Philip Morris added to his legacy with a dominant victory on Saturday night in the Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway.
He added to his checkbook too as the annual July 4 weekend race paid $6,500 to win.
The four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion competed a pass on Nick Smith with 42 laps to go and eventually outpaced Stacy Puryear by .635 seconds to snap Lee Pulliam’s six-year win streak in the first stage of the Virginia Late Model Stock Triple Crown.
Pulliam meanwhile finished fourth.
Morris and Smith traded the lead several times after the halfway break, and despite the contact between the two, mutual respect prevailed between the two.
“I think both of us were doing the four wheel drift thing,” Morris said in Victory Lane. “We made contact there and he hung onto it. I just want to thank my crew chief, Forrest Reynolds, and these guys that never gave up when we qualified eighth today. I told them we had a good car and they didn’t doubt me, they just kept building on the setup. I want to thank my spotter who was new tonight. Forrest Reynolds Racing Chassis and Robby White Racing engines for giving me a solid piece.”
Smith was pleased to finish third given whom finished ahead of him.
Peyton Seller finished the first half with the lead and was awarded $1,000 for his efforts, but an eight car invert placed Smith at the point for the start of the second half. The 2009 winner of the event was pleasantly surprised that he was able to hang with Morris and Puryear as long as he did.
Keep in mind that South Boston was repaved during the off-season and passing was at a premium.
“Really, that race goes to show you that track position is key,” Smith said. “I think we had at least a top-5 car but track position was everything tonight. The invert put me in a good spot but you got to give (Morris) credit.
“That’s why they call him Victory Lane.”
The final 49 laps ran caution free, playing into Morris’ favor. At the end of the day, Smith just wishes he could have got one more caution and a shot to make something happen.
“On a longer run, he was faster,” Smith said. “But you never know what could have happened with another restart. That’s my favorite thing about racing. You never know what’s going to happen.”
There were four lead changes amongst five drivers and Sellers lead the most laps by leading 97 of the first 100.
Morris struck first in the Virginia Triple Crown but there are still two more battles to be waged. The three-race series will reward the driver with the best average finish with a $10,000 bonus. The other two races are the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway on July 22 and the Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway on September 23.
The complete results from the SoBo 200 can be viewed below.
- Philip Morris
- Stacy Puryear
- Nick Smith
- Lee Pulliam
- Peyton Sellers
- Bobby McCarty
- Matt Bowling
- Brenden Queen
- Ryan Repko
- Mark Wertz
- Timothy Peters
- Brandon Pierce
- Austin Thaxton
- Terry Carroll
- Thomas Scott
- Cameron Bowen
- Eddie Johnson
- Justin Carroll
- Danny Willis Jr
- Trevor Ward
- Jason Barnes
- Eric Winslow
- Stuart Crews
- RD Smith
- Dean Ward
- Nathan Crews
Note: Short Track Scene was not at this event but listened online via the track’s radio broadcast
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
