For the first time since 2015, Peyton Sellers is not going to take the green flag in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.
The eight-time South Boston Speedway Late Model Stock champion, two-time NASCAR National Champion and 2022 Martinsville race winner was already forced to start at the rear of his heat race and then wasn’t able to race his way into the feature.
He needed to be inside the top-10 and ultimately finished one position short behind Ty Majeski. After swapping spots a few times, Majeski finally cleared and was able to drive away leaving Sellers out of time to mount a charge.
“We just needed a caution,” Sellers said. “The field is so competitive. Our car was pretty good, Majeski was pretty good. One caution and we would’ve been up in the top seven or eight. Just didn’t work out in our favor today.
“[Majeski] did what he needed to. I was trying to be patient. Everybody’s too close tight now. Nobody is going to be able to drive by each other. Ty will have a good car come feature time and I would have too.”
In the first heat, Ronnie Bassett Jr. made contact with Stacey Puryear while battling for the transfer spot in 10th halfway through the race. Puryear spun in Turn 3 off the bumper of Bassett. Both drivers were sent to the rear.
Bassett was able to rally back and was back up to 10th on the last lap. However, Dylan Newsome was breathing down his neck. Going into Turn 3, Newsome sent it in deep and got the rear bumper of Bassett, moving him up the track.
The two raced back to line side-by-side, banging doors. Bassett hung on to finish tenth and make the race by just 0.03 seconds, sending Newsome home.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Bassett said. “The car is good. Can’t keep up down the straightaway unfortunately. I can’t ask nothing better of the car. It just shows how it good it was to be able to roll the corner like we did and keep up as much as we did. That was tough, I can’t lie. That was like running 15th in a CARS Tour race.”
“[Newsome] behind us, I condemn [him]. He gave me a shot like anyone should and got me up the hill. I just made sure we stayed to the left and tried not to let him out motor us down the straightaway.”
Bassett didn’t mean to spin Puryear out in the race, but he felt like he was checking up in the corner.
“Our car was rolling pretty good in the center and [Puryear] fired off good,” Bassett said. He started parking it a little bit and I didn’t mean to get into him as hard as I did. I was trying to move him up the hill a little bit obviously, but he was on the brake pedal and I got into him and I gassed up so I didn’t get ran over from behind.”
Puryear felt like it was a product of Martinsville.
“It’s just a typical Martinsville heat race,” Puryear said after finishing the race 14th, missing the main show.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Until the tires get worn a little bit everybody is pretty equal. I don’t blame him. It’s just racing. Just unfortunate for us. We’ve been here a lot. This place has been pretty good to me, but not today.”
Newsome wasn’t pleased with the finish.
“I reckon it was fair,” Newsome said. “I just had a bad race the whole time. We fired off real tight and I tried to make it back through there. I’m not going to say anything bad. I tried to move him. We’re both racing for the transfer, I guess that’s how it goes. I’ll just keep it in mind.”
Majeski made the race over Sellers, marking his second career appearance.
“Just trying to be smart and play our cars right,” Majeski said. “You don’t want to make anybody too mad because it’s so hard to pass here. I felt like I played my cards right with Peyton. He chopped me earlier and I cut him a break. Then he moved me once. I got back by him cleanly so I was hoping he wouldn’t do it again. Thankfully he raced me clean.
“[I] was able to break away at the right time. As long as I had that gap to Peyton I didn’t want to [pass the 8c] too early so it would accordion back to Peyton later. Tried to make my move at the right time so I could break away and have an easy last four or five laps and it worked out that way.”
Brandon Pierce made the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 with a third place finish in heat three. It’s the first time he’s made the show since 2018, the year he finished third. He feels good now that he’s made the show about his chances in the race.
“It’s been since 2018,” Pierce said. “What’s very disappointing about that is I almost won it that year. Finished third. Incredibly proud of all these Carroll Speedshop guys. We timed in twelfth and just finished third in our heat race. We should roll off ninth tonight. I just couldn’t be any more proud of this group.
“In the bigger picture of things, some of the people in the Triple Crown in front of us didn’t make the race so we’re going to gain some spots. That is still in the forefront of our mind along with $32,000 and a grandfather clock.”
Pierce feels like his car is best on the long run, which with 200 laps of racing, could prove fruitful.
“I think [the long run] is where we’re best,” Pierce said. “Last night I felt like we could put down a top 24 lap but I didn’t know if we had that raw speed. I was pleasantly surprised that we did. I’ve been happy with our race car all weekend. I tried a few things in the heat race when we got some gap. Moved my line [around] some just to see what I needed from my race car.
“I can honestly say this is the most excited I’ve been for this race and [I’m] just super blessed and grateful to be able to make it again.”
The fourth heat saw the most incidents in the race, but all of them were behind the transfer battle. Mason Diaz got spun early on in Turn 1. He started driving his way up through the field, but near the halfway point, Blayne Harrison got loose while on his outside, spinning down and collecting Diaz, ending his charge.
“We’re coming off Turn 2 and he got loose and he overcorrected, hit the outside wall and shot down and hit me,’ Diaz said. “Just part of being back there. I’ve got to work on my qualifying and get me away from these situations. I felt like we had a really good piece. Once we went back out with the doors off and everything we passed a few cars.
“Sadly I had to park it because the motor kept skyrocketing. It was 250 [degrees]If it was four laps to go in the race we probably would’ve finished it out. It happened like lap nine so it was too long. I got to top ten rather quick and other guys in front of me were coming to me. I felt like we could have finished around seventh [or] sixth.”
Harrison showed remorse for the contact.
“I don’t know if there was oil from another car or something,” Harrison said. “We had a good piece under us. We just couldn’t get anywhere. Coming out of [Turn] 2, it was like we had oil on our front end. Chattered the front, tried to correct it, and then [it] came around.
“I really hate it for the Hedgecock guys. I get my cars from them. I really hate I did it to them. Mason is a veteran driver. I didn’t want to take him out.”
The second heat saw Lee Pulliam pick up the win out front, but back in the transfer battle saw Matt Waltz just hold off Darren Krantz Jr. Krantz drove up to Waltz on the last lap, but wasn’t close enough to make a move in Turn 3.
Waltz had a provisional since he won the first part of the Virginia Triple Crown in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway earlier this year, but he didn’t need to use it. Krantz came into this weekend fourth in the Virginia Triple Crown standings with a 7.5 average finish.
“We just fried off really loose in the heat race,” Waltz said. “[I] just did what I could to hang onto it. We’ll have to see what we can do for the race here in a little while.”
Krantz was disappointed coming up just short, but felt like it came down to the car.
“I’m extremely disappointed,’ Krantz said. “The car wasn’t where it needed to be, honestly. We worked for two days and the team just couldn’t figure it out which is really disappointing in my opinion. The team worked really hard and I’m happy we could come to Martinsville. The team just needs to do a little better next time.
“We’ve been struggling the past year with this team. A lot of work to do.”
Scotte is from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, living just a few minutes from the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. Scotte has raced at local dirt tracks for over six years, as well as covering NASCAR and short track races for over a year now, and has a firey passion for all motorsports, working to achieve a career as a driver.
