Luke Sorrow struggled to get his 2019 season started off on the right foot at Anderson Motor Speedway after qualifying on the pole in the season opener and blowing his engine coming to the line to complete his qualifying effort. That first night was all downhill from there after switching to a backup car as his team struggled to keep his car running and the defending track champion finished 11th of 12 cars.
Since then Sorrow has righted the ship and has won the last three races in a row and shut everyone else out of victory lane completely. Sorrow has also vaulted from 11th in points after race one to lead the points through four races. He leads first race winner Ashton Higgins by a mere two points as they head into the fifth race of the season on Friday, June 14th at Anderson Motor Speedway.
While Higgins is his toughest championship contender, other drivers have run well in recent races and will look to dethrone Sorrow and take a victory of their own this season. One driver, who isn’t an Anderson local but has been creeping up the results is Myrtle Beach Speedway driver Sam Yarbrough. Yarbrough has three consecutive third-place finishes at Anderson after missing the season opener. He’s also climbed to fifth in the points standings just 21 points back of Sorrow.
Former track champion Trey Gibson has also run strong this season with two-second place finishes on the season but he’s someone who will challenge week in and week out for a victory. Anderson newcomer, Brandon Lemke has also seen flashes of success this season. He opened the 2019 season with a fourth-place finish in his very first Late Model Stock Car start after competing in Limiteds at Hickory Motor Speedway last year. During the most recent night of racing for the Late Models, Lemke scored his career-best finish of second in the first of twin races.
One driver who might give Sorrow a challenge for the victory at Anderson on Friday night is California native Ryan Vargas. Vargas has won two races already this season on the West Coast but he’s looking for his first win on the East Coast while driving for Lee Faulk Racing. Faulk’s cars took home three wins during the 2018 season at Anderson and Vargas could be third LFR driver to take home a win at the Upstate South Carolina facility.
Former track champion and local racing icon, David Roberts is hoping to pick up his first win driving a car owned by Buzzy Turner. Roberts struggled mightily in the season opener driving this car but has since begun to climb the leaderboard with a season-high of fifth during the last event held at Anderson on May 3rd. Another local racing hero Kenneth Headen is also lurking in the shadows hoping to get his first win of the season as well. Headen posted his season-best finish of fifth during the second of twins on May 3rd.
With four races down and nine left to be completed on the season, there’s still a lot of racing ahead but Sorrow has already solidified himself as the car to beat this season. The field will try to give chase to Sorrow once again Friday night.
Also on tap at Anderson will be the BM Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Legends, Front Wheel Drives and Pure Stocks. Grandstand gates open at 5:00pm. LMS Qualifying is set for 7:15 and racing will kick off at 8:00pm. Grandstand adult admission is $12. Kids 12 and under are admitted FREE with paying adult. More info at www.AndersonMotorSpeedway.com.
Cover photo by Kimberly Austin.
