Queen as he was hoping for no trouble between now and turn four. Greg finally was able to make the last lap pass on Hall for third after multiple laps of battle. The checkered flag flew and it was Brenden “Butterbean” Queen picking up his first ever Late Model series win at Langley Speedway. Nick Sanchez, Greg Edwards, Connor Hall, and Peyton Sellers round out the top five finishers.

 

Taylor Waster Service Late Models Race 1 OFFICIAL Results:

  1. #77 Connor Hall; 70
  2. #21 Greg Edwards; 70
  3. #26 Danny Edwards Jr; 70
  4. #98 Nick Sanchez; 70
  5. #91 Justin Carroll; 70
  6. #26s Peyton Sellers; 70
  7. #90 Terry Carroll; 70
  8. #9s Brooke Storer; 69
  9. #7 Zach Lightfoot; 69
  10. #88m Thomas Marks; 69
  11. #25 Craig Eastep; 69
  12. #9 Rodney Boyd; 69
  13. #2 Gracie Trotter; 69
  14. #10 Maddy Ryan; 69
  15. #19 Cameron Bowen; 13
  16. #71 Rick Gdovic; 13
  17. #4 Duane Shreeves; 13
  18. #03 Brenden Queen; 7

Taylor Waster Service Late Models Race 2 OFFICIAL Results:

  1. #03 Brenden Queen; 70
  2. #98 Nick Sanchez; 70
  3. #21 Greg Edwards; 70
  4. #77 Connor Hall; 70
  5. #26s Peyton Sellers; 70
  6. #91 Justin Carroll; 70
  7. #90 Terry Carroll; 70
  8. #26 Danny Edwards Jr; 70
  9. #88m Thomas Marks; 70
  10. #2 Gracie Trotter; 70
  11. #25 Craig Eastep; 70
  12. #71 Rick Gdovic; 70
  13. #9s Brooke Storer; 69
  14. #9 Rodney Boyd; 69
  15. #19 Cameron Bowen; 69
  16. #10 Maddy Ryan; 68
  17. #7 Zach Lightfoot; 58

KERN: Racing Heating Up for Several Virginia Drivers Early in 2019

Posted on by Leave a comment

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.

At this point in the game – yes I know that we are a little late to the game per se but this winter was a little different for us here at TWR – I am sure everyone reading this has seen the news about Hampton Roads natives Connor Hall and Brenden Queen getting “the call” and will be racing this afternoon in easily the biggest race of their career. Both Hall and Queen were down at Daytona a few short weeks ago during the ARCA open test following IMSA’s Rolex 24 Hour race for Vizion Motorsports, along with fellow Late Model driver from North Carolina Paul Williamson, obviously impressing those in the garage. Hall, after presenting a deal to Chad Bryant Racing will be piloting the No. 22 Ford while Queen will be in the No. 36 Toyota for Vizion Motorsports.

For those race fans that may not follow the ARCA Series enough, the race will be televised LIVE later this afternoon on FOX Sports 1 at 4:30 PM EST. Not going to be home to watch? Pull the race up on the FOX Sports App! Hall will also be competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener Sunday night at New Smyrna.

You can see what these drivers had to say about getting the chance of a lifetime in an article published yesterday from our friends at Race22 >> Several Late Model Stock Car Drivers Set to Compete at Daytona

Hall & Queen, however, are not the only Virginia drivers spending some time in the Sunshine State. 2013 & 2017 Langley Speedway INEX Legends Champ Spencer Saunders; 2018 INEX Semi-Pro Road Course National Champ Carter Weedon, just to name a few, will all compete in the 2019 Winter Nationals at Citrus County Speedway.

Five races over the course of a week for drivers from all over to not only prove they are the best but to also get a head start on the INEX national points. Something one driver we mentioned above has kept in the back of his mind for the last couple of weeks.

“We have been doing this quite a while,” Saunders told The Weekly Racer as the final touches were being made to the car before loading her up. “We won the 2011 Virginia State Semi-Pro championship, won a race of champions that same year in Vegas, took the 2013 and 2017 track championships at Langley Speedway, the only thing missing from our resume… a national championship. With the year-end national event being held at Carteret County Speedway in October and if we come out of Florida in good shape, I would say yes, we’re going to make a serious run at a national title”

First Saunders will need to get through the weeklong event where the confidence is running rather high through the Saunders Motorsports camp.

“I think the ultimate goal for our team is to go down there and win a couple of races and represent Langley Speedway and the 757 the best way we can,” Saunders commented. “In all reality, if we go down and ran top five or top three and contended for wins every day that we are on track I would be absolutely thrilled with that. I haven’t seen an entry list but I have heard the Pro division is pretty stacked so we are going to have to be on top of our game all week long. I think we have prepared the best car we can and I think we have good enough equipment to go run with the best.”

Defending Semi-Pro Road Course Champion Carter Weedon is another VA driver making the trip down to Florida for the winter nationals; however, he will be making the trip UP to the Pro division. Weedon is going into the week looking to find himself in the tech shed every race and earn a top five finishing position in the points standings.

“I want to make it into tech every race,” Weedon said. “Our goal is to place in the top five in the points standings at the end of the week. The competition in Pro especially is going to be tough.”

Races are scheduled all this week starting later this afternoon with open practice only. Going off of information given to us by a couple of the race teams, official points races will be held on Monday, Tuesday (doubleheader), Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday is scheduled to be an off day or potential rain day. All races, for that matter, will be streamed LIVE from the fine folks over at LegendsNation.com.

Green Flag Set to Wave on 17th Annual Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park

Posted on by Leave a comment

Frontstretch and grandstand area at Southern National Motorsports Park (Andy Marquis/SNMP photo)

The 17th Thanksgiving Classic presented by Solid Rock Carriers gets underway on Friday night and runs through Sunday with a total of 775 laps of racing for the 11 divisions which will compete. The schedule for this weekend can be found below.

With Thanksgiving dinners wrapped up, some of the best drivers and their families in the Mid-Atlantic region will converge on the .400-mile high-banked oval of Southern National this weekend. Philip Morris, who was victorious in the first recorded Thanksgiving Classic, looks to continue his hot streak this year and will be making his return to the North Carolina Speedway. He will be one of the drivers to keep an eye out for one Sunday.

Lee Pulliam, newly crowned NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National champ, and Brenden Queen are looking for strong outings this weekend in the Late Model portion of the show. Pulliam, coming off of a disappointing finish in last years classic as well as at Myrtle Beach Speedway, Pulliam will be looking for victory lane one final time this year. Brenden Queen, who was forced to start at the rear of the field last weekend at Myrtle Beach one-week prior and fought his way back up to the fourth position, will be looking to improve his finishing position from last year.

NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series crew chief Matt McCall will be making his return to Southern National this weekend. McCall, who is no stranger to victory lane, will be looking to finally check The Classic off his checklist. In 2016 McCall finished third to Lemons and Queen after contact with Pulliam battling for the lead on a late race restart.

The IMCA style Modified’s will be making their return as well with a 40-lap feature on Saturday night along with one of two Limited Late Model features of the weekend. Brandon Clements will look to pick up another dominant victory in the Mini Stock feature after coming back from what should have been a race-ending crash the month prior at the Spooktacular.

Other divisions racing this weekend will be the INEX Legends and Bandos, Chargers, UCAR, Street Stocks, as well as Super Late Models. The Weekly Racer will be on the road Friday afternoon and will provide coverage all weekend long on our Twitter feed (@theweeklyracer)

 

Friday, November 24th: Bandoleros (20 laps), Chargers (40 laps), Legends (25 laps), Limited Late Model Dash (40 laps). Green flag at 8:15pm.

Tickets: Adults – $15; Seniors, active military, and students (with ID) –$12; Kids 6-12 – $5; Kids five and under – FREE.

 

Saturday, November 25th: Bandoleros (20 laps), Legends (30 laps), Southern Lightning Modifieds (40 laps), Mini Stocks (50 laps), U-CAR (30 laps), Street Stocks (15 laps), Limited Late Models (40 laps). Green flag at 4:30pm.

Tickets: Adults – $20; Seniors, active military, and students (with ID) – $15; Kids 6-12 – $5; Kids five and under – FREE.

 

Sunday, November 26th: Late Model Stock Car Last Chance Qualifier (25 laps), Super Late Models (125 laps), Late Model Stock Car feature event (200 laps). Green flag at 12pm.

Tickets: Adults –$25; Seniors, active military and students (with ID) –$20; Kids 6-12 – $10; Kids five and under – FREE.

3-Day Tickets: Adults –$45; Seniors, active military and students (with ID) – $35, kids 6-12 –$20.

 

Previous Winners

1998 — Philip Morris

1999 — Scott Riggs

2000 — Frank Deiny, Jr.

2001 — Kirk Leone

2002 — Brandon Butler

2003 — Denny Hamlin

2004 — Jamey Caudill

2005 — Jamey Caudill

2006 — Deac McCaskill

2007 — Denny Hamlin

2008 — Joey Coulter

(SNMP closed 2009-2011)

2012 — Greg Edwards

2013 — Ronnie Bassett, Jr.

2014 — Brayton Haws

2015 — Lee Pulliam

2016 — Tommy Lemons, Jr.

ValleyStar Credit Union 300 Staff Picks & Schedule: Who Should You Be Watching?

Posted on by One comment

Lee Pulliam

Pulliam, looking for his fourth national title, after dominating at tracks that did not follow suit with the SPEC motor that some Virginia tracks opted to allow. Martinsville is one of the hold outs for the motor so Pulliam might have an edge in the motor game and won’t have to swap in a different motor.

 

Timothy Peters

After the sudden closing of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team the Danville, VA driver wasted no time coming back to the late model scene. With trips to multiple tracks in the region to get back up to speed Peters will be ready to get his first grandfather clock.

 

Bobby McCarty

With a sixth-place finish in the first leg of the triple crown at South Boston and a win in his first trip to Langley Speedway for the second leg Bobby McCarty has set himself up well for a strong run at the Virginia Triple Crown title and a win at Martinsville Speedway.

 

Josh Berry

A fan favorite in the region and always a strong competitor will be another driver hungry for the checkers and grandfather clock. Sitting just four points out of first place in the CARS Tour Berry can continue a great season with a win in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

 

 

Ryan Repko

Qualifying third in his Martinsville debut and put on a racing clinic in his heat race, opening up almost an entire straightaway lead. He would ultimately finish the 25-lap heat race in the fifth position and transfer to the feature. Working to pass cars and save tires, Repko eventually ran into issues that took him out of contention. With another year of Late Models under his belt we think you should keep a close eye on this driver under the lights.

 

Tommy Lemons Jr:

The two time ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner can never be counted out at the biggest late model race in the country. Tommy knows what it takes to wheel it around the paperclip and will be in position by the end to try and get his third grandfather clock.

 

Kres VanDyke:

With a forty starts this season, VanDyke was able to collect twenty-five wins, the most of any drivers in the top fifty in the nation. Thirty-four top fives, thirty-eight top ten finishes along with the Tennessee state champion. VanDyke has run well in previous ValleyStar Credit Union and proved he was quick during the Thursday night test.

 

Dark Horse

Brenden Queen – After a track championship in 2016 at East Carolina Motor Speedway Butterbean finished with a solid 5th place in points at Langley, finished second in the Hampton Heat, and finished fourth in the W.O. Grubbs 150 at Dominion. Riding that momentum can set this driver up for a huge win at Martinsville.

Nick Smith – After dominating the 2016 season at Dominion Raceway and winning the track championship, Nick Smith returned to his home track of Langley Speedway this season and earned two wins after dealing with more bad luck than anyone can shake a stick at. Smith had an incredible run earlier in the season at South Boston Speedway and followed that up with top-five finish during the Hampton Heat, proving to everyone the Hampton, VA driver knows how to be there at the end of a long race.

 

 

 

ValleyStar Credit Union 300 Schedule

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Campground opens

 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

9:00 AM                               Ticket Office Opens

10:00 AM                             Haulers Enter

10:00 AM – 6:00 PM              Registration

10:00 AM                             Garage Opens

2:30 PM                                Inspection

4:00 PM                                Fan Gates Open

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM                 Practice

8:00 PM                                Pole Qualifying

9:00 PM                                Ticket Office Closes

 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

11:00 AM                             Registration and Ticket Office Opens

12:00 PM                              Garage Opens

1:30 PM                                Drivers’ Meeting (Media Center)

2:00 PM                                Fan Gates Open

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM                Autograph Session on the Frontstretch

4:00 PM                                Qualifying Races (4 x 25 Laps)

8:00 PM                                Feature Race (200 Laps)

Phillip Morris Takes Home the Big Check in the W.O. Grubb 150

Posted on by Leave a comment

Thornburg, VA – The story at Dominion Raceway Thursday was all about points. Lee Pulliam made his debut at the track hunting for some late season national points as he holds a one point lead over second place this season, he is trying to get his fourth national championship. The track championship is also very close with Tyler Hughes and Doug Barnes battling hard all season long.

The 2016 national champion qualified on the pole running a 15.247 second lap to beat out Morris by .012. Pulliam would start fifth and Hughes out ran Barnes by 6 spots and started on the outside of row three. But they do things a little different at Dominion Raceway, and Bowling pulled a six out of the redraw bag which put Hughes up front for the green flag.

Hughes enjoyed the lead with no pressure from behind for the opening thirty laps until Morris was able to navigate through the cars between them like it was nothing. As they first started catching lapped traffic Morris kept cutting into the lead but the caution would erase it fully with Colin Garrett spinning out off of turn two.

The green flag flew with an even hundred alps remaining in the race and Hughes cleared Morris, he tried the high line with the cone choice, fairly easily. Fourteen laps into the run and Morris had shaken Sellers off from his rear and was no focused 100% on Hughes. Morris was able to nose in to the inside and they raced door to door for a lap until Hughes pulled back ahead and the caution came out for the second time, this time for 2016 track champion Nick Smith getting a tap to his rear and spinning out. Under this caution Lee’s crew tried to fix his ailing car several times and he eventually got caught two laps down.

The front row stayed the same for this restart with Hughes low and Morris high. They didn’t waste much time as they went three wide along with Sellers for the lead, Morris ended up winning out on the risky move on lap 80. Hughes put up a fight for the next couple of laps, peaking inside of Morris a few times but couldn’t get past the four time national champ. Sellers made some contact with Hughes in his pursuit for second but it got them both out of line and Bowling took over the spot. Not long after that the biggest wreck of the night put a lot of damage on several cars with Jeff Oakley, Michael Hardin, Barnes, and Hughes all taking hits.

Morris liked the high line and chose it again, but as the leader this time. He cleared Bowling on the restart and Sergio Pena worked his way by Bowling for second and Brenden “Butterbean” Queen also worked up to fourth place getting by Sellers. Behind them Barnes and Hughes ended up battling each other for seventh position and with 35 laps to go even made it three wide while passing a slower car, these two left nothing on the track. Nine laps later they are still side by side but the caution came out for Chris Johnson’s car losing a motor. A rough ending for Johnson who had come from 23rd to 6th at this point.

The next green flag run was short lived as Puryear got caught up again and this time it ripped off most of his body work and the red flag had to come out to get everything up.

For the next restart Morris again went high and Pena and Queen chose low. Morris showed how strong his car was on this restart setting his fastest time of the race as second through fifth all ran side by side and completely checked on them. Barnes and Pena traded second position for a few laps while they were side by side but Barnes would eventually fall back to fifth with Hughes and Queen getting by him.

Morris took the checkers with no pressure from behind him to win his second big trophy of the year, with his first being the South Boston leg of the triple crown.

After the race Morris had nothing but praise for the racing at Dominion, “I want to race here all the time, I keep telling the guys. They think its close and I’m only an hour away but every where we go is three hours but I just love this place. I just wanna keep coming here, you can really charge the corners here and it makes for some really great racing.” He also mentioned why the racing is so good, “That guy in the 8 car [Tyler Hughes] we had a good battle out there, he was running pretty good. It’s kind of weird, it’s hard to get away from anybody because you got some drafting going on too so you get a little bit of everything. I’ve run some of the Xfinity series, truck series, and its a little bit of everything so any driver that is looking to go up they want to come here because you can learn a lot more at this race track.” The team plans on using this momentum going forward to finish out the year strong and use the lessons learned this year for a possible run next season at the national title.

We also caught up with a very happy Sergio Pena, “We did a lot better than expected, coming into this race we weren’t sure if we were gonna run it or not it was kinda last minute. We came to practice with a set of tires that had a 100 laps on them so to come home second surpassed all of our expectations. Qualified kind of bad to be honest, qualified 16th and fortunately had Sam on the spotters tower for me kind of guided me through the crazy traffic that was out there. Had a couple lucky breaks with cautions that fell at the right time and I’ll tell you what before we knew it half way through the race we were right up there with Peyton Sellers, Phillip Morris, and Matt Bowling…some of the best names in the country, the best names in the country, and to come home second behind Morris I’ll take that as a win its just unreal. Just want to thank you to Sam Beatie and Joe, these guys work on this car very hard and it wouldn’t be possible without them so I just want to say thank you to those guys.”

 

Unofficial Results

  1. Phillip Morris
  2. Sergio Pena
  3. Tyler Hughes
  4. Brenden Queen
  5. Doug Barnes
  6. Peyton Sellers
  7. Cameron Burke
  8. Timmy Phipps
  9. Stacy Puryear
  10. Colin Garrett
  11. Dustin D Storm
  12. Chandler Sherman
  13. Jeff Oakley -1
  14. Matt Bowling -17
  15. Eddie Johnson -25
  16. Chris Johnson -26
  17. Richard Storm -28
  18. Lee Pulliam -48
  19. Michael Hardin -61
  20. Mike Ganoe -72
  21. Nick Smith -78
  22. Logan Jones -81
  23. Billy B Morris -139

Matt Bowling Sits on the Pole in Stacked Field for W.O. Grubb 150

Posted on by Leave a comment

Thornburg, VA – 2016 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion Matt Bowling set fastest time in the late model qualifying session with a 15.247 second lap to beat out Phillip Morris who has two wins at the track so far this year. National points leader Lee Pulliam qualified fifth behind Nick Smith and Eddie Johnson.

The late models will be running 150 laps with no break or competition caution tonight.

We will also be covering the Dominion Stocks tonight for their 35-lap race right before the late models. Bobby Curtis is on the pole in that division after running an 18.014 in their session. The points leader, Richard Powers, qualified fifth.

 

Late Model Qualifying Results

  1. Matt Bowling – 15.247
  2. Phillip Morris – 15.259
  3. Nick Smith – 15.387
  4. Eddie Johnson – 15.477
  5. Lee Pulliam – 15.421
  6. Tyler Hughes – 15.368
  7. Michael Hardin – 15.421
  8. Jeff Oakley – 15.434
  9. Peyton Sellers – 15.460
  10. Billy Morris – 15.463
  11. Brenden Queen – 15.471
  12. Doug Barnes – 15.495
  13. Colin Garrett – 15.551
  14. Stacy Puryear – 15.567
  15. Logan Jones – 15.590
  16. Sergio Pena – 15.636
  17. Cameron Burke – 15.636
  18. Timmy Phipps – 15.657
  19. Dustin D Storm – 15.665
  20. Richard Storm – 15.731
  21. Mike Ganoe – 15.807
  22. Chandler Sherman – 15.923
  23. Chris Johnson – 15.928
« Older Entries