COPPER HILL, VA :: Parity was the story of the 2014 season in Late Model racing and it produced several memorable races and epic photofinishes. Here’s a look back at the best races and finishes of 2014.
10. Independence Showdown
Independence Day Weekend featured a thrilling race at Kingsport Speedway between championship rivals Kres VanDyke and Chad Finchum. A late race caution that came out for a scary incident involving Lee Tissot set up a dash to the checkered flag between VanDyke and Finchum. The two raced side-by-side in the closing laps before VanDyke was able to get around Finchum. Finchum then faded into the clutches of Zeke Shell, who got around him for second while VanDyke cruised to victory.
9. Bowling Surges to Showdown Victory
The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown came to South Boston Speedway for the first time in 2014 and the race was not short on action. Along with the expected calamity, the race featured a thrilling shootout for the win between Matt Waltz, who had dominated much of the event, and Matt Bowling. With just five laps remaining, Bowling motored by Waltz and held him off to score the win.
8. Predictably Unpredictable
As has come to be expected over the years, the 200 lap Late Model Stock Car feature in the Myrtle Beach 400 featured three-wide racing throughout much of the race. At any given moment during the race’s duration, any one of 20 drivers seemingly could have won the race. When race favorite Justin Milliken wrecked, the race became a free-for-all battle which former UARA champion Travis Swaim prevailed in.
7. Lee’s Leap to Victory
The second half of the MDCU 300 at Martinsville Speedway featured several thrilling battles for the win. Mike Darne and Peyton Sellers spent much of the race battling for the lead while fending off challenges from other drivers, such as David Garbo, Jr. and Dillon Bassett. The mandatory 10-to-go caution erased the lead Sellers and Darne had on the rest of the field. A caution on a restart setup a Green-White-Checkered finish in which Lee Pulliam got a jump on Sellers on a restart to take the lead and the win – his second Martinsville victory.
6. 24 Hours at Langley
Delayed several hours by rain, the Hampton Heat 200 turned into the Hampton Heat 24. The first half of the race was an exhibition between Nick Smith and Matt Waltz. During the halfway break, both drivers entered pit road too early and suffered penalties before getting caught up in incidents that took them out of contention. That paved the way for CE Falk and Dillon Bassett, among others, to clash for the win After a series of late race incidents, it was Falk that found himself in victory lane at Langley Speedway – a place he’s become very familiar with over the years.
5. Encore Presentation
Motor Mile Speedway played host to an epic photofinish at the end of June. One month later, fans were treated to two encore presentations. In the first of two races, Lee Pulliam and Peyton Sellers raced side-by-side, exchanging the lead on several occasions before Pulliam ultimately got around him and held him off in a photofinish. The second act also involved Lee Pulliam when he was denied a sweep by Payton Ryan who edged him by .001 seconds.
4. Thriller at Langley
Langley Speedway staged a classic duel between Matt Waltz, Greg Edwards and rookie Tyler Ankrum on the night of August 9th. In the first of two races, Edwards held off Waltz to score the win but the best was yet to come. In the second race, Edwards and Waltz traded the lead several times in the race. Waltz regained the lead from Edwards late in the race but it was Ankrum he had to hold off. Ankrum got around Waltz with a few laps remaining and appeared destined to win his first Late Model race but Waltz was able to take the lead one more time to score the victory.
3. McCall Muscles Past Bassett in SNMP Thriller
Matt McCall hadn’t visited victory lane since September 2011. That changed on July 19th when McCall scored the victory at Southern National Motorsports Park in spectacular fashion, outdueling Tommy Lemons, Jr. and Dillon Bassett in an epic three way battle. Bassett held the lead while Lemons tried to fend off McCall. A series of cautions gave Lemons a shot to get around Bassett but Bassett held him off. McCall made the pass on Lemons in the closing laps and then, with only five laps remaining, he executed a bump-and-run on Bassett to take the lead and score the victory.
2. Motor Mile’s Greatest Race
The June 27th photofinish between Tommy Lemons, Jr. and Peyton Sellers was so close, it literally took days for Motor Mile Speedway to sort out. The two raced side-by-side in the closing laps and continued to race nose-to-nose all the way to the checkered. The margin of victory, an electronic tie (.000 seconds). That night, both drivers were interviewed and, reminiscent of the 1959 Daytona 500, Motor Mile officials spent days reviewing photos and videos to determine an official winner. Five days later, Lemons was declared the winner.
1. Boiling Blood
A few weeks after hosting one of the wildest finishes to a race imaginable, bad blood boiled over at Franklin County Speedway between two pairs of competitors. The previous race, contact between Brian Sutphin and Kyle Dudley caused both drivers to wreck, allowing Devin Steele to win the race. Dudley did not forget that incident. The follow-up came on lap 46 of the Old Dominion 200 on May 18th when, while racing for the lead, Sutphin wrecked off the front bumper of Dudley, leaving the Floyd, Virginia driver miffed.
That wasn’t the most spectacular incident of the race. 12 laps later, Eric Winslow divebombed the corner in turn one in an attempt to take Wesley Thomason out of the race. Winslow succeeded, clipping the rear of Thomason’s car and sending him around, but it was Winslow that got the worst as his car climbed the wall in turn one. Thomason got out of his car and threw his helmet at Winslow while a brawl broke out in the pits.
Dudley went on to score the victory, holding off rookie Devin Steele to score the win.
