Saturday at Dominion Raceway was another perfect outing for Peyton Sellers.
The 2005 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion swept both 60-lap features at the facility to tighten his already-strong grip on the track and national point standings.
Sellers had to work for each one of his victories but added that winning tough races is an important part of winning a national title.
“The competition is stronger than ever at Dominion right now,” Sellers said. “Between Landon Pembelton in the first race and Mason Bailey in the second race, those guys fought really hard. 18 wins in a year is pretty amazing and that’s a feat I’ve never done before, so I’m very humbled to be here.”
Pembelton gave Sellers the bigger scare on the evening in the first race.
A late caution set up a sprint to the finish in which Pembelton gradually ran down and pulled alongside his boss in Sellers. Neither driver gave the other any room to work with coming to the checkered flag, where Sellers barely nipped Pembelton by 0.030 seconds.
Although Pembelton knew his car was strong enough to defeat Sellers on the final restart, he said the finish ultimately came down to Sellers’ efficiency on the top side.
“I was pretty happy [in the first race],” Pembelton said. “We were pretty loose at first but the car really came to life after that last caution. The car was perfect but [Sellers] had a lot more experience working the top. You couldn’t have asked for a closer finish.”
An invert ahead of the second race enabled Bailey to lead a good portion of the second race’s opening laps, all while being tasked with holding off a faster car in Sellers.
Bailey succeeded in keeping the veteran driver behind him until a caution came out on Lap 23, giving Sellers the opportunity he needed to take control of the lead on the high side for the ensuing restart.
Bailey, who raced at Southside Speedway prior to its closure, never imagined he would be racing Sellers for a Late Model Stock victory and is eager to make more progress as he searches for his first victory.
“We’re pleased but at the same time, we aren’t very happy,” Bailey said. “A third and a second aren’t two wins, so we have to do a little bit more work. This is a new, smaller team and guys like Peyton have been doing this for years. We came from an outlaw track and we’ve made big strides, so I’m really proud of these guys.”
For Sellers, he currently holds the points lead at both Dominion and South Boston Speedway. He hopes that his schedule works out to where he can contend for both championships while simultaneously going for the national title.
Sellers said a national championship is far from secure for his program and that he needs to stay consistent while his closest competitors in Jacob Goede, Todd Patnode and others fight their own battles.
“We’ve got a couple races without a full car count along with some bonus points that we need to work on,” Sellers said. “We’re racing for track championships here and we can’t go out and race those guys in the west, so we have to make the most of everything on the East Coast.”
With two more victories on his 2021 resume, Sellers is confident that several more perfect evenings are in front of him as the 2021 season winds down.
Race No. 1:
1. Peyton Sellers
2. Landon Pembelton
3. Mason Bailey
4. Mason Diaz
5. G.R. Waldrop
6. Aaron Donnelly
7. Colby Stottlemyer
8. Michael Hardin
9. Logan Clark
10. Logan Jones
11. Davey Callihan
12. John Goin
13. Conner Jones
14. Justin Martz
15. Timmy Phipps
16. Cole Bruce
17. Chase Burrow
18. Richard Storm
Race No. 2
1. Peyton Sellers
2. Mason Bailey
3. Landon Pembelton
4. Davey Callihan
5. Conner Jones
6. Mason Diaz
7. G.R. Waldrop
8. Michael Hardin
9. Cole Bruce
10. Colby Stottlemyer
11. Logan Clark
12. Chase Burrow
13. Logan Jones
14. John Goin
15. Timmy Phipps
16. Aaron Donnelly
17. Justin Martz (DNS)
18. Richard Storm (DNS)
Read more Short Track Scene:
