COPPER HILL, VA :: Lee Pulliam’s chase for his second consecutive NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Championship was the dominant story for much of the 2013 season. As that happened, Late Model Stock Car racing’s competitors were staging an epic racing season all over the region. Old rivalries were ignited, new ones were born and existing ones boiled over.
The season started out on a high note with the resurgence of Franklin County Speedway and an alliance between Southern National Motorsports Park and Motor Mile Speedway which strengthened both tracks in 2013. That alliance was a championship series consisting of 12 events, 24 races in total, that was known as the Dirty Dozen and it was the first race of that series that would officially start the Late Model Stock Car racing season.
The racing season started with a one-off exhibition event at the Daytona International Speedway along a temporary course set up on the backstretch of the famed speedway. The UNOH Battle at the Beach, which was televised nationally, lived up to the billing. The action was hot and heavy even before the 150-lap feature. CE Falk and Nate Monteith tangled in a heat race which resulted in an altercation in which Monteith swung at Falk. That was only the beginning of the Falk/Monteith rivalry.
CE Falk was again a story later on in the evening. Falk was leading the race in the closing stages and appeared to have a win in hand before getting dumped off the front bumper of Kyle Larson on the final turn of the race. Larson would be allowed to keep the $15,000 victory but alienated many fans in the process. Ben Rhodes finished second and Falk would up in third.
Ben Rhodes would be on the opposite side of the coin in late March. Rain forced Myrtle Beach Speedway to postpone the 2012 Myrtle Beach 400 to March of 2013. That race featured wild racing reminiscent of Talladega all night long. Popular local driver Justin Milliken led the field to the white flag. Entering turn one, Milliken was taken out with assistance from Rhodes. Rhodes crossed the line first but, unlike the precedent set in Daytona, he would not keep the win. Anthony Anders, who would go on to win the Greenville-Pickens Speedway track championship and the NWAAS South Carolina State Championship, inherited the victory.
March also featured the season opener at South Boston Speedway and a rare appearance by Philip Morris. Morris raced side-by-side with Lee Pulliam through much of the first of two races that opened the season. The fans would get their money’s worth from that duel in a race that ran caution free. After the two ran dead even for over a dozen laps, Pulliam would finally prevail and go on to score the victory. Pulliam in Victory Lane at South Boston Speedway went on to be a familiar site all season long.
While Pulliam was already commanding the spotlight, some of the best early-season racing was going on at Kingsport Speedway. The 3/8 mile bullring in Tennessee was bringing in full fields and delivering exciting racing in the process – a trend Kingsport would continue all season long. The first race of the season was won by Chad Finchum, the second by Anthony Anders and the third by Adam Long in most controversial fashion.
The biggest race in April was the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. The all-star event combines the top Late Model Stock Car drivers in the region with NASCAR drivers like Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and David Ragan. Kyle Busch would go on to win the race but it was what happened mid-pack that stole the headlines. Old pals CE Falk and Nate Monteith met again. The two drivers made contact on the track and again on pit road after the race. Following that, the two exchanged words while crew members exchanged objects.
NASCAR officials separated the two drivers and eventually suspended Monteith, who had been on probation following the incident at Daytona. Monteith said Falk ran in to him on the track as they raced for position and didn’t understand why Falk was so upset when he had let Larson spin him at Daytona. Falk wasn’t as calm in his interview where he accurately predicted Monteith would be benched by NASCAR during an epic rant which included references to hillbillies and lawnmowers in “Hillbilly, Tennessee”. The rant drew the ire of Kingsport Speedway racers and fans.
The month of May opened up with Dean Fogleman scoring a popular win at Ace Speedway. Fogleman held off Dustin Rumley in the closing stages of the race as Rumley looked for any possible way around him. Rumley did everything he could, short of dumping Fogleman, to get the lead but could not execute the pass. Fogleman’s victory was his first since 2008.
Memorial Day Weekend saw an instant classic at Lonesome Pine Raceway between Ryan Stiltner and Hayden Woods. Woods dominated the race in the early stages but Stiltner would catch him and take the lead. A late race caution would allow Woods to retake the lead from Stiltner. The two drivers continued to exchange the lead before Stiltner finally got around and went on to win the race.
May ended on a high note with the first race of the season at Franklin County Speedway on Memorial Day. The Memorial Day Classic was the first race under the management of Langley Austin and Moonshine Capital Promotions. Langley Austin is also the owner and webmaster of RACE22.com. Steve Dalton won the race while a big crash took out several competitors behind him.
Mother Nature scored the most victories in the summer months. While the racing was sparse, it was as exciting as ever. After being denied his first career win on Memorial Day Weekend, Hayden Woods had another shot at redemption in early June during twin Late Model races at Lonesome Pine Raceway. Stiltner would score the victory in the first race but things would go Woods’ way in the second as he would go on to score by edging Stiltner in a photofinish.
The final weekend in July featured the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway. The Hampton Heat 200 is Langley’s biggest race and is one of the Virginia Triple Crown races. The capacity crowd filed in to the stands and did not leave in disappointment. Nick Smith was the favorite to win the race but a late race bump-and-run from Peyton Sellers was Smith’s undoing. Sellers went on to win the race over CE Falk and Smith. The only drivers who were happy after the race were Sellers and Annabeth Barnes who had finished in 13th after starting 27th.
August saw the battle for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series (NWAAS) National Championship hit its climax. Defending champion Lee Pulliam and Southern National regular Deac McCaskill entered Motor Mile Speedway on August 2nd for a Friday Night showdown. Twin 125-lap races were on the evening’s card. The first race was dominated by Peyton Sellers but a late race bump-and-run from Pulliam relegated Sellers to second. Pulliam scored the victory and padded his points lead. That lead would be cut in the second race. The top six cars were inverted putting McCaskill on the pole. Pulliam would take the lead during a late race restart but could not hold the lead as McCaskill drove Pulliam up the track to take over the lead and score the victory. Pulliam would sweep twin races the following day at South Boston Speedway.
The month of August also saw Chad Finchum clinch his first championship, the rise of Ben Rhodes and an old rivalry hit it’s breaking point. Rhodes scored his first career Late Model victory on August 9th. The following week, Kingsport Speedway held its season finale and a two-way between Chad Finchum and Zeke Shell in twin races to see who would emerge as the King of the Concrete Jungle. Finchum started the evening off by shattering the track record in qualifying and winning the first of two races. However, it wouldn’t be that easy for Finchum. He was penalized during the second race for rough driving and sent to the rear of the field. Finchum was able to race his way back up to second while his main championship rival struggled, securing the championship for Finchum. At Franklin County Speedway, a rivalry between Kyle Dudley and Steve Dalton hit its breaking point when the two drivers tangled in a race for the lead. Dalton muscled his way around Dudley. Dudley took offense and retaliated in the next corner, wrecking both cars. Dalton responded by ramming in to Dudley during the caution. Dalton went on to win the race.
When Pulliam scored his 23rd and 24th victories of the season in late August, talk about the NWAAS National Championship began to change. It was no longer a matter of if Pulliam would win the national title, but when. The following day at South Boston, Pulliam would put himself one win away from a perfect season but CE Falk’s victory in the second of two twin races put his coronation on hold.
The following week, Pulliam got the victory he needed to put him over the top in the NWAAS National Standings with 810 points, a statistical perfect season. Pulliam’s victory came in the 250-lap, $10,000 to win “Barnburner” at Motor Mile Speedway. After the victory, Pulliam looked ahead to Martinsville. Pulliam’s championship season consisted of the national title as well as the Dirty Dozen championship and championships at both South Boston Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway.
Franklin County Speedway’s Fall Brawl closed out the month of September in spectacular fashion. Jake Keaton, Johnny Cash and Daryn Cockram staged a classic duel in the first of two Late Model races. Cockram took the lead from Keaton late in the race with the chrome horn. His time in the lead was short lived as Keaton would bypass Cockram a few laps later. Cockram wrecked shortly after relinquishing the lead which allowed Wesley Thomason to take the second position. Keaton went on to win. Cash won the second of two races after surviving late race challenges from Keaton and eventual track champion Kyle Dudley.
With most of the championships decided and the season winding down, it was off to Martinsville Speedway for the biggest race of the season in the epic Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 held on October 6th. Chad Finchum won the pole for the race but wouldn’t be a factor after getting taken out by David Gatbo, Jr. Matt Waltz dominated much of the second half of the race as he fought off Pulliam and Dillon Bassett in an epic battle for the lead. Pulliam finally got around him followed shortly by Bassett before Waltz’s tire went down taking him out of contention.
Pulliam then held off Bassett up until a competition caution late in the race spiced things up even more. Pulliam now had to deal with Bassett who was all over his rear bumper and the rest of the field. Pulliam was taken out of the race while leading by Deac McCaskill on a restart, keeping the “National Championship Curse” intact. The incident also took out Philip Morris and CE Falk. That incident put Bassett to the lead. Bassett, who was dealing with carbon monoxide poisoning, would not win the race. Lemons got a jump on the green-white-checkered restart and took the lead from Bassett. Bassett’s team protested the restart, claiming Lemons jumped it. The protest fell on deaf ears and Lemons’ win was official but not after a bizarre victory lane celebration on the front stretch.
After the race, Bassett got out of his car and celebrated his “victory”. He got up on the roof of his car and then fell off. Lying on the ground with an army of crew members attending to him, Bassett shouted, “We ****ing won Martinsville, baby!” before passing out and being transported to a nearby hospital for observation. Meanwhile, Lemons was celebrating his victory. The race sparked new rivalries and sparked a satirical Facebook conversation piece put together by the RACE22.com staff.
Next up was the 2013 running of the Myrtle Beach 400. The race format was altered ahead of the race with the Late Model feature being cut from 250 laps to 200 laps. Friday night was a magical night when Haley Moody, daughter of the late Jerry Moody, scored her first career Limited Late Model victory with her father, who would pass away less than 36 hours later, in attendance. Saturday’s events were plagued by rain and forced officials to alter qualifying procedures. Lee Pulliam won the Dash for Cash race putting him on the pole for Sunday’s main event.
The Myrtle Beach 400 featured another spectacular finish. Pulliam, who had faded during the middle of the race, worked his way back to the front and took the lead from Ben Rhodes during the restart in the second green-white-checkered attempt. Pulliam drove away from Rhodes and was on his way as they came to the white flag. Behind Pulliam, Rhodes was trying to hold off Garrett Campbell for second when the two made contact on the last lap sending Rhodes in the wall. The caution came out, ending the race. Campbell was penalized and Pulliam was victorious for the 30th time in 2013.
The final race of the season was the Thanksgiving All-Star Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park. Pulliam again started on the pole after setting a blistering lap in qualifying. Pulliam drove away from the field in the closing laps but a late race caution would erase his lead. In the final laps of the race, Ronnie Bassett, Jr. executed a bump-and-run on Pulliam to take the lead and win the race. Matt McCall passed Pulliam to finish second while McCaskill finished in fourth behind Pulliam. That finishing order was only appropriate given McCall’s history with Pulliam and Pulliam’s history with McCaskill.
With 2013 in the books, we now look ahead to 2014 and another season of Late Model Stock Car racing. Southern National Motorsports Park will serve as the season opener for Late Model Stock Car racing on March 1st. RACE22.com will continue to look back at 2013 and look ahead to 2014 over the coming weeks.
