Johnson Wins Easter Bunny 150

SOUTH BOSTON, VA. - Justin Johnson had set his eyes on the South Boston Speedway Barkhouser Late Model Stock car Division championship.

The Durham, N.C. resident got his title chase off to a good start by winning Saturday's season-opening Easter Bunny 150.

Johnson outlasted former South Boston Speedway Late Model Stock Car Division champion and former NASCAR national champion Philip Morris of Ruckersville, Va. and C.E, Falk III of Virginia Beach, Va. in a frantic battle over the final 25 laps to pick up his first win here since the 2005 season.

"I've won a couple of races the past couple of years at Orange County Speedway, but there's nothing like winning at South Boston Speedway," Johnson said.

"It's a great track. A lot of people have come from here that I have a lot of respect for. This is a pretty famous place to win and it's nice to have my name in the books twice."

Morris, who is seeking to make another bid for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship, found the day to be an encouraging one despite falling short for the win.

"It was an encouraging day," remarked Morris, who has switched from Dodge to Chevrolet for the 2008 season.

"There are a lot of things we can do to help our car. It (second place) wasn't where we wanted to finish and it doesn't fit our plans to win the national championship. Nevertheless it was a good start, better than leading and breaking a wheel like I did here last year."

There were three lead changes in the final 20 laps of the race with Johnson taking the lead from Morris for the final time with seven laps to go. Johnson's margin of victory over Morris was .624 second.

Falk finished third after starting on the pole with Dude Gibbs of Seaford, Va. and Tommy Lemons Jr. of Troy, N.C. rounding out the top five finishers.

Eddie Johnson of Midlothian, Va., Jonathan Bailey of Keysville, Va., Deac McCaskill of Raleigh, N.C., Wayne Ramsey of Amherst, Va. and Rodney Cook of Reidsville, N.C. rounded out the top ten finishers.

The race featured five lead changes among three drivers with Johnson leading twice for a total of 12 laps.

Johnson averaged 72.130 mph in the race that was slowed by five caution periods.

Pulliam Wins Limited Sportsman Division Race

Lee Pulliam of Semora, N.C. got his season off to a good start with a flag-to-flag win the 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race.

Pulliam edged two-time defending division champion Bruce Anderson of South Boston, Va. and Justin Snow of Danville, Va. in a two-lap dash to the finish that followed the race's final caution period.

His margin of victory over Anderson was a slim .552 second.

Tommy Peregoy of Red Oak, Va. and Timmy Langford of Amelia, Va. rounded out the top five finishers.

Conner Wins Pure Stock Race

Joey Conner of Halifax, Va. grabbed the lead from pole starter Jarrett Milam of Ringgold, Va. on the 13th lap and held on the rest of the way to win the 30-lap race for the Budweiser Pure Stock Division.

Conner ran away from the field after the final restart and finished almost a quarter of a lap ahead of runner-up Justin Tucker of Elon, N.C. The Halifax, Va. resident won the pole for the race but started sixth after the pre-race drawing for the inverted start.

Halifax County (Va.) High School senior Michael Jones of South Boston, competing in his first ever race, finished third after having started fourth in the 17-car field. Quain Moore of Callands, Va. and Joe Allred of Scottsburg, Va. rounded out the top five finishers.

Smith Wins Southern Vintage Modified Race

Defending division champion Randy Smith of Bassett, Va, got a jump-start on his bid for the Yellow Book USA Southern Vintage Modified Division championship by winning the season-opening 25-lap race.

Lynchburg, Va. residents Darryl Lacks and Donnie Lacks finished second and third respectively with Daryl Gwynn and Jeff Tate rounding out the top five finishers.

Hancock Wins Inex Legends Cars Series Race

Brad Hancock of Newport News, Va. took the lead from Cameron Patrick of Yorktown, Va. with four laps to go and raced to victory in the 25-lap race for the INEX Legends Cars Series.

Cameron led the first 20 laps of the race only to have Hancock speed past and, later, fell victim to a mechanical problem on the final lap that left him with a seventh-place finish.

Kevin Yeatts of Powhatan, Va. finished second with Zach Alspach of Willingboro, N.J., Scotty Edwards of Richmond, Va. and Trevor Alspach of Willingboro, N.J. rounded out the top five finishers.

Blair Wins Legendary Flatheads Race

Bill Blair won the 20-lap race for the competitors of the Legendary Ford Flatheads Racing Association. Garland Ricketts of Clover, Va., who finished third in the race, took top honors in the Sportsman Division of that series.