Saturday marked the first full weekly racing series at the Motor Mile Speedway since the ice out opener of early March.
Kyle Dudley was wrecked by Mike Looney in the second of the two twin 50 lap events for the series and sent to the pits. It seemed to everyone that Dudley went a lap down at that point while making a quick pit stop to check for damage. It seemed that way to everyone except Dudley that is.
At the end of the race when Mike Looney pulled into Victory Lane to receive his trophy, Dudley pulled up in front of Looney’s car in protest. Dudley got out and was visibly upset.
Many were concerned that a fight was about to break out. Dudley, presumably upset about the wreck, was also protesting that he was not a lap down during the time he came into the pits and should be the winner of the race. He believed that he had passed the start finish line while in the pits and technically had not gone a lap down. It turned out he was right.
After the evening had concluded, NASCAR officials reviewed the videos multiple times and realized that Kyle Dudley was indeed not a lap down. Hours after the cars had been loaded and hauled out of Radford, Kyle Dudley got the phone call from the track telling him he was the winner of the race.
The adjustment moved Mike Looney to second, and Bryan Reedy to third. This also meant that Dudley was a double winner having won the first of the twin Late Model races, followed by Looney and Cory Dunn finishing third.
Motor Mile Speedway also hosted drivers from the traveling class the “Southern Ground Pounders,” a vintage class of late model cars from the 50’s through the 70’s. While the description of these cars suggests a car show where the cars are parked and admired by passersby, this class is anything but. Clocking speeds comparable to the Sportsman and Late Model classes.
The winner in their feature was the car number 12 driven by Bobby Griffin, son of regional racing legend Jimmy Griffin. Bobby was racing in honor of his dad and was visibly emotional when giving his victory speech.
Motor Mile’s Sportsman division also had twin races with two 30 lap features. The top 3 for both races, even after a field inversion following race one, were Daryn Cockram, Karl Budzevski and Kyle Barnes. With Budzevski winning the first race and Cockram winning the second.
Other winners included Bryce Blake in the Super Streets, Doodle Lang in the Mod-4’s, Cary Thomason in U-cars and Blake Gordon for the Pure-4 division.
The weekly racing series returns on May 7 with “Rockin’ and Racin’.”
A full slate of racing for the Weekly Racing Series, and a concert included with the regular price of admission, with “Kiss Army,” a KISS tribute band in full KISS makeup and theatrics. Green flag at 6.
