2022 NASCAR Season Opener at South Boston Speedway

Takeaways From South Boston Speedway's NASCAR Weekly Series Opening Day

Takeaways From South Boston Speedway's NASCAR Weekly Series Opening Day

Layne Riggs swept the twin-65 features at Virginia's South Boston Speedway on the opening day of racing for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

Mar 21, 2022
Takeaways From South Boston Speedway's NASCAR Weekly Series Opening Day

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — Layne Riggs had never won at South Boston Speedway prior to Saturday’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series opening day at the 0.4-mile oval, but by the time the day was over, he had changed that.

Riggs, the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver and four-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner Scott Riggs, was a man on a mission during the pair of 65-lap Late Model Stock Car features that kicked off the track’s 65th anniversary season.

Starting second in the first 65-lap feature alongside defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion Peyton Sellers, Riggs took the lead on Lap 32 and led the remainder of the distance to beat Mike Looney to the checkered flag by 0.695 seconds.

The top-10 finishers from the first race were inverted for the second 65-lap feature, with Riggs lining up 10th. He avoided a big crash on Lap 2 that collected Sellers and defending ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner Landon Pembelton before chasing down and passing Mason Bailey on Lap 21 to take the lead.

Riggs would ultimately pull away to a 2.023-second victory over Looney, who finished second in both races.

“I really hated to see the cars get torn up on the initial start,” Riggs said after winning the second feature. “A couple of cars (Sellers and Pembelton) were cars we thought were going to be in contention for the win at the end. I hated I didn’t get to duke it out with them. I know they will get fixed up and we will be doing it again really soon.”

A trio of other NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series divisions were also in action Saturday, including the Budweiser Limited Sportsman, Southside Disposal Pure Stocks and Hornets.

Jason Myers (no relation to the Jason Myers who competes regularly at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) triumphed in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman class. Johnny Layne was the winner of the 30-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock main event and Kevin Currin won the Hornet feature.

South Boston will be back in action again next Saturday, with NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car contenders battling for supremacy in a 100-lap feature. Weekly Series action continues at South Boston on most Saturday’s through Sept. 3, which will serve as Championship Night at the historic track.

In addition to Weekly Series competition, South Boston will also host the annual running of the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 on July 2. The event serves as the opening race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown that also includes the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, on July 23 and the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway on Sept. 24.