LUCAMA, NC :: In the Southern National Motorsports Park season opener, Lee Pulliam won by coming from the back of the field, passing 20 cars on the way to victory. Saturday night he made it look much easier, winning from the pole in the first 75 lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock event.  In a race that saw only one caution on Lap 50 for debris, Pulliam masterfully weaved his way through slower traffic, outpacing track champion Deac McCaskill.  Payton Ryan made a late run on McCaskill, but couldn’t catch the Raleigh driver, instead having to settle for third.  Connecticut’s David Garbo finished fourth, while season opener co-winner Tommy Lemons Jr. finished fifth.

After a six-car invert, Garrett Bunch started on the front row of the 23 car Late Model Stock field for the second half of the twin 75 lap event, with Lemons Jr. to his outside.  On the opening flag, a Turn 1 incident book out Lemons Jr., Bunch and others.  Once involved cars were removed from the front of the field, David Garbo took to the point.  Garbo pulled away early, with McCaskill once again giving chase.

A spark plug wire problem put Pulliam to the rear of the field early, but the Semora, NC driver slowly worked his way through the field, passing McCaskill and Ryan late.  Pulliam didn’t have enough time to catch Garbo, and at the end of 75 laps, David Garbo had won his first race of 2014.  Pulliam would settle for second, while Ryan and McCaskill would finish third and fourth.  Justin Snow finished fifth.

The 50 lap Limited Late Model event promised to be exciting, with Haley Moody snatching the pole from Andrew Grady by .007.  At the onset of the race, though, Grady took the lead and didn’t look back.  He’d have to fend off challenges from Moody, Rusty Daniels and Michael Fose, all of whom took a shot at Grady across one of the five restarts in the event.  At the end, Grady found victory lane, while Rusty Daniels used the “cone restart” to slip into second place.  Louis White took third.

Results:

Late Model Stock (Race 1) – 75 laps

  1.  5 – Lee Pulliam
  2. 08 – Deac McCaskill
  3. 23 – Payton Ryan
  4.  8 – David Garbo
  5. 27 – Tommy Lemons Jr.
  6. 50 – Garrett Bunch
  7. 12 – Ryan Wilson
  8.  2 – Myatt Snider
  9. 31 – Kaz Grala
  10. 68 – Brandon Brown
  11. 14 – Mike Darne
  12.   0 – Justin Snow
  13. 03 – Brenden Queen
  14. 06 – Terry Dease
  15. 42 – Craig Stallard
  16. 14 – Trey Jarrell
  17. 01 – GR Waldrop
  18.  7 – Bradley McCaskill
  19.  7 – Michael Hardin
  20. 23 – Jonathan Findley
  21. 29 – Melvin Langley
  22. 38 – Ricky Jones
  23. 11 – Paul Green

Late Model Stock (Race 2) – 75 laps

  1. 8 – David Garbo
  2. 5 – Lee Pulliam
  3. 23 – Payton Ryan
  4. 08 – Deac McCaskill
  5. 0 – Justin Snow
  6. 7 – Michael Hardin
  7. 7 – Bradley McCaskill
  8. 27 – Tommy Lemons Jr.
  9. 2 – Myatt Snider
  10. 12 – Ryan Wilson
  11. 50 – Garrett Bunch
  12. 11 – Paul Green
  13. 23 – Jonathan Findley
  14. 31 – Kaz Grala
  15. 14 – Trey Jarrell
  16. 06 – Terry Dease
  17. 29 – Melvin Langley
  18. 01 – GR Waldrop
  19. 42 – Craig Stallard
  20. 03 – Brenden Queen
  21. 68 – Brandon Brown
  22. 14 – Mike Darne

Limited Late Model – 50 laps

  1. 1 – Andrew Grady
  2. 16 – Rusty Daniels
  3. 7 – Louis White
  4. 05 – Alex Fleming
  5. 4 – Ronnie Jones
  6. 7 – Dillon Spain
  7. 07 – Ronald Renfrow
  8. 52 – Travis Greene
  9. 77 – Trevor Collins
  10. 50 – Haley Moody
  11. 10 – Michael Fose
  12. 24 – Ronald Brown