ROUGEMONT, N.C. – Lee Pulliam earned the biggest payday in late model stock racing history Sunday afternoon with his victory in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Old North State Nationals at Orange County Speedway.
Pulliam, who earned $30,000 for his triumph in the 200-lap event, spent most of the race pursing polesitter Taylor Gray and veteran Josh Berry. A caution with 49 laps left allowed Pulliam to close the gap at the front.
Trevor Ward ended up with the lead after the caution period after choosing not to pit. Berry, Timothy Peters and Pulliam all quickly dispatched Ward and began a battle for the race lead.
Another restart allowed Pulliam to dispatch both Berry and Peters, but a flat tire for Peters with 13 laps left created one more opportunity for those chasing Pulliam to track him down.
When the race resumed Pulliam and Berry began an intense battle that lasted for five laps, but it was Pulliam who emerged with the race lead. He proceeded to pull away to the $30,000 payday.
Gray, who won his first CARS Tour race recently at Hickory Motor Speedway, ended up second after leading many laps early in the race. Adam Lemke was third in a JR Motorsports entry, followed by Berry and Brandon Pierce.
The finish:
Lee Pulliam, Taylor Gray, Adam Lemke, Josh Berry, Brandon Pierce, Zack St. Onge, Trevor Ward, Mini Tyrrell, Bradley McCaskill, Tyler Matthews, Stacy Puryear, Camden Gullie, Bobby McCarty, Terry Dease, Myatt Snider, Timothy Peters, Corey Heim, Justin Carroll, Tommy Lemons Jr., Jacob Heafner, Craig Moore, Carson Kvapil, Deac McCaskill, Joshua Yeoman, Layne Riggs, Ty Gibbs, Mike Chambers, Terry Brooks Jr., Ronald Hill.