With the season at South Boston coming to a close, drivers the likes of Matt Bowling, Austin Thaxton, and Peyton Sellers look to end their season on a high note in the next to last race at the 4/10 mile oval.
Bowling, the current track, and national points leader was relegated to a 10th starting spot due to his two recent wins at the track despite qualifying second, .001 off the pole time set by Austin Thaxton. Peyton Sellers qualified third but dropped to the back to gain passing points in hopes of catching Matt Bowling for the track title.
Bobby McCarty looked to have the best car and led the first seven laps until he and Thaxton got together in turn two, allowing Bowling to jump up to fourth, later taking the lead from Bruce Anderson on lap 28.
While Bowling led, his closest competition in the track points standings, Peyton Sellers ran fourth. While Bowling and Josh Oakley pulled away, Sellers managed to get into third place, attempting to catch the duo pacing the field.
Bowling, Thaxton, and Sellers battled hard over the last 25 laps for the win but with six to go, Austin Thaxton got around Bowling for the lead, with Sellers also working around Bowling. Thaxton, from here held the lead while Bowling lost third to Oakley, finishing fourth.
Thaxton, who spun early in the race, waited until late in the race and it paid off.
“We waited until the final ten laps and as able to get around Matt, one of the toughest ones in the business, going for that national title,” Thaxton remarked. “It’s just a great win for the family and sponsors, coming back from adversity early in the race. When we unloaded yesterday, I said we had a good car, we just needed to keep it like this and we would be good.”
Sellers finished second, gaining a few points on Matt Bowling in the chase for the track title and finally got the finish he wanted.
“This No. 26 deserves to be up front, we have been working on it and are finally chipping away at it,” Sellers stated. “We are slowly getting there, we had to change cars mid-season and are trying to figure out this car. Going into the later part of the season, with all the money races, I think we are going to have something to show.”
Sellers also said post-race, “Last week I lost a little respect for Austin after the incident with Matt, but I gained back some of that respect here tonight.”
Unofficial Results
- Austin Thaxton
- Peyton Sellers
- Josh Oakley
- Matt Bowling
- Mark Wertz
- Danny Willis Jr
- Brandon Pierce
- Raymond Pittman III
- Alex Brock
- Jason Barnes
- Dusty Ellington
- Charles Barnes
- Bruce Anderson
- Bobby Griffin
- Bobby McCarty
- Nathan Crews
- Jimmy Rice
