A late race pass propelled Matt Bowling, a former South Boston Speedway champion, to the victory in the 2014 Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. Now, with a larger audience watching, Bowling is hoping to repeat.
He enters the race having already scored a victory on the season at South Boston in the track’s most recent race. In South Boston Speedway’s standings, Bowling, the 2012 track champion, is one point behind Lee Pulliam, the 2013 track champion. This weekend is not about points for Bowling, it’s about bragging rights.
Last season, Bowling won the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown with a late race pass on Matt Waltz. This year, he feels pretty confident about his chances of going back-to-back.
“I feel pretty good about it,” Bowling remarked. “We won the last race here and I think we’ve got a good shot at it. We’ve just got to make all the right adjustments and see what happens.”
Bowling knows that, being the defending winner of the race, he will certainly have a target on his back. Bowling is only the second driver who is not competing with a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team to win the race – the first being CE Falk in 2010 when he won at Southside Speedway the final time the race was run there.
“I hope they aren’t gunning too bad,” Bowling said with a laugh. “Those guys won’t be easy to beat but they’re gunning for that checkered more than anything. I just worry about myself and let everything work out.”
So, what will his result be at the end of the night? Will he go back to back?
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night,” Bowling stated. I don’t know, hopefully.”
After tomorrow night’s race, Bowling will continue to chase his second South Boston Speedway championship. He will also race at Motor Mile Speedway and in the Virginia Triple Crown which consists of the South Boston 200 on July 3rd, the Hampton Heat 200, a race he won in 2012, at Langley Speedway on July 25th and the Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway on October 4th.
