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Apr 17, 2022
Layne Riggs ran his early-season win streak to four in a row in the first of two 75-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division races Saturday afternoon at South Boston Speedway only to see defending NASCAR national champion Peyton Sellers snap the streak by winning the second race.
The Late Model twinbill was the headline event of Saturday afternoon’s Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Fruitopia Mini Family Day at the Races event at South Boston Speedway.
The Bahama, North Carolina resident muscled his way past Sellers on the final lap of the opener to take the win, leaving Sellers to have to settle for second place after having led all but the final lap. Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia finished third with Kyle Dudley taking fourth place and Thomas Scott of Efland, North Carolina rounding out the top five finishers.
“If you had asked me six months ago if I could do this, I would have said it was never possible,” Riggs said after the victory that stretched his win streak to four in a row. “I was faster than he was in the first race. I got a nose inside and he tried to chop me off. I was there and he couldn’t deny me. I ran my line and did what I could.”
Sellers said he and Riggs raced each other hard and he was simply trying to do what he could to try to win the race.
“He (Riggs) kept me loose up off of the corner several times. He was doing what he had to. I just pinched him pretty hard trying to knock some momentum off to try to get the win and it didn’t work out.”
Sellers started eighth in the second race as the top eight finishers of the first race were inverted for the start of the second race. Riggs, by virtue of the track’s handicapping system for drivers that win two or more races in a row, started mid-field in 12th place.
It took little time for them to get to the front, with Sellers taking the lead from Jacob Borst on the 14th lap and Riggs climbing into second place by passing Borst on the 26th circuit.
Two caution periods in the last 37 laps gave Riggs opportunities to start alongside Sellers on the restarts. Sellers surged ahead of Riggs on both restarts and held onto the top spot to take the win. Borst, of Elon, North Carolina, finished third, Mason Bailey finished fourth and Scott finished fifth.
“It really hasn’t been that long, but it feels good to be back in Victory Lane,” Sellers remarked. “We struggled a little bit out of the box this year. We got a win last week at Dominion Raceway and we picked up a win here. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season. We have fast cars. We just have to get them ironed out.”
Riggs noted Sellers had the faster car in the second race.
“He (Sellers) deserved to win this time,” Riggs pointed out. “He was faster than we were. He had clean air and had a good car.”
The race was a highly competitive race with two lead changes among three drivers.
Late Model Stock Car Race #1 (75 Laps)
1 99 Layne Riggs 75
2 26 Peyton Sellers 75
3 0 Landon Pembelton 75
4 4 Kyle Dudley 75
5 8 Thomas Scott 75
6 05 Mason Bailey 75
7 90 John Goin 75
8 25 Jacob Borst 75
9 82 Trey Dillard 75
10 01 Camden Gullie 75
11 15 Ryan Joyner 75
12 31 Aaron Donnelly 74
13 12 Austin Thaxton 74
14 06 Terry Dease 74
15 77 Blake Stallings 74
16 91 Chris Elliott 73
17 57 Eddie Johnson 73
18 38 Mark Keesee 73
19 18 Bobby Gillispie 73
20 50 Raymond Pittman, III 68
21 19 Jessica Cann 53
22 4 Parker Eatmon 41
23 04 Larry Barrett 4
Late Model Stock Car Race #2 (75 Laps)
1 26 Peyton Sellers 75
2 99 Layne Riggs 75
3 25 Jacob Borst 75
4 05 Mason Bailey 75
5 8 Thomas Scott 75
6 4 Parker Eatmon 75
7 0 Landon Pembelton 75
8 4 Kyle Dudley 75
9 15 Ryan Joyner 75
10 12 Austin Thaxton 75
11 01 Camden Gullie 75
12 82 Trey Dillard 75
13 90 John Goin 75
14 06 Terry Dease 75
15 91 Chris Elliott 75
16 50 Raymond Pittman, III 74
17 18 Bobby Gillispie 72
18 31 Aaron Donnelly 69
19 38 Mark Keesee 42
20 77 Blake Stallings 42
21 57 Eddie Johnson 41
22 04 Larry Barrett 2
