Lap one of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 and some hot runners are bent out of shape including, but not limited to, Peyton Sellers. The #26 Clarence’s / Danville Toyota is a familiar former NAAPWS champion at South Boston and “Triple Crown” winner. Justin Hicks was spun from contact with the #2W of Matt Waltz which caused a dive around and a hard brake mid pack smash.
The full race was extended on time through nine cautions including two red flag stops. These incidents put a strain on local championship points as leading drivers were hit hard. Trevor Ward, Sellers and Landon Pembelton were leading the Sentara Health Late Model points at SoBo but finished in the trailing positions with incident caused issues. The positions remain but the points spread became a little wider.
The winning top five were also shaken a bit following the race. The winner, repeating with a different team from 2024, was Connor Hall in the #88. Currently with JR Motorsports, he won last year driving for Nelson. The win gives Hall a guaranteed spot in the Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville and the SoBo TRHD 200 race winner’s purse.
Unofficially, the top five were Hall, Matt Waltz, Darren Krantz, Jr, Parker Eatmon and Ryan Millington. However, karma or an eye for hard detail, the #2 of Waltz failed a post race inspection. Something in the rear axle measurements was tagged and Waltz was disqualified from the spot and race. This pushed spots three through six up a notch allowing Ronnie Bassett Jr to be marked in the fifth spot.
The winner in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman class showcased his first in front of the big LM Triple Crown crowd. Zach Peregoy drove with dominance for most of the race leading from the pole. He dropped off for a bit as third place driver, Atley Wiese, took the lead for a bit before falling off. Ayden Millette finished second while Lane Woods and Cameron Goble filled the top five.
The defending Dollar General Hornets Champion, Jordaine Penick, picked up a pole to flag win. Her first win of the season follows some pole starts but this topped her chart so far. Jason DeCarlo was just off the lead for second place. Landon Milam, Max Sangillo and Chris Penick filled the top five.
The Southside Disposal Pure Stocks brought a fourth season win to Barry Reaves. Johnny Layne, a former series champ, drove in second. Third went to Scott Phillips while Zach Reaves and Colby Pool finished fourth and fifth.
The next Late Model Triple Crown race is the “Hampton Heat” at Langley Speedway on July 19th. The “Crown” finale is at Martinsville Speedway with the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in September.
Photos from the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway
