James Batten of Rocky Mount claimed the Late Model Anniversary win. A fitting victory for the veteran late model driver who has raced all but three of the 20 years at County Line Raceway. Victor May from Zebulon rode to victory in a lap all by himself in the Super Stock Four Cylinder Division. Also visiting victory celebration was Alan Worrells of Rocky Mount taking the Thunder & Lightning win, Jerry Williams of Snow Hill taking the win of the Pure Stock V-8 class, Gary Dillon of Wilson winning the Pure Stock Four Cylinder class and new comer Jeremy Benson of Middlesex the Cadet class.
Ronnie Boykin of Wilson lined up on the pole position for the 30 lap Late Model feature event after a qualifying time of 15.861 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval. James Batten of Rocky Mount sat his Grand Prix on the outside of the front row with a time of 15.914. At wave of the green flag the outside row of Batten and Bobby Bottoms shot to the front. It was Batten, Bottoms and Ronnie Boykin the front three doing battle until lap 12, when as Boykin crossed the start finish line, Boykin’s engine erupted in a cloud of smoke, sending him to the pits for the evening. It was James Batten setting a blistering pace, followed by Bobby Bottoms and Britches Liles who had taken over the hunt vacated by Boykin. Scooter King of Rocky Mount was challenging Liles down to the finish. At the checkered flag it was James Batten bringing his KM Pulley/Danny Signs/Batten Ceramic Tile/Battenbilt Race Engines sponsored race car across the line for win number 2 of the season. Bobby Bottoms of Elm City took second. Britches Liles of Bailey held off the challenges of Scooter King for a third place finish and King of
Rocky Mount was forced to settle for fourth. Randy Lucas of Raleigh, having his best run, finished fifth.
Lining up on the front row for the Thunder & Lightning feature event was J.P. Cascell of Nashville and Alan Worrells of Rocky Mount. At the start of the race it was Alan Worrells taking the lead. Worrells would lead every lap and take his Quincy Kustoms/Fergusons/Jeff Smith Racing Engines & Transmissions/Don Bullock Collision Center Chevrolet in for his third win of the 2008 season. Celebrating his birthday, Wade Ferrell of Rocky Mount would take second. Having his best run of the season, Lee Brinson of Bailey took a third place finish. Chris Ray of Zebulon finished fourth followed by Joey Cascell of Rocky Mount fifth. A restart and 9 cautions slowed the event.
Going out front of the Super Stock Four Cylinder division was none other than Victor May of Zebulon. May took a dominating lead, led every lap and was in a lap
all his own. This gave May his third straight win in the Baines Paint & Body/Snappon Tools/Baines Landscaping/Summerlin Oil/Ordess Farms Toyota. This will require May to start in the rear of his feature event the next week he races. No protest was filed but people talked about his engine being legal or not. May however says that people will talk no matter what, that what makes the biggest difference when racing at County Line Raceway is handling. Jimmy Holcombe of Elm City in only his third outing in a new car took a second place finish. Glenn Bottoms of Elm City finished third. Brandon Wells finished fourth and Mike Howard fifth.
Jerry Williams of Snow Hill took over the lead on lap 3 of the Pure Stock V-8 feature and never relinquished the position for the duration of the 15 lap event. Williams brought his Oldsmobile across the line for the win. Working his way from the rear of the field was
Ben James of Battleboro finishing a commanding second place. Another Battleboro resident Michael Lamm finished in James’ tire tracks taking third. Gary Whitley of Stantonsburg and James Meredith of Sharpsburg were fourth and fifth respectively.
Gary Dillon of Wilson and James Manning of Wilson shot from the outside row at the start of the Pure Stock Four Cylinder feature event and ran one – two the entire distance. Dillon behind the wheel of the Best Choice Lawn Care/Gonzo’s Pits/Chavis the Iron & Metal Man Toyota took the feature win. Manning took second followed by Michael Webb of Elm City third, Taylor Dalton of Elm City fourth and Howard Dean of Rocky Mount fifth.
New comer Jermey Benson of Middlesex claimed his first win of his career in the Cadet class at County Line Raceway. Benson led every lap as the crowd cheered him on. He led the entire distance but got higher each lap, but held on for the win. Second place honors went to Cody Keith of Franklinton. Austin Holcombe was third, followed by Stillman Heath fourth. Joshua Bryant of Wilson finished fifth.
In celebration of the 20 Year Anniversary race track owners Edward and Carolyn Upchurch and promoter James Upchurch were presented plaques and Arial photos honoring the 20 year date. The Upchurchs expressed their gratitude to everyone in attendance for making the past 20 years happen. They stated that without everyone - family, friends, staff, race drivers, race crews, racing business associates and grandstand attendees the 20 years would not have been possible.
Leading everyone in prayer for the evening was Gary McMillan, Chaplin for Dirt Racing for Jesus. The DRJ organization was on hand for the second time this season collecting donations for the Victory Junction Camp. County Line Raceway will be closed this weekend for the Labor Day Holiday. It will re-open on Saturday, September 6 with Double Points Races in all divisions. Features will include Late Models, Pure Stock Four Cylinder, Super Stock Four Cylinder, Pure Stock V-8, Thunder & Lightning, and Cadets.