By Gary Daughtrey

HAMPTON, VA -June 21, 2008 — Joe Scarbrough assumed the lead on lap 35 and showed the way to his second checkered flag of the season in the SYSCO 50 for the B&C Seafood Modifieds, the headlining event of Saturday evening’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program at Langley Speedway.

Chris Johnson was fastest in qualifying for the race, clocking in at 84.754 mph to nab the pole. Shawn Balluzzo started to his outside on Row 1. Rusty Wood and Scarbrough made up the second row, while Buddy Emory and Buster Horne Jr. shared Row 3.

The initial start went awry as Steve McGuire and Ronnie Davis spun in Turn 1 to bring out the first caution flag and prompt a complete restart.

Under green for a second time, Balluzzo got the jump on Johnson and nosed ahead to lead the opening circuit. He cleared Johnson off the fourth corner on the second lap. Johnson settled into second, followed by Scarbrough, Wood and Horne.

On lap 4, Wood slipped around Scarbrough to gain the third position. Balluzzo led by a car-length over Johnson, while Wood was two more lengths back.

Johnson followed in Balluzzo’s tracks until lap 23. Exiting Turn 4, he ducked low, drawing even with Balluzzo in Turns 1 and 2 on lap 24, then pulling ahead. Before that lap was officially in the books, however, the second yellow flag waved as Wood spun at the start/finish line. Scoring reverted to lap 23 and Balluzzo was returned to the lead.

Back under way, Balluzzo quickly fashioned a two-length advantage. Soon, though, Johnson had narrowed the gap to just half a car-length. Half a straightaway separated the lead duo from third-place Scarbrough, who was being pressured by Horne.

On lap 30, Johnson changed tactics and swung to the outside of Balluzzo in another bid for the top spot. While Johnson held the edge at the end of the straightaways, Balluzzo had the preferred line off the corners and managed to hang onto a slim lead at the stripe. Johnson did inch ahead to lead lap 33, only to see Balluzzo battle back on the following circuit.

The Balluzzo/Johnson battle came to an end on lap 35 when the two locked horns at the end of the backstretch and slid into the outside wall in Turn 3. Johnson got the worst of the exchange and was relegated to the sidelines. On the other hand, Balluzzo’s crew sprang into action and got him back into the fray without losing a lap.

With Balluzzo at the back of the pack and Johnson in the pits, the lead passed to Scarbrough. Horne lined up second, followed by Danny Baker, Emory and Wood, who was on the comeback trail after his earlier mishap.

Back under green, Scarbrough and Horne bolted from the pack, while Wood and Donnie Medlin bypassed Emory, dropping him from the top five. Wood continued his rally on lap 37, slipping past Baker to take over third place.

At the head of the field, Scarbrough had his hands full with Horne. As they tussled for the lead, Wood began to sneak into contention.
On lap 42, Scarbrough and Horne made contact in Turns 1 and 2. The rub didn’t rattle Scarbrough, though, as he pulled away by a car-length off the second corner. The brief scuffle did allow Wood to close to within three lengths of Horne.

Over the closing circuits, Scarbrough was able to add to his slim margin. At the finish, he was the winner by 0.376-second — about two lengths. Horne was the runner-up, followed by Wood, Baker and Medlin.
Emory was sixth in the final rundown, while Cameron Patrick, McGuire and Davis came home seventh through ninth, in that order. Balluzzo was the final driver to complete the entire distance, salvaging a 10th-place finish.

In Victory Lane after the event, Scarbrough commented on the circumstances that allowed him to take the win: “We didn’t have the car to really win the race. It started going away on us early on and we started losing a little ground. I don’t know what happened. It looked like Shawn and Johnson were just running real hard for the lead. Y’know, perseverance is really what got us the win tonight. We didn’t have the best car, but I guess it’s not always the fastest car that wins the race. I don’t know what happened to Rusty down here. I did not hit him when he spun. I did not touch him. Rusty and I’ve got a good relationship going. He gave me ‘thumbs up’ after the race. I cherish my integrity of not pushing people out of the way out here. Anybody can do that.” While the win was Scarbrough’s second at Langley this year, it was his first in a race for track points. His other victory came in a Rolling Thunder Modified tour event on May 31.


In the evening’s other feature events:

Randy Akers started on the pole and sailed to his third win of the year in the 50-lap Bass Pro Shops Super Street feature. A pair of caution flags in the closing laps only disguised just how dominant his performance was.

Akers was the fast qualifier for the event, at 74.427 mph. Ryan Nester, Jessica Wood, Dale Parro and Jeff Shannon filled the rest of the top five slots on the grid.

As the race got under way, Akers jumped out front, motoring ahead of Nester off Turn 2 on the first lap. By lap 3, his lead had already grown to five car-lengths.

The race was interrupted by caution flags on laps 3, 7 and 8. Gathering for a restart following the third caution flag, Akers showed the way, followed by Nester, Wood, Shannon and Jonathan Mullett.

Back under green, the front three broke away from the pack. Behind them, there was a brief logjam in Turns 1 and 2. Jeramie Wood, Jessica’s younger brother, emerged from the scramble in fourth, followed by Jason Langley, in fifth.

While Akers began to widen his lead, Jessica Wood moved up to challenge Nester for second place. She drove to the high side on lap 15 and nosed ahead on lap 16.

Nester battled back on lap 17 and cleared Wood on lap 18. As they jousted, though, Jeramie Wood closed in.

On lap 24, Jeramie Wood took the third spot from his sister. He gained another spot on lap 32, bypassing Nester. Jessica tagged along, kicking Nester back to fourth.

Working lap 40, Jessica Wood dropped off the pace for a moment and fell into the clutches of a horde of cars. She lost third to Nester and also gave way to Shannon and Randy Sample. Soon after, Sample scooted around Shannon for fourth and Jessica Wood slipped by for fifth.

At the front, Akers enjoyed a half-lap lead over Jeramie Wood. That margin was erased, though, when the fourth yellow flag waved on lap 46 for Dennis Nagle’s spin in Turn 2.

Back under way, Akers forged a two-length lead over Jeramie Wood. Behind them, Sample grabbed third away from Nester. That move was negated, though, as Nagle spun again on lap 47 to bring out the fifth, and final, caution flag.

On the last restart, Akers again manufactured a two-length advantage as Nester hounded Jeramie Wood for third. The second-place battle allowed Akers to ease away.

At the checkers, Akers was the winner by 1.471 seconds — about six lengths — over Jeramie Wood. Nester was third, followed by Sample and Jessica Wood. Dennis Nowak, Shannon, Parro, Rod Busitzky and Garrett Willcox completed the top 10.

Charlie Barclay overcame a less-than-ideal starting position and bagged his fourth win of the year in a caution-free 25-lapper for the Med Express Urgent Care Super Trucks.

Barclay was quickest in afternoon time trials, at 74.638 mph. Since he’d won the previous two races, however, he was “rewarded” with the eighth spot on the 10-truck grid. Robbie Davis moved up to the pole with Tommy Nixon alongside.

On the start, Nixon rocketed into the lead, beating Davis to Turn 1. Davis fought off a challenge from Brad Adams and settled into second, two lengths behind the leader. Barclay, meanwhile, moved into the top five on lap 6.

Continuing his drive toward the front, Barclay picked up the fourth spot on lap 8, then swept around Hugo Belfiore on the high side on lap 12 for third.

On lap 16, Davis skittered wide in Turns 3 and 4 and Barclay pounced on the opening, taking over second as Nixon scooted away by four lengths. By lap 21, though, Barclay had chopped that deficit down to half a truck-length.

On lap 22, Barclay launched a bid for the lead, driving to the outside of Nixon in Turns 3 and 4. Nixon kept digging in the bottom lane, but a bobble off the fourth corner on lap 23 was costly as Barclay surged ahead. Just one lap later, Barclay had opened a three-length edge over Nixon.

Looking for the checkers, Barclay found himself boxed in by two slower trucks on the final circuit. Holding a comfortable advantage, he could afford to follow in their wake, bringing home a 0.475-second win. Nixon was second, followed by Davis, Belfiore and Adams.

Jeff Sampson rebounded from an early-race tangle and rallied for his fourth victory of the season in the 25-lap Wolf Contractors Wolf Truck event.

Sampson was the pole-sitter, at 87.930 mph, and took the lead on the opening lap, pulling ahead of Mark Claar. By the fifth circuit, he had carved out a four-length advantage.

The first caution flag waved on lap 7 as Randy Bradsher spun in Turn 2, collecting George VanGuilder.

On the ensuing restart, Claar got into the back of Sampson off the fourth corner and turned him sideways as the field approached the flagstand. Before the scuffle ended, the front of Claar’s truck had climbed up the side of Sampson’s machine as the yellow flag reappeared. Sampson was directed to the back of the pack, while Claar was ordered to the pits for the night.

The incident handed the lead to Michael Farmer. David Gray lined up second for the restart, followed by Troy Hutcheson.

Back under green, Farmer opened a two-length lead over Gray, who was busy trying to fend off Hutcheson. On lap 11, Hutcheson grabbed the second spot. The exchange allowed Farmer to stretch his margin to nearly half a straightaway.

Deeper in the field, Sampson took fourth place from VanGuilder on lap 12, only to give it right back after he and Gray scuffled on the following circuit. On lap 14, VanGuilder and Sampson both slipped by Gray, then Sampson moved past VanGuilder for third on lap 15.
The fourth, and final, caution flag flew on lap 17, wiping out Farmer’s four-length lead over Hutcheson and bringing Sampson back into the mix.

As the race resumed, Farmer and Hutcheson broke nose-to-tail. Exiting Turn 2, Hutcheson looked low and took the lead through the third and fourth turns. Sampson tagged along on Hutcheson’s bumper and moved into second.

Clear of Farmer, Sampson wasted no time in going after the lead, bypassing Hutcheson in Turns 3 and 4 on lap 18. A lap later, Farmer swiped the runner-up spot, dropping Hutcheson to third.
At lap 20, Sampson enjoyed a six-length margin over Farmer. The runner-up, however, began to close the gap, while the leader sorted past slower traffic.

On the final lap, Farmer got close enough to deliver a sharp rap to Sampson’s rear bumper as they navigated Turns 3 and 4 for the last time. The blow failed to ruffle Sampson, though, as he drove on to a 0.413-second win. Farmer, Hutcheson, VanGuilder and Gray completed the top five. Each of the top five finishers was a Pro Division entry.

Michael Johnson was top-running Semi-Pro Division competitor, coming home sixth overall. Eric Schaffer, the other Semi-Pro entry, was seventh overall.

Dannie Wyatt scored his fourth victory in the evening’s opening contest, a 20-lap feature for the Rhonnda Claiborne, Realtor HRKC Pro Winged Champ Karts. He moved out front on lap 15.
Chuck Weeks started from the pole, at 61.904 mph, and paced the first 14 circuits.

For the first seven circuits, he formed a drafting tandem with Greg Burgess.

Meanwhile, Wyatt linked up with Adam Chalkley and Jeremy Grogg.
On lap 8, Grogg lost contact with the front four. On that same circuit, Chalkley overtook Burgess for second place, bringing Wyatt along with him to the third spot and dropping Burgess to fourth.
Wyatt scooted around Chalkley for second on lap 10, only to lose the position on lap 11.

Heading into the second half of the event, the battle lines were drawn as Weeks and Chalkley formed one drafting combo and Wyatt and Burgess made up another. The turning point of the event may have come on lap 14 as the leaders encountered a slower kart off Turn 4. Weeks and Chalkley went high to make the pass, while Wyatt and Burgess dropped to the white line. Racing off the corner, Wyatt and Burgess surged ahead and into the top two spots.

Over the remaining laps, Weeks and Chalkley tried to rally and overtake Wyatt and Burgess. They could get no closer than a kart-length, though, as the lead duo maintained a tight, disciplined draft.
Coming to the checkers, Burgess finally broke out of line to test Wyatt. Wyatt was up for the challenge, though, hanging on to win by 0.075-second — a little less than a kart-length. Burgess was second, followed by Weeks and Chalkley. At the end, the front four were separated by only 0.247-second. Grogg was fifth, more than 6-1/2


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