Williams Returns To Late Model Victory Lane At Virginia
Story By: DAVE SEAY / VIRGINIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – JAMAICA, VA – In front of a packed house on Truckin thunder Scout Night at Virginia Motor Speedway, Justin Williams of Concord, VA gained a bit of redemption after finishing in the runner-up spot the last two races in the Victory Lap Pro Late Models by putting on a clinic on way to his second win of the season.
After taking the lead on lap 3 in all came down to the final restart on lap 33 of the 35 lap feature. Williams would hold off Logan Roberson of Waynesboro, VA over the final two circuits to grab the victory.
“The track was great tonight, I could run anywhere on the track I needed to go. I have to thank my crew for giving me such a great race car,” commented Williams in WhosYourDriver.org Victory Lane.
Williams set fast time but started fourth due to the invert but quickly made his way to the lead passing Jared Powell on lap 3. Once out front Williams would pull away to a comfortable lead. By lap 28 Williams was working heavy traffic going 3-wide at times to stay out in front. The best race of the night was behind him for second and Logan Roberson and Matt Quade traded the spot on multiple occasions before Roberson settled into the spot with three to go. On the final restart Roberson would get inside Williams in turn 1 but Williams powered off the next corner to keep a slight advantage and go on to the win. Rounding out the top five were Roberson, Quade, Stephen Childress and Jared Powell.
In other action Joey Poelvoy of Powhatan, VA made it three Budweiser Modified wins in a row; in the Truckin Thunder Sportsman Brett Adkins of Saluda, VA picked up his second win of the season in a tight battle with Time Shelton of Fredericksburg, VA who set a new division track record in qualifying and in the Collision One Limited Stock Cars it was James Givens of Henrico, VA with his first win of the season over defending champion Ryan Hutchens of Providence Forge, VA.
In the Collision One Limited Stock feature fast qualifier James Givens worked his way methodically from his sixth place starting position taking over the lead on lap 11 with a pass on Cory Bradley out of turn 4. Givens would hold off a late charge by Ryan Hutchens in the closing laps to grab the win. Givens started the 25 lap feature sixth due to the invert and on the drop of the green began his march to the front. Givens began his march to the front one position each lap until getting past leader Cory Bradley on lap 10 out of turn 4 for the lead. Once out front Givens only had to hold off a hard charging Hutchens for the win. Rounding out the top five Ryan Hutchens, Cory Bradley, Ernie Dettbarn and Marty Coltrain.
In the Budweiser Modified feature Joey Polevoy had to start eighth due to winning the last two events in a row but that didn’t stop him from getting to WhosYourDriver.org Victory lane for the third time in a row. Polevoy worked his way to second by lap after a two lap side by side battle with Mike Reynolds on lap nine. On the next lap Polevoy powered by Tim Schulte to take the lead. Once out front Polevoy pulled away from the field and went on to score his third win in as many tries this year. Rounding out the top 5 were Schulte, Mike Reynolds, Lance Grady and Josh Roberson.
In the Truckin Thunder Sportsman feature Brett Atkins and Tim Shelton put on a show for the majority of the 30 laps racing much of it side by side. Atkins took the lead on the opening lap and paced the field with Shelton in tow. The traded the lead four times over the 30 lap distance and had the capacity crowd on their feet. The two worked through traffic sometimes 3-wide. Adkins would hold on for his second win of the season with Shelton, Steve Causey, Chad Beahr and Brandon Sandridge rounding out the top five.
The Speedway will take next Saturday May 13th off for the Mother’s Day weekend and return Saturday May 20th when the speedway will move over to the mud bog facility to host the first of two big Mud Bog events for the 2017 season as The Pit at Virginia Motor Speedway hosts the 10th Annual Down & Dirty Mud Mayhem presented by James River Equipment, Commonwealth Motorsports and Essex Concrete. Additional sponsorship provided by Aaron’s, Atkins Propane and Petroleum, After Hours Fabrication, Collision One and Truckin Thunder.
There will be ten classes of “Mud Maniacs” in action ranging from Super Stock to Unlimited X Tractor with cash payouts in all classes.
Not only will fans get to see hordes of trucks splashing through the 200 foot Mud Bog pit but they will also get the opportunity to see some of the region’s best Mud Dragsters covering the 200 foot Mud Sling pit in under three seconds.
Gates and registration will open at 9am with Single Eliminations for Super Stock A, B; Modified A (Small tire), B (Big Tire), Unlimited Bog, Unlimited X Tractor, Obstacle X, Pro Mod A, Pro Mod B and X, XX classes beginning at 12 noon. Registration and inspection for all classes ends at 11:30pm. Rules for each class are now available at the speedway’s website www.thepitatvms.com.
Admission for Mud Mayhem is Adults – $15, Children 11 – 17 years old – $12 and Children 10 and under FREE with a paying adult.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a ½ mile dirt oval track is located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA in Jamaica, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland and the Hampton Roads area.
Race fans can go to www.vamotorspeedway.com to view the complete schedule Virginia Motor Speedway’s 2017 season, find detailed event information, get the latest news, and get complete ticket and camping information. In addition, fans can get social with Virginia Motor Speedway by following @vamotorspeedway on Twitter, clicking “Like” at www.facebook.com/VaMotorSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/VaMotorSpeedway.
RACE RESULTS FOR TRUCKIN THUNDER SCOUT NIGHT SATURDAY MAY 6, 2017:
Victory Lap Pro Late Models (35 Laps):
1. 2-Justin Williams[4]; 2. 17R-Logan Roberson[1]; 3. 47-Matt Quade[2]; 4. 03-Stephen Childress[7]; 5. 2*-Jared Powell[3]; 6. 7A-Corey Almond[6]; 7. 7M-Joey McClung[11]; 8. 30-Tyler Bare[8]; 9. 47S-Billy Hubbard[10]; 10. 17-Camden Testerman[9]; 11. 66X-Matthew Tarbox[12]; 12. 14C-Chuck Bowie[15]; 13. 71-Davis Lipscombe[5]; 14. 5J-Darrell Dow[14]; 15. 40-Brent Bordeaux[13]; 16. 38-Nicolas Love[17]; 17. 28-Carl Vaughan[16]
Fast Qualifier: Justin Williams – 18.249 seconds; 98.64 mph
Truckin Thunder Sportsman (30 laps):
1. 16-Brett Adkins[2]; 2. 55-Tim Shelton[4]; 3. 9-Steve Causey[1]; 4. 1-Chad Beahr[9]; 5. 21-Brandon Sandridge[7]; 6. 11-Chase Butler[6]; 7. 25-Tyler Shipp[8]; 8. 92-Kacey Gordon[13]; 9. 0-Chase Burrow[16]; 10. 43J-Joe Weiss[3]; 11. 12-Rusty Steele[17]; 12. 22-Michael Hayes[5]; 13. 71-Savannah Nickens[15]; 14. 01-Tommy Upshaw[11]; 15. 14-Sean Owens[12]; 16. 91-James Snead[10]; 17. 21J-Curtis Mason[14]
Fast Qualifier: Tim Shelton – 20.629 seconds; 87.26 mph (New Track Record)
Budweiser Modifieds (30 laps):
1. 51-Joey Polevoy[8]; 2. 10S-Tim Schulte[2]; 3. 112-Mike Reynolds[3]; 4. 48-Lance Grady[6]; 5. 29B-Josh Roberson[9]; 6. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[1]; 7. 01-Francis Jarelle III[4]; 8. 21C-Davey Conley[10]; 9. 99-Charlie Hubbard[5]; 10. 68-Adam Hoegerl[11]; 11. 10-Mark Parks[7]; 12. 16-David Kendall[12]
Fast Qualifier: Joey Polevoy – 19.330 seconds; 93.120 mph
Collision One Limited Stock Cars (25 laps):
1. 8-James Givens[6]; 2. 14-Ryan Hutchens[8]; 3. 41-Cory Bradley[2]; 4. 10-Ernie Dettbarn[1]; 5. 25-Marty Coltrain[4]; 6. 4-Randy Hutchens[14]; 7. 32M-Chris Champion[5]; 8. 18-John Hankins Jr[10]; 9. 22-Raymond Harper[9]; 10. 26-Stepahie Stallings[15]; 11. 59-Robbie Hutchens[12]; 12. 14B-Brandon Bowler[13]; 13. 50-Blair Sibley[3]; 14. 01-Trent Clemans[11]; 15. 08-Chad Champion[17]; 16. 38-Caleb Carter[16]; 17. 23-David Bowler[7]
Fast Qualifier: James Givens – 22.837 seconds; 78.82 mph