COPPER HILL, VA :: We begin our look back at the “best of 2013” by looking back at the best 13 races of the season. 2013 featured great racing all throughout the season all over the region. Here’s our list of the best races of the season in Late Model Stock Car racing:
13. Friday Night Lights (Caraway Speedway – August 23, 2013)
The only thing hotter than the weather at Caraway Speedway on this Friday night was the action on the track. Caraway Speedway hosted twin Late Model races and both races had fans talking. Tommy Lemons, Jr charged to the lead up the outside line on a late race restart beating Lee Pulliam to score the victory. The second race managed to top the first. Lee Pulliam and Robert Tyler were racing for the lead and the win on the last lap when eventual track champion Ryan Wilson joined the battle. Wilson nudged Tyler up in to Pulliam causing Pulliam’s car to spin in front of Tyler. Wilson went on to win the race, leaving Tyler miffed.
12. Orange County Classic (Orange County Speedway – September 14, 2013)
Over 6,000 people packed the stands at Orange County Speedway and were treated to an instant classic at the high banked track in Rougemont. 2012 OCS track champion Chuck Lawson didn’t have the fastest car but he’d use the outside line to his advantage. He yielded the inside line to anyone who wanted to occupy it. The inability to pass Lawson stacked the field up. Eventual track champion Craig Moore initiated contact with Lawson trying to pass him, causing an incident which knocked Moore out of contention. The next challenger was Kiel Spaulding who pushed Lawson out of the way to take the lead. Spaulding ended up being black flagged for jumping a late race restart. The final shootout for the win came down to Chris Denny and Brandon Baker. Denny washed up the track in to Baker and Baker held on to score an emotional victory with Lawson and Moore passing Denny to finish second and third, respectively.
11. Photofinish at The Pine (Lonesome Pine Raceway – June 8, 2013)
“It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or by a mile. Winning is winning.” Those were the words spoken by Vin Diesel’s character in the movie “The Fast and the Furious” and they couldn’t be any more in the case of Hayden Woods’ first career Late Model Stock Car victory. Eventual track champion Ryan Stiltner had won the first of two twin races that evening. In the second race, Woods worked his way up to the lead and held off a late race challenge from Stiltner by a matter of inches to score the victory. The margin of victory: .006 seconds.
10. Showdown in Radford (Motor Mile Speedway – August 2, 2013)
The battle for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Championship hit its climax on a mild Friday evening in August at Motor Mile Speedway. Motor Mile isn’t exactly known as a “bullring” but the eventful twin Late Model races on August 2nd created some of the best racing of the season and certainly the best racing of the season at Motor Mile. Peyton Sellers led 124.5 laps in the first race in spite of the action being eventful and plentiful behind him but the victory went to Lee Pulliam after a late race bump and run leaving Sellers unhappy with the National Champion. Pulliam had his hands full in the second race. His main championship rival, Deac McCaskill, had a fast car and dominated much of the event. Pulliam drew even with McCaskill on a late race restart but it was the closest he would get. McCaskill ran Pulliam up the track and pulled away en route to his first career victory at Motor Mile Speedway. At the end of the night, Sellers was angry at Pulliam and Pulliam was angry at McCaskill.
9. No ‘Courtesy’ from the UARA-STARS (Lonesome Pine Raceway – June 1, 2013)
The race may have been called the Courtesy Chevrolet 150 but courtesy went out the window in the closing laps of a thrilling UARA-STARS race at Lonesome Pine Raceway. After a brief delay for rain, much of the race was run mostly clean and mostly without incident – until about 25 laps to go. Travis Swaim had dominated much of the race before things got intense. Lee Tissot and Ronnie Bassett, Jr. both saw good runs spoiled in the carnage that broke out. Garrett Campbell took the lead on a late race restart and held on to win. Eventual series champion Dillon Bassett sneaked his way in to a second place finish while Swaim was relegated to a third place finish.
8. Worth the Wait (Franklin County Speedway – May 27, 2013)
Franklin County Speedway’s first race under the management of Langley Austin and Moonshine Capital Promotions wasn’t held until Memorial Day but it was worth the wait. Disclaimer: Langley Austin is also the Owner and Webmaster of RACE22.com. The race saw a 12 minute delay because the lights went out in the middle of the race, numerous lead changed and a frantic finish. Tommy Peregoy was leading the race in the closing stages until Steve Dalton roared by with just over 10 laps to go. Dalton held off Peregoy to score the victory as a melee, triggered by an aggressive move by Kyle Barnes, ensued behind the top three finishers.
7. Leading Isn’t a ‘Lonesome’ Feeling (Lonesome Pine Raceway – May 25, 2013)
Ryan Stiltner and Hayden Woods exchanged the lead between them several times in a thrilling race on Memorial Day Weekend at Lonesome Pine Raceway. Woods started on the point and led the first 25 laps in the 60 lap race. Stiltner took the lead on lap 26 and looked to be on his way with Woods in tow until a late race incident. Woods took the lead from Stiltner on a late race restart. A few laps later, Stiltner would bypass Woods to take the top spot and score the victory.
6. Encore Presentation (Myrtle Beach Speedway – November 24, 2013)
The 2013 Myrtle Beach Speedway was an encore presentation of the 2012 race, which was held in March. Just like the March race, Ben Rhodes was involved in a last lap incident that determined the outcome of the race. Kaz Grala ran up front for much of the race. The race itself looked like a product from Talladega Superspeedway. Grala would lose the lead late in the race as Ben Rhodes got around. During a Green-White-Checkered finish, Lee Pulliam was able to get around Rhodes to take the lead. Rhodes was trying to defend the second position from a hard charging Garrett Campbell. Campbell got to the inside line and gave Rhodes a nudge which resulted in Rhodes wrecking. The wreck prompted NASCAR to throw the caution flag, ending the race. Pulliam, who was leading when the caution came out, was declared the winner while Campbell was disqualified. The victory was Pulliam’s 30th LMSC victory in 2013.
5. A ‘Classic’ Bump-and-Run (Southern National Motorsports Park – December 1, 2013)
The season finale lived up to the billing. The stage was set for an epic race in the Thanksgiving All-Star Classic. The Lee Pulliam-Deac McCaskill rivalry boiled over at Martinsville in October. Now, those two were set to race again and both drivers started on the front row. Matt McCall also found himself up inside the top-five. So, running inside the top four were McCaskill, Pulliam, who has beef with McCaskill, and McCall, who has beef with Pulliam dating back to October 2011. The wild card in this mix was Ronnie Bassett, Jr. Pulliam started pulling away in the late stages of the race and Bassett worked his way up to second. Then, a caution came out as a lapped car wrecked off the front bumper of Bassett setting up for a restart. Bassett then used the chrome horn again to pass Pulliam with a perfectly executed bump-and-run. McCall ended up finishing second, edging Pulliam at the line.
4. Epic Crashfest (Kingsport Speedway – March 29, 2013)
Fans and racers went to Kingsport Speedway, nicknamed the Concrete Jungle, to watch a race and an epic demolition derby broke out. The racing program lived up to the track’s nickname. It took around two hours to complete the final ten laps as calamity broke out. Attrition took its toll in incident after incident. Paul Nogradi, Zeke Shell, Chad Finchum, Adam Long, Derrick Lancaster, Kyle Barnes and just about everyone else in the race found themselves caught up in incidents during the race. Anthony Anders would go on to win the race. The win was Anders’ fifth straight win at the time, coming on the heels of a big victory the week before at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
3. Thriller at the Beach (Myrtle Beach Speedway – March 22, 2013)
As is the norm for the Myrtle Beach 400, the 2012 Myrtle Beach 400, which was run in March 2013, saw numerous lead changes and position changes almost every lap as drivers tried to save their tires until the opportune time. The race came down to a battle between local driver Justin Milliken and Ben Rhodes. Milliken was leading on the last lap entering turn one. Entering turn one, Milliken spun off the front bumper of Ben Rhodes when the two went for the same piece of real estate. Milliken slammed the wall and exited the race voicing frustrations about being wrecked out by a “spoiled rich kid”. Ben Rhodes did not win the race despite crossing the stripe first. Rhodes was penalized for rough driving. The victory went to Anthony Anders.
2. Classic Clash for the Clock (Martinsville Speedway – October 6, 2013)
The 2013 Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 can only be summed up a few ways. Instant classic and epic are most fitting. Chad Finchum started on the pole but got wrecked out early in the race. Tommy Lemons, Jr. led laps early and then rebounded in the race. Matt Waltz electrified the racing world with a stunning performance as he spent a lot of time out front holding off Lee Pulliam and Dillon Bassett before a tire blew and knocked him out of the race. The rivalry between Lee Pulliam and Deac McCaskill hit the boiling point when McCaskill took Pulliam out of the race on a restart. At the end of this wild race, Dillon Bassett celebrated his “win” and proclaimed, “I ****ing won Martinsville, baby!” Only problem was, he didn’t win. Tommy Lemons, Jr. drove by Bassett on the final restart to score a much deserved victory at Martinsville Speedway. Martinsville was a legendary race.
So, what could possibly top the epic Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300?
1. One Hot Night in Hampton (Langley Speedway – July 27, 2013)
The Hampton Heat 200 was electrifying. 30 cars took the green flag in this mid-summer classic before a capacity crowd of over 7,000 energetic and excited race fans. The racing was action packed from the drop of the green flag to the checkered flag. Take Martinsville, Myrtle Beach and Southern National, roll them together and you have the 2013 Hampton Heat 200. Nick Smith looked like the man to beat all weekend. He was fast in practice and qualifying. Meanwhile, conventional wisdom said the drivers would ride around until the final 30 laps or so. This race defied all conventional wisdom. The race saw several lead changes, numerous cautions and, during the course of the race, several positions were changing hands every single lap. Nick Smith looked to have the race in hand until a late race bump and run from Peyton Sellers relegated him out of the lead. Sellers went on to win. CE Falk finished second after a disappointing qualifying run. A very unhappy Smith finished in third after Ben Rhodes was relegated to seventh as a result of contact from Smith’s front bumper. At the end of the race, several drivers declined interviews and everyone was mad … well, everyone except Peyton Sellers who stood victorious in the second race of the Virginia Triple Crown which he also went on to win.
So, there you have it… our list of 13 best races of 2013. Look for more of our look back at the “Best of 2013” during the coming days on RACE22.com.
