SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — Landon Pembelton and Trevor Ward traded blows at the head of the field, racing inches apart.
The duo has done this a time or two over the past few years at South Boston Speedway.
On Saturday, it was Pembelton on the high side, Ward on the bottom, as the No. 0 of Pembelton narrowly held him off for the win in the first of two Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock features.
Ward would get his revenge, though, as he nabbed the checkered flag in the second race on Viny’s Italian Restaurant and Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Night at South Boston Speedway.
The first race of the twin 75-lap Hitachi Energy Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined South Boston Speedway’s first night racing event of the season was a barnburner throughout with Pembelton edging Ward in a thrilling two-lap dash to the finish that followed the last of the race’s two caution periods.
“I knew Trevor was going to be tough because he’s extremely good on restarts,” Pembelton pointed out after having led all 75 laps enroute to the win. “I knew he was going to take me down in there and we were going to drive deep into the corner to see who could get an edge. I had about a half car length on him going into turn one and I was able to walk away from him a little bit. The 8 car (Conner Weddell) got to his inside and broke his momentum, and that really helped me a ton.
“It was going to be a dogfight either way, the Amelia, Virginia resident added. “I’ll be honest, it was absolute war. We raced hard, raced clean and rubbed a little bit. That’s just good short-track racing.”
“That’s definitely going to be one for the (record) books,” Ward pointed out. “I wish I could have gotten by Pembelton a little earlier, but he was so strong on the top. It was a hard-fought battle but a well-deserved win for him. I knew his time was coming and he would execute that.”
Weddell, from Centerville, Maryland, finished third behind Pembelton and Ward with two-time NASCAR national champion and eight-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia finishing fourth and Californian Chase Burgeson rounding out the top five finishers in the 18-car field.
Ward won the second race but had to fight his way through the field after starting ninth as a result of an inversion of the top 10 finishers of the first race. A late-race caution on lap 67 gave Ward an opportunity to challenge Tyler Matthews of Richlands, North Carolina for the lead.
Another caution, that one with three laps to go created a late-race restart. Ward was able to grab the lead, hold it for the last three laps and fend off Matthews to earn his second win of the season.
“I started pretty far back,” Ward noted. “When I got to second, I was like “I think I’m out of the running, I can’t get anymore.’ We happened to get two cautions late and I was able to regroup and get the edge. It was a real heated battle. It’s awesome to come out here to South Boston Speedway with this great competition and these great competitors. We always put on great shows. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Weddell finished third, Pembelton rallied from his 10th-place starting position to finish fourth and Sellers rounded out the top five finishers.
Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia earned his first win of the season in the 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division.
Crews survived a tense battle with Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia to earn the win in the race that saw the lead swap hands twice among the two drivers.
Tristan Brunelli of Powhatan, Virginia finished third behind Crews and Dawson with Adam Murray of Bailey, North Carolina finishing fourth and Eden, North Carolina resident Collin Hilton rounding out the top five finishers.
Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia took the lead from pole winner Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia on the fifth lap and held off Davis to win the 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division.
The first twin-race event of the season for the Dollar General Hornets Division was an exciting one with Landon Milam of Keeling, Virginia winning both twin 15-lap races for his first triumphs of the season.
