Chris Chapman Wins Limited Late Model Thriller at Wilkesboro

A pair of veterans from the Limited Late Model battles of North Carolina, Chris Chapman and Adam Murray, waged battle throughout the division's feature race Tuesday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway. With the race on the line, Chapman pulled off a three-wide pass around Murray while the duo lapped Amber Lynn to score the victory.

The last lap maneuver was a bold one. For Chapman, however, it was a final chance to take the checkered flag in racing's return to North Wilkesboro, and he wasn't going to let that go without a fight.

"That was our only shot. I had to take it. I just had to stick it three-wide. If we made it, we made it; if we didn't, we didn't. I couldn't go down without trying.

"We've been in kind of a winless drought for a little bit. This is awesome. This is just like racing at Myrtle Beach. I finished second or third there for about eight years and never won there. This makes up for that."

Chris Chapman had previously taken part in the victory lane celebration at North Wilkesboro, when Matt McCall won a 150-lap Late Model Stock event at the famed venue in 2010. This time, however, it was Chapman celebrating as the winning driver.

"This is special, to win here. It's Wilkesboro. I've always wanted to race here. I was in victory lane here in 2010 with Matt McCall on his team. But this tops it, getting to do it myself."

Murray led the majority of the event, and left nothing on the table. Murray and Chapman battled side-by-side for several laps, with Murray taking the upper hand each time until the final lap.

"These guys have worked so hard today changing stuff," said Murray. "We drove hard for 50 laps and never saved anything. It was a hard race. Cheeseburger [Chapman], he's a good driver, we raced hard door-to-door. It was good, hard racing."

With the race on the line, Murray had nothing left to defend Chapman's final charge.

"No excuses, man. With three laps to go, our right-front tire was shot. I thought it was coming off the rim or going flat. It was just wore out. I slipped a little bit going into one there, and the lapped car played in his favor."

"We had a good time. That's why we came here, to be competitive and have a chance to win, and that's what we did."

Bobbie Tumbleston III picked up the win in the Street Stock feature, but it was not without adversity.

Tumbleston briefly lost the lead while attempting to place Sam Hurd a lap down. The two drivers made contact, sending Hurd into the outside wall exiting turn four.

However, Tumbleston battled back, retaking the top spot from Gary Ledbetter and driving to victory before doing an impressive burnout on the frontstretch.

Ledbetter finished second, followed by Cody DeMarmels, Mark Johnson and Jeff Melton. Melton rallied from a lap one incident with Jeff Sparks to score the top-five finish.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS - AUGUST 30, 2022

LIMITED LATE MODELS

Feature (50 Laps)

1. Chris Chapman
2. Adam Murray
3. Boo Boo Dalton
4. Tyler Gregory
5. Justin Whitaker
6. Chris Phipps
7. Landon Huffman
8. Brian Obiedzenski
9. Akinori Ogata
10. Tristan McKee
11. Cameron Bolin
12. James Sweeney
13. Bryce Applegate
14. Zach Bruenger
15. Amber Lynn
16. Casey Kepley, Jr.
17. Mark Johnson
18. Mark Goin
19. Brody Duggins
20. Mitchell Wright
21. Seth Henry
22. Brandon Cox
23. Cameron Hedgecock
24. Jason Kitzmiller
25. Blayne Harrison
26. Tony Black
27. Michael Bumgarner
28. Justin Hicks
29. Mitch Walker
30. Jacob Porter

Last Chance Qualifier (12 Laps, Top 6 Transfer)

1. Bryce Applegate
2. Brandon Cox
3. Brody Duggins
4. Jacob Porter
5. Casey Kepley, Jr.
6. Amber Lynn
7. Steven Truell
8. Kenneth Pardue
9. Randy Roberts
10. Jimmy Simmons
11. Hunter Deshautelle
12. Justin Mitchell
13. Tanner Garrett
14. Dusty Garus
15. William Lester

STREET STOCKS

Feature (35 Laps)

1. Bobbie Tumbleston III
2. Gary Ledbetter
3. Cody DeMarmels
4. Mark Johnson
5. Jeff Melton
6. Donald Machutta
7. Boo Carlisle
8. John Guker
9. David Rader
10. Eric Zeh
11. Jesse Cottrell
12. Frank Curtis
13. James McLaughlin, Jr.
14. Wayne McGee
15. Jonathan Langham
16. Dillon Crouch
17. Sam Hurd
18. Ryan Flores
19. Alan Rich
20. Jeff Sparks
21. Travis Hanson
22. Stephen Sharp
23. Kyle Lynch
24. Steve Mills
25. Kenny Vetetoe
26. Ethan Johnson