It’s the time of the year when weekly racers begin to look at the big picture: track championships. And as South Boston Speedway’s season winds into the dog days of summer, teams are gearing up for that final run for the title in every division.
Matt Bowling has a firm grip on the NASCAR Late Model Stock Division points lead headed into Saturday night’s Southern Virginia Higher Education Center NASCAR Late Model 100 racing program. Behind five wins, Bowling has a 44-point lead over Austin Thaxton. Peyton Sellers is another 26 points back in third.
The tightest points race two-thirds of the way through South Boston’s season is in the Budweiser Hornets Division with just five points between leader Todd Garnett and second place Justin Dawson. Kenny Mills is in third, 10 points behind Dawson.
Garnett has one win on the season, but has been around the front of the field all season to maintain his slight lead over Dawson, who has four wins. Mills has two wins.
Joey Throckmorton, who won the first eight Limited Sportsman races of the season, has a solid 55-point lead over David Latour Jr., but Throckmorton has fallen upon an unusually long drought for him. On July 1, two races ago, Boo Boo Dalton broke Throckmorton’s long win streak. Two weeks ago Throckmorton was denied for the second straight race as Mike Jones went to victory lane. Bob Davis wound up second and Throckmorton third.
Latour hasn’t won this season, but has stayed within sight of Throckmorton in the points race with consistent finishes in the top five. Tommy Peregoy is another 16 points back in third.
Johnny Layne has ridden five victories to a solid lead in the Budweiser Pure Stock Division. His points total of 381 is well ahead of Bruce Mayo in second with 315 and Randy Hupp in third with 309.
A 100-lap Late Model race will headline Saturday’s seven-race card, which begins at 7 p.m. Also on the night’s schedule are twin 25-lap Limited Sportsman races, twin 15-lap races for the Budweiser Pure Stocks, a 15-lap race for the Budweiser Hornets and a 20-lapper for the Legendary Ford Flatheads touring series.
Adult general admission tickets are $10 each, with youth ages 7-12 admitted for $5 and kids ages six and under admitted free with a paid adult.
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