Bowling Strikes Late at South Boston
Wins Hamlin Foundation Short Track Showdown With Late Pass
SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — Matt Bowling came away victorious during Thursday’s Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston Speedway.
Bowling had to fight off Matt Waltz, who led the first 195 laps of the race, for the win. Nick Smith finished third.
The seventh edition of the annual charity race, which supports the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, was a success for Hamlin and his charity.. In front of a packed house at the 2/5th-mile track, Hamlin joined NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Matt Kenseth, David Ragan and defending Showdown champion Kyle Busch, Camping World Truck Series drivers Timothy Peters and Jeb Burton and a collection of local Late Model drivers to race toward a cure for the disease.
“We’ve had more presale tickets this year — about triple what we’ve ever had — so South Boston’s really done a great job of hosting this event,” Hamlin said. “It’s a venue that we’re looking to stay at for at least a few years and continue to grow it. Every year we’re able to give more and more money to these children’s charities that benefit from it. … It’s definitely been really good to get this program running and every year to just keep growing it.”
Busch and Kenseth were the only two drivers from one of the three premier touring series to finish in the top 5. Busch finished fourth while Kenseth took fifth. Hamlin finished eighth.
Despite a mix of high-profile drivers like Hamlin and weekend warriors like pole-winner Waltz, Thursday’s race was anyone’s for the taking.
“It’s hard for the guys in the upper three series to come back and run one of these cars and be competitive,” said Peters, who finished 27th following a tangle with Burton. “It’s just that much more difficult to drive than a truck or a Nationwide [Series] car or a Cup car. You’ve got the best of the best here in my opinion. To come in here and mix it up with these guys — you’ve done something.” Any of these guys’ credentials could put them in the top three series. It’s just all about that big break.”
A massive wreck in Turn 1 took out a handful of cars on the ninth lap of the night, causing the race to temporarily come to a halt under a red flag. The wreck took out numerous drivers and ended the day of Brayton Haws and Brian Pembelton, Dennis Holdren and Kelly Kingery.
Following Burton slamming into Blake Stallings on Lap 116, the sparks really started to fly. After the pair exchanged hand gestures while still in their cars, Stallings left his vehicle and continued to berate Burton, who was still in his car. As Burton climbed into an ambulance for a mandatory ride to pit road, officials were unable to get Stalling into the same ambulance, opting to take a fire truck to the pit rather than take a ride with Burton. Stallings and Burton finished 24th and 25th respectively.
“I think the 4 may have just over-drove the corner into me,” Stallings said after calming down in the pits. “We’re just past halfway in the race and I really would have liked to finish the race. This is a great event and it’s an honor to be here. I’m just kind of disappointed that my night ended like it did. We all-in-all had a pretty good day. You can’t be but so mad because it’s a charity race.”
Peyton Sellers had a strong showing through the first three-quarters of the race. However, Sellers’ night came to an end after he was pushed into the wall heading into Turn 4 on Lap 153. Prior to leaving the track, Sellers had been running in fourth.
Adam Hainsfurther can be reached at ahainsfurther@registerbee.com
RESULTS | SPEED51.COM TRACKSIDE NOW
Sources: Adam Hainsfurther, Danville Register & Bee Sports
NWAAS DHFSTS South Boston 4/24/14 Results
Whelen All-American Series
Race:
Pos No. Name Sponsor Make Laps Diff Status
1 83 Matt Bowling Hopkins Lumber Chv 200 Running
2 0 Matt Waltz Waltz Engineered Sales, Inc. Chv 200 0.671 Running
3 97 Nick Smith Town Bank Chv 200 1.904 Running
4 51 Kyle Busch JEGS Tyt 200 2.674 Running
5 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Tyt 200 3.891 Running
6 6 Bobby McCarty Advance Auto Parts/Champion Automotive Chv 200 5.734 Running
7 2 Myatt Snider MYATTSNIDER.com Chv 200 5.979 Running
8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Tyt 200 6.440 Running
9 73 Bruce Anderson PHCC/American Legion Post 8 Chv 200 7.043 Running
10 61 Ryan Preece Sophies Rest/East West Marine Chv 200 7.501 Running
11 3 Brenden Queen Nelson Equip./Freeland Electric Chv 200 8.055 Running
12 72 Brad Eddy Quinns Flooring Canada/MMD Chv 200 10.026 Running
13 7 Dude Gibbs Xtreme Racing Products/Keesvacations.com Chv 200 10.076 Running
14 22 Ryan Stiltner Patriot Mining Chv 200 10.893 Running
15 88 Dustin Rumley Quality Collision Solutions/Adams Towing Chv 200 15.989 Running
16 25 Hermie Sadler Boyd of Emporia/Global Force Wrestling Tyt 199 1 Lap Running
17 3 Thomas Scott Scott & Watlington, PA Chv 197 3 Laps Running
18 28 George Brunnhoelzl, III Composite Technologies Chv 197 3 Laps Running
19 27 Anderson Bowen Cooper Creek Hardware Chv 196 4 Laps Running
20 77 David Regan David Regan Ford Frd 196 4 Laps Running
21 31 Garrett Campbell Ozlink Chv 191 9 Laps Running
22 34 Greg Edwards Sears Sand & Gravel Frd 154 46 Laps Engine
23 99 Peyton Sellers Danville Toyota/SNMP Chv 152 48 Laps Accident
24 14 Blake Stallings Stallings Collision Centers/Powers Signs Tyt 115 85 Laps Accident
25 4 Jeb Burton State Water Heaters/Rocky Ridge Tyt 115 85 Laps Accident
26 24 Stephen Berry Ford Mays Wealth Management/BB&T Chv 100 100 Laps Suspension
27 17 Timothy Peters AutosByNelson.com Tyt 79 121 Laps Accident
28 29 Curtis Markham Radley Chevrolet Chv 66 134 Laps Ignition
29 16 Dustin Storm DSR/G2 Frd 65 135 Laps Suspension
30 40 C.E. Falk, III Avalon Fishing Pier Chv 61 139 Laps Suspension
31 13 Lin O’Neill Virgina National Guard Chv 58 142 Laps Rear End
32 12 Austin Thaxton Fallen Trucking Tyt 24 176 Laps Suspension
33 10 Kelly Kingery Creative Surfaces Chv 9 191 Laps Accident
34 15 Dennis Holdren Hannabass & Rowe Collision/Blue Ridge Color Co. Chv 9 191 Laps Accident
35 00 Brian Pembelton Pembelton Forest Products Chv 9 191 Laps Accident
36 41 Brayton Haws Rheem & Mechanical HVAC services Frd 9 191 Laps Accident
RACE STATISTICS
Race Comments: Matt Bowling won the Denny Hamlin Foundation Short Track Showdown for the first time.
Fastest Qualifier: Matt Waltz*, Time: 15.921 Seconds, Speed: 90.447 mph
Caution Flags: Laps 2-8 [none]; 10-14 [none]; 26-31 [88]; 69-73 [25]; 96-101 [4]; 116-126 [11]; 151-152 [88]; 153-159 [3]; 161-165 [3]; 175-177 [3]. 10 for 57 laps.
Lap Leaders: Matt Waltz 1-195, Matt Bowling 196-200.
Total Laps Led: Matt Waltz 195, Matt Bowling 5. 1 changes involving 2 drivers.