COPPER HILL, VA :: Our look back at the best of 2013 continues with a look back at the best drivers in Late Model racing in 2013, from track and series champions to big race winners and everything in between. Here now, the best 13 drivers in 2013:
13. Sam Yarbrough
Sam Yarbrough was dominant at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 2013. His championship season consisted of nine victories, the most of any competitor at Myrtle Beach Speedway. He went on to win the track championship. He closed off the season with a ninth place finish in the Myrtle Beach 400.
12. Peyton Sellers
Peyton Sellers may have only won two races in 2013 but he made both wins count and was a factor just about any time he raced. Sellers waited until July 27th to score his first of two victories of the season in a thrilling Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway. His second victory came at Motor Mile Speedway on August 10th.
11. Ryan Stiltner
Ryan Stiltner was the man to beat at Lonesome Pine Raceway in 2013 where he racked up seven wins en route to his first track championship in the Late Model Stock Car division. It wasn’t his championship season at the Pine that was most impressive; it was his performance at Martinsville. You would think his fifth place finish at Martinsville was a fluke until you looked at practice and qualifying times all weekend. Stiltner was a top-five car all weekend long and capped his season off with a head-turning result.
10. CE Falk
CE Falk’s 2013 season started off with a third place finish in a race he deserved to win at Daytona. Falk had the win in hand until getting dumped by NASCAR superstar Kyle Larson. Falk rebounded and scored a victory in one of the twin races in the season opener at South Boston Speedway. Falk started off hot at Langley Speedway, scoring six wins in the first eight races. He cooled off in the summer months and his only other victory would come at South Boston in late-August but he was able to secure his fourth championship at Langley Speedway in spite of some bad luck in the Dog Days of Summer.
9. Nick Smith
When CE Falk cooled down, Nick Smith got hot. Already eliminated from championship contention by June, Smith went out to win races and that’s what he did. Smith went on to win eight times at Langley Speedway and probably would have won the championship if he hadn’t had some bad luck to start the season. Smith’s dominance in the summer months was just enough to overshadow Falk’s impressive fourth track title at Langley Speedway.
8. Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
Ronnie Bassett, Jr. is always one of the drivers to beat when he shows up to a race. Bassett won four times in the UARA-STARS tour and capped off the 2013 season with a win in the Thanksgiving All-Star Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park. His UARA wins came at Southern National, Hickory and twice at Anderson.
7. Anthony Anders
Anthony Anders scored 12 victories at three different tracks in 2013. Anders started the season red hot scoring wins at Kingsport and scoring a win in the 2012 installment of the Myrtle Beach 400. He ran the full season at Greenville-Pickens Speedway where he won eight times en route to the track championship. Anders also won the NASCAR Whelen All American Series (NWAAS) South Carolina State Championship.
6. Garrett Campbell
Garrett Campbell was another driver who was up near the front wherever he raced. Campbell scored four victories in the UARA-STARS tour. He also ran races at Motor Mile and South Boston. Campbell always makes things exciting. While other drivers would run the inside line, Campbell was riding up on the outside line as close to the wall as he could get and was making it work.
5. Chad Finchum
Kingsport is one of the toughest tracks to win at. Any given race, half the cars in the field could legitimately win the race. Finchum was able to win at the Concrete Jungle seven times en route to his track championship. His final win of the season came at the season finale at Kingsport. He wasn’t done there. He went to Martinsville where he set the fastest lap and sat on the pole by virtue of a heat race win. His electrifying performance came up short when he was taken out of the race by another driver.
4. Dillon Basset
Dillon Bassett scored three wins on the UARA tour in the summer months with two of those wins coming at Caraway Speedway. The younger Bassett’s three wins and a string of consistent finishes were enough for him to win the championship in the UARA tour. His best performance of the season was a second place finish at Martinsville Speedway in a race he still feels he should’ve won. He took the lead late but lost the lead on a late race restart. Bassett will be a front-runner in 2014 as he chases the NWAAS National Championship.
3. Deac McCaskill
Deac McCaskill scored 18 wins at three different tracks in 2013 (Motor Mile, South Boston and Southern National). The majority of his wins came at Southern National. McCaskill spent much of the season in a head-to-head showdown with Lee Pulliam in the race for the NWAAS National Championship. McCaskill fell short in that battle – finishing second in the national standings. McCaskill did win the track championship at Southern National Motorsports Park and the NWAAS North Carolina State Championship for the second straight season.
2. Tommy Lemons, Jr.
Tommy Lemons, Jr. scored six wins at three different tracks (Caraway, Martinsville and Southern National) in 2013. Lemons finally prevailed at Southern National for three of his wins, a track he had struggled at in the past. If there’s one thing his competitors learned in 2013, it’s not to give Lemons the outside line on a restart. He used the outside line to score victories at Southern National and Caraway. It was only fitting that Lemons used the outside line on a restart to score the victory in the biggest race of the season in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville. Lemons could’ve won a lot more if not for bad luck, but a win at Martinsville made up for some of that luck.
1. Lee Pulliam
The top driver of 2013 goes without saying. Lee Pulliam won 30 races in 2013 at five different tracks (Caraway, Motor Mile, Myrtle Beach, South Boston and Southern National). Pulliam became the first driver to win the track championship at both Motor Mile Speedway and South Boston Speedway in the same season. How dominant was Pulliam at South Boston? The man was denied victory only five times at a track he made his playground. Pulliam scored his 18th full-field win on September 7th at Motor Mile which secured his second consecutive NWAAS National Championship. He also won the NWAAS Virginia State Championship and the Dirty Dozen title. Pulliam joined Kiker Motorsports just before the Myrtle Beach 400. Pulliam won the Dash for Cash race and won the main event from the pole. He concluded 2013 with a third place finish at Southern National. He also won a Pro Cup race. Pulliam will compete full time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2014 and will likely continue to race Late Models for Kiker Motorsports during K&N off weekends.
That’s a wrap on our look back at the best drivers of the season. We will continue to look back at 2013 and look ahead to 2014 over the coming days and weeks as we countdown to the season opener at Southern National on March 1st.
