COPPER HILL, VA :: Limited Late Model racing had its fair share of rivalries during the course of the 2014 season. Some of those rivalries simmered all season long while others boiled. We take a look at the 10 hottest rivalries during the season.
10. The Room of Doom
Southern National Motorsports Park’s tech inspectors probably could have found the remains of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370 in the Indian Ocean. Throughout the course of the 2014 season, they disqualified seven drivers – some of those on more than one occasion. Andrew Grady and Rusty Daniels felt the brunt of those disqualifications as both drivers saw a potential championship slip away from them as the result of two disqualifiations in the regular season. Michael Fose, Chris Chapman, Boo Boo Dalton, Louis White and Doug Warren were also disqualified at various times during the year.
9. Sibling Rivalry
While the sibling rivalry between Dylan Ward and his younger brother, Trevor, never got ill-tempered on the track, it was still a seemingly season-long rivalry as Dylan and Trevor often raced each other for victories at Ace Speedway. They often battled side-by-side, racing each other as hard on the track as they raced others. Dylan got the better of this battle, scoring five wins versus Trevor’s two wins.
8. Racing with Monkeys
Dillon Houser was miffed with Taylor Nesbitt’s driving style after the SELLM Challenger race at Myrtle Beach Speedway. In the closing laps, the two raced for the fifth position with Nesbitt finally prevailing. After the race, Houser said it was not worth battling her because they had to race again the next day. He said, “Some of these monkeys out here… it’s just not worth battling for $100 there at the end and getting pushed all around.”
7. All About That Brake (No Throttle)
Independence Day Weekend at Southern National Motorsports Park and the fireworks were on the track between track regular and eventual champion Haley Moody and newcomer Daryn Cockram. Cockram was making his first start at SNMP and qualified toward the front. Early in the race, he had a real estate disagreement with Moody which left the 19-year-old driver miffed. She said he came down across her nose while he said she drove up into him. Moody’s car suffered heavy front-end damage, but she was able to return to the race and retaliated by getting in front of him as she was being lapped, slowing him and holding him up which allowed multiple drivers to get around him.
6. Moss and Peregoy Get Rowdy
We’re not sure what led up to this to this, but after the June 14th race at South Boston Speedway, Tommy Peregoy and Daniel Moss had a heated exchanged which led to punches being thrown. Moss actually had Peregoy arrested and charged with assault after the altercation. The charges were eventually dismissed by a Halifax County District Judge on August 11th.
5. Resnick and the New Kids on the Block
Trent Barnes didn’t make many new friends on his way to his first career victory in the SELLM Challenger race at Myrtle Beach Speedway. One driver who probably didn’t send Barnes a Christmas card was Adam Resnick. Resnick actually raced his way up to second after being forced to start the race at the rear of the field. Resnick eventually got around Barnes to take the lead but ended up being turned off Barnes’ front bumper. Under caution, Resnick spun Barnes, prompting track officials to park him for the remainder of the event.
Resnick didn’t lie when asked if it was retaliation, saying that 14-year-olds that can’t make good decisions shouldn’t be racing with adults.
4. Rivalry Day in Lucama
Tempers flared at Southern National Motorsports Park during the Halloween Spooktacular in a story that has two chapters. The first chapter came early on when Rusty Daniels, who is known for his aggressive driving style, challenged Tony Grady for the lead, resulting in Grady crashing into the water barrels at the entrance of pit road and having to drop to the rear of the field. Daniels also made contact with Tony’s son, Andrew, later in the race in a battle for position.
The second chapter also involves Andrew Grady. Something went amiss on Grady’s car, causing him to lose several positions. As he slipped back, he said that Brian Pembelton, a regular at South Boston Speedway, made contact with him, causing him to lose several positions. When Grady caught back up to Pembelton, he returned the favor, leaving Pembelton irate.
Pembelton called RACE22.com and issued this threat to Grady: “Either way, last lap, he intentionally wrecked me. So, wherever he goes, we go. If we need to tear up racecars, we’ll bring two with us when we come. He’s got some talent but he’s got a terrible attitude and he needs to learn to show some respect. If he shows me some respect, I’ll show him some respect. As of now, when I get to him, I’m just going to turn him in to the fence.”
3. Saturday Night Fights
A battle for the runner-up spot turned in to Ace Speedway’s version of UFC Fight Night during the Mischa Sell Memorial. Dylan Ward and Boo Boo Dalton raced side-by-side before getting together in turn two. After the incident, Dylan’s father, Dean, went to express his displeasure with Dalton’s team. That discussion ended up looking like a hockey brawl.
2. Car Wars Trilogy
Rusty Daniels and Haley Moody spent most of the 2014 season deadlocked in battle at Southern National Motosports Park and those battles often resulted in bent fender and bent feelings. There’s no sugarcoating it, these two drivers did not like each other very much. Those feelings resulted in a trilogy of late season incidents on the track between the two drivers.
Part I: A week after both drivers scored victories in twin features, Moody and Daniels found themselves at battle for the third position. Moody had the position and had no intentions of surrendering it. After trying to find a way around her, he got up behind her and shoved her around for a couple before finally getting around her. Moody lost several positions and ended up being spun by her main championship rival, Dillon Spain, before recovering.
Part II: In the second of three races to close out the season at Southern National Motorsports Park, Moody and Daniels again clashed. This time, however, the result would be different. With a victory, Moody would be able to essentially lock up her first career championship of any kind. She found herself in second place, behind Daniels. When she finally caught him, she executed a bump-and-run and got by him to take the lead and win the race. The incident relegated Daniels to a fourth place finish.
Part III: With the championship now a certainty, pending technical inspection, Moody could cruise around the track and win the championship in the final regular season feature race of the season. While she was cruising, Daniels had been stewing over the contract in the prior race. Moody was running up inside the top-five in the closing laps, one spot ahead of Daniels. On the final lap, Daniels caught the eventual track champion and wrecked her going into turn one, relegating her to a 10th place finish with front-end damage and a cut-tire on her car.
1. Madness at the Madhouse
One of the most spectacular feuds of the season took place in a two-part act at a track where it is to be expected, Bowman Gray Stadium. The stars of the show on May 4th were Derek Stoltz and Mack Little. In the first of two Sportsman races, Stoltz spun Little to take the lead and score the victory on the final lap. That dump-and-run left the former track champion bitter.
The second act came later in the second of two Sportsman races after the two drivers had been caught up in a separate incident. Stoltz, who wears the nickname “Primetime”, recovered and was in contention in the end in the closing laps. Little, in a scene reminiscent of Days of Thunder, slowed on the track and attempted to wreck Stoltz but only wrecked himself in the process.
