SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — On an afternoon on which South Boston Speedway and the SMART Modified Tour honored modified racing legend and five-time South Boston Speedway champion, the late Ray Hendrick, Matt Hirschman won the Flying VA 99 SMART Modified Tour race.
Hirschman put together a late-race rally and held off Jonathan Brown in a five-lap dash to the finish.
Hirschman got a good surge on the race’s final restart, quickly cleared Brown, and pulled away in the closing laps to earn his third SMART Modified Tour victory in four series starts this season.
“At the end, once I got back to the lead, I was confident that as long as I got a good clean start I could pull away,” Hirschman said. “Getting back to the lead is what I worried about.”
Caleb Heady finished third, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte placed fourth and Tom Buzze rounded out the top five.
Layne Riggs is holding the upper hand in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division at South Boston Speedway.
The Bahama, N.C., resident made it three victories in as many races, edging defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, VA to win Saturday afternoon’s 100-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division race at South Boston Speedway.
Riggs had to do it the hard way, having to start mid-field in the 22-car starting field under South Boston Speedway’s handicapping system after having won two consecutive races. He worked his way past Jacob Borst to take second place on lap 47 and began chipping away at Sellers’ lead. With 18 laps to go, Riggs worked his way past Sellers. Once in front, Riggs never relinquished the lead.
“I knew I was catching him (Sellers) slowly,” Riggs noted. “He’s a tough guy to race with. He doesn’t show his cards much. I couldn’t tell if he was playing with me a little bit or if he was really slowing down. He was losing pace, and I was gaining pace at the same time. We did it all again. I hope we keep getting these victories.”
Jarrett Milam moved into the top spot with five laps to go and won Saturday’s 20-lap Hornets Division race. The win was Milam’s first victory of the season.