It was a night of domination at Dominion raceway on 8/26, as multiple divisions took to the track on Ladies Night. Peyton Sellers and Dan Rogers both earned sweeps on the night, while Conner Weddell won his fourth in a row.
The McCreery Racing Tires Late Models took to the track first and it was a welcome back to the track for the #41 of Davey Callihan who missed multiple weeks making repairs to his car. Callihan would quickly get to leader Michael Hardin and got the inside position on lap 5 before clearing the #77 for the lead. Unfortunately for the #41, the #26 of Peyton Sellers would follow him past Hardin into second. Sellers would go on to pace himself in the runner-up position, while Callihan would lead a majority of the race. WIth 10 laps to-go Sellers would make his move with a slight nudge to get Callihan out of the groove. The Danville Toyota machine would take the lead all the way to the checkered flag.
The top-5 for the race would include Sellers, Callihan, Hardin, #01 GR Waldrop, and #22 Justin Martz.
Race 1 for the Dominion Stocks would follow suit. Two yellow flags would fly in the race, and the final restart saw #57 Richard Powers take the lead. His hard racing saw some smoke coming out of the back of his ride. It was unclear whether it was mechanical or tire smoke, and it was uncertain whether any fluid was spewing from the leader. The #33 of Dan Rogers would race right up to his back bumper, and while he followed Powers for a few laps, on lap 12, the Bandit took the lead en route to victory number 5 on the year.
“I don’t know if he [Powers] put something down, but if he was, it was affecting him too,” said Rogers. “He slipped up a little, and it was enough to get by him.”
After a notable accident in the Bando race last week, Addison Schumann arrived to the track without her usual #11. Instead the driver rolled off in the #21A. Starting second in her birthday weekend race, Schumann looked to have an opportunity to capitalize in the new car's maiden voyage. Unfortunately Schumann would wreck off the front of Tristan Brunelli’s #18 while jockeying for second. While the setback affected Moose, who ultimately came back to finish fourth, it was an obstacle free night for race winner Brian Rundstrom Jr. It was the #88’s fifth Bando win on the season.
Dominion welcomed the USAC Midgets to the high-banked ring of fire for the first time this year, and it was #9 Chris Lamb making the statement victory, dominating and leading every lap of the event. While there was plenty of back-and-forth action happening behind the leader, the speed of the #9 kept him out of harm's way and free of the threat of getting passed.
In the Virgina Vintage Racers, fans saw Kevin Floars win the steak dinner from the 1966 Ford Fairlane of Josh Weston in the sportsman division, while Tyler Staton won in the modified division.
The Tru by Hilton INEX Legends were up next and Conner Weddell led every lap of the 25 lap event, and claimed his fourth victory in a row. While CWeed checked out, a great three car battle between Petr Therialut, David Polenz, and Alek Andrecs was being fought for second. It was back-and-forth with the three legends, but ultimately, it was the #33 of Polenz claiming the second spot when the checkered flag was waved.
The top-5 for the legends included: Wedell, Polenz, Theriault, Andrecs, and #6 Chris Hammett
The final two races of the night saw Sellers and Rogers win their respective divisions. Notably the #31 of Andrew Patterson started from the pole in race 2, and despite being passed by Sellers, he was able to maintain the second position from a hard-charging Callihan. The #41 put all sorts of pressure on Patterson, but the young driver earned his best finish at DR coming home second.
“No doubt that was our best run of the year, for sure,” said Patterson. ‘He [Callihan] got to my inside in turn 4 but I was able to roll the top on him, so yeah it was quite a battle.”
The final Dominion Stocks race saw a lap 1 accident between Tommy Smith and Mike Lowe. Todd Ruggles led until Rogers again claimed the lead. A battle for second position saw Jacob Wood take Richard Powers and Todd Ruggles three-wide much to the chagrin of Powers. Wood would finish second and Powers fourth. The #57 showed his frustration with the #44 afterwards as the competitors made contact with each other’s cars at the conclusion of the race.
Next week is an off week for Dominion Raceway, but on September 9th the SMART Mods come to Thornburg for 99 laps. The lineup also includes Twin 50s for the Late Models with UCARS, Mini Stocks and Anycars action. Get your tickets
https://drevents.ticketstobuy.com/event/163
