Wayne Ramsey grabs lead late, holds on to win season-opening Late Model Stock Car race at South Boston

SOUTH BOSTON, VA. — The second time was the charm for Wayne Ramsey of Amherst, Va.

Ramsey made two passes of Adam Barker of Hurt, Va. following caution periods Saturday afternoon at South Boston Speedway. The second pass was for the lead and wound up resulting in a victory.

Ramsey claimed the first-place position on the track on lap 118 following a caution period and held on the rest of the way to secure a win in the season-opening Spring Fling 150 Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car Division race.

The event was the featured attraction of the NASCAR Whelen All American Series race program and opened the 50th anniversary season at America's Hometown Track.

Ramsey had swiped the second-place position from pole sitter Barker on lap 47 following an earlier caution. Barker, however, battled back into the position four laps later.

Jon Denning of Springfield, N.J. started eighth in the race, but roared to a second-place finish at the end, just ahead of sixth-starting David Triplett Jr. of Timberlake, N.C.

Keven Wood of Stuart, Va., who began the race from the ninth starting slot, wound up with a fourth-place finish, while Ronald Hill of Rougemont, N.C. rounded out the top-five competitors.

Eddie Johnson of Midlothian, Va. roared from a 16th starting spot in the field to finish in the sixth position, while Barker slipped to seventh after losing the lead. Cliff Daniels of Smithfield, Va., who began the race in the 17th spot, wound up in eighth, while Greg Edwards placed ninth and was followed in the 10th position by Jonathan Bailey of Keysville, Va.

Barker earned the pole position for the start of the race after turning in a track-record qualifying time of 15.318 seconds and 94.007 miles per hour. Barker owned the lead for the first lap, but lost it to outside pole sitter Philip Morris of Ruckersville, Va. one circuit later.

Morris, the defending NASCAR Weekly Series national champion, held the lead position until the 88th lap when he encountered problems with his right front tire and wound up parking his ride and settling for a 19th-place finish.

Barker moved in front at that point and owned the lead until Ramsey secured the top spot in the closing stages.

Bruce Anderson opens defense of Limited Sportsman Division championship with a victory in 51-lap race

Bruce Anderson of South Boston, Va. held off several challenges during the season-opening event for the Limited Sportsman Division and wound up securing a victory in the 51-lap race, which was extended an extra circuit due to a late-race caution period.

Anderson claimed the pole position for the race with a track qualifying record of 15.748 seconds and 91.440 miles per hour.

Danny Willis, Jr. of Cluster Springs, Va. started outside on the front row, grabbed the lead on the opening lap and held the position until Anderson, the defending champion in the division, moved out front on the seventh circuit following a side-by-side battle.

Willis challenged Anderson again late in the race before he spun out on the 49th lap, setting up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. That caution, the fourth of the race, was preceded on lap 43 a caution period, which took place when the car of Terri Marks spun in turn two. Marks, the driver of the Halifax Motorsports Academy entry from Halifax County High School, was running third in the 12-car field prior to the spin.

Marks wound up fourth in the race after several cars went spinning on the closing lap of the race.

Timmy Langford of Amelia, Va. wound up second at the checkered flag and was followed by Brian Pembleton in the third-place slot. Charles Barnes of Chase City, Va. followed Marks across the finish line to round out the top five finishers.

Defending champ Chuck Watkins scores victory in opening 30-lap race for the Pure Stock Division

Chuck Watkins of Stem, N.C. picked up right where he left off in the Pure Stock Division ranks at South Boston Speedway.

Watkins, the defending points champion in the division, grabbed the lead on the 11th circuit and held on the rest of the way to score a victory in the 30-lap event.

Watkins was the fast qualifier during time trials, but had to start fifth following a pre-race inversion. Lee Anderson of Gladys, Va., who started outside on the front row, grabbed the lead at the outset and held it through the opening 10 circuits.

Joey Throckmorton of South Boston, Va. wound up second in the 15-car field, while Chris Seay of Ringgold, Va. managed a third-place finish. Jarrett Milam of Ringgold, Va. placed fourth in the field and Scott Phillips of Roxboro, N.C. rounded out the top five competitors.

Troy Dowdy takes win in Grand Stock event

Troy Dowdy of Concord, Va. started from the pole position and led every circuit to take the checkered flag in the 30-lap race for the Grand Stock Division.

Bill Edwards of Ringgold, Va. placed second in the six-car field and was followed in the top three by Ray Ellington, Jr. of Madison Heights, Va. Bennie Franklin of Rustburg, Va. rounded out the top four drivers in the caution-free event.

Craig Goess Jr. wins caution-plagued Legends event

Craig Goess Jr. of Greenville, N.C. started from the pole position and wound up winning the caution-plagued 25-lap race for the touring INEX Legends Series.

Rette Causey placed second in the 16-car field and was followed in the top five by Kevin Yeatts of Powhatan, Va. in the third spot, Brad Hancock of Newport News, Va. in fourth and Brad Arthur of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. in the fifth slot.