TROY, NC :: Tommy Lemons, Jr. was declared the winner of the second Late Model race, held on Friday night, at Motor Mile Speedway. The race, which was the closest in Motor Mile Speedway’s history, came down to a literal tie on electronic scoring. The decision came down on Tuesday afternoon after track officials spent days reviewing photographic evidence, since electronic scoring was inconclusive, handing Lemons his fourth win of the year.
“The fans were the true winner,” Lemons said. “It’s better to be on the winning side than the losing side. I said that on Saturday night that it would suck for whoever came out on the losing side after a tough battle settled by three or four inches. The fans got the win though. The first race was a close battle. I felt like the show me and Peyton (Sellers) put on was one of the better races that’s been at Motor Mile in a long time.”
In the closing laps, Lemons began to reel in Sellers and the two drivers began their epic battle for the lead and the win. Sellers yielded the inside line to Lemons and was able to get along side. In the final four laps, the two staged a classic duel, racing side-by-side, nose-to-nose all the way to the finish where the two drivers crossed the line with Lemons edging Sellers by only a couple inches.
“I won’t say it wouldn’t have been as exciting if I had been able to get to the outside,” Lemons, who is notorious for using the outside lane to his advantage just about anywhere he races, stated. “I would’ve liked to try the outside. I seem to run well on the outside. The car wasn’t quite as good on the bottom on the restarts. If we would’ve been on the outside we would’ve had a better shot at a bigger margin of victory.”
Lemons’ victory was his second Motor Mile victory of the season and his fourth overall win of the year. Lemons did not finish the first of the two Late Model races due to alternator troubles.
Lemons will be back in action twice on Independence Day Weekend. On July 4th, he will compete in the Rusty Harpe Memorial at Caraway Speedway. On July 5th, he will compete in the Independence Celebration 370 at Southern National Motorsports Park.
