Two champions will be crowned at South Boston Speedway Saturday night as the Late Model Stock and Limited Sportsman divisions close out the 2016 season with the GCR Presents Spaulding Equipment NASCAR Late Model Twin 75s.
Matt Bowling has led the Late Model points all season behind a season-high eight victories and takes a 54-point lead over Peyton Sellers into Saturday night’s finale. Sellers does not have a win this season, but has used the track’s passing point system to perfection to stay within reach of Bowling.
Sellers has scored 117 bonus points this year by often electing to drop to the rear of the field and work his way to the front.
“We can still win it, but my only option is to start 18th in each race and then Matt would have to have one bad race,” said Sellers. “With (Lee) Pulliam and (Philip) Morris coming in, I expect a dogfight.”
Pulliam and Morris have many wins between them at South Boston over the years and both have won multiple national championships. Neither has raced at South Boston on a regular basis this season, though. Pulliam did win the big mid-season 200-lapper.
Bowling is in the midst of another dogfight, this one for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship. He has led the entire season, but his margin has been a single point the past two weeks over Keith Rocco, a northern Modified driver.
The 22-year-old Ridgeway driver has 11 wins this season while racing at six different tracks. He has 28 top fives and 34 top 10s in 38 starts. He leads Rocco, 657-656.
His strategy for Saturday night is simple and straight forward: “I’ve got to win both races,” he said.
Joey Throckmorton has wrapped up the Limited title behind an amazing 10 wins this season. His closest competitor, David Latour Jr. is more than 60 points behind headed into Saturday night’s finale.
There are five races on tap Saturday night highlighted by twin 75-lappers for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car Division. There will also be a 50-lap Limited Sportsman race, a 30-lap Budweiser Pure Stock Division race and a 15-lap race for the Budweiser Hornets Division.