Story By: DAVE SEAY / VIRGINIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – JAMAICA, VA – With a great crowd in attendance for Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Championship Night, Trevor Collins of Loveville, MD, set fast time, got inverted to fourth, led the first lap, and went on to lead flag to flag to take his first career Victory Lap Pro Late Model win at Virginia Motor Speedway.
“We have been trying for years to win here; we finally put it all together, and man, it feels good,” commented Collins in Virginia Is for Racing Lovers victory lane.
Point leader Jeremy Pilkerton of Loveville, MD, had a close call on lap 27 of the 30-lap feature when Billy Hubbard of Cobbs Creek, VA, barreled down into turn 3 with the two banging together. Pilkerton would gather it back up, fall in behind Hubbard, and finish sixth, securing the 2023 Victory Lap Pro Late Model Championship by 3 points over Hubbard.
“When I got passed by those two cars, I knew I was going to have to slow down going into turn 3 and that Hubbard was going to drive it in deep. I figured that if I just kept the car straight, I would be OK. It feels great to get this Championship,” commented Jeremy Pilkerton.
Pilkerton and Hubbard led the field to green, getting together on the backstretch, with Trevor Collins getting by to take the lead with Pilkerton in second. On lap 5, Davis Lipscombe got by Pilkerton for second and set out to catch Collins. On the next lap, Lipscombe got inside Collins in turn 1, but that was the closest he would get the rest of the race. On lap 23 Lipscombe and Pilkerton battled for second as Collins pulled away. On a lap 24 restart Pilkerton lost third to Corey Almond, and fourth to Nick Davis. Heading into turn 3, Pilkerton had to get on the binders, allowing Billy Hubbard to dive in under him, with the two getting together. Hubbard would get by, with Pilkerton following right behind him. Collins would take the win, followed by Davis Lipscombe, Corey Almond, Nick Davis, and Billy Hubbard. Pilkerton was crowned the 2023 Champion, his first at Virginia Motor Speedway.
The Budweiser Modified 25-lap feature came down to the last lap with point leader Chase Butler of Mechanicsville, VA, trying a slide-job on leader Bret Hamilton of Powhatan, VA in turn 3. Hamilton was able to turn back down under Butler in turn 3, making it three-wide with a lapped car as they came to the line, with Hamilton grabbing the win by .029 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Butler, Scott Heath, Michael Pappas, and Jeff Solinger. Chase Butler would be crowned the 2023 Budweiser Modified Champion, his third Championship in a row.
In the Truckin Thunder Sportsman 25-lap feature, Brett Adkins of Saluda, VA, took the lead from Matt Meads of Elizabeth City, NC, on lap 7. For the next 4 laps, Adkins would race side-by-side with Meads while point leader Steve Causey of Smithfield, VA, rode in third. On lap 14, Causey got past Meads to catch Adkins, who had checked out. A caution closed Causey up on the bumper of Adkins. On the restart, Causey got under Adkins, and the two raced side-by-side until back into turn 1 with one to go. Causey stayed on Adkin’s bumper heading into turn three when a car spun in front of them, bringing out the caution and checkers. Rounding out the top five were Matt Meads, Hunter Wright, and Adam Breeden.
In the Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Limited Stock 20 lap feature, Johnny Brooks of Aylett, VA, took the lead from Corey Bradley of Hopewell, VA, and then held off Trent Clemans of North Prince George, VA, over the remaining laps to take his seventh win of the season. Rounding out the top five were Clemans, Gregory Morgan, Jason Speelman, and Cory Bradley. Johnny Brooks was crowned the 2023 Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Champion.
The speedway will take a couple of weeks off to prepare for the Saturday, October 7 Run-A-Muck Mud Bog presented by Breezline and WhosYourDriver.org over at The Pit. The Premier Mega Truck Racing Series will be back for another round of side-by-side mega truck racing. Also, see the Kings of Superstreet Mud Racing Series, Pro Stock, Modified, and Pro Mod divisions racing in the 200-ft hill-n-hole mud pit. Gates open at 9 AM, with the mud bog starting at noon. For more info visit our website at www.thepitatvms.com.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a ½ mile dirt oval track located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA, and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA, in Jamaica, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland, and the Hampton Roads area.
RACE RESULTS FOR JOE HUDSON’S COLLISION CENTER CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2023:
Victory Lap Pro Late Models A-Main (30 laps): 1. 72-Trevor Collins[4]; 2. 71-Davis Lipscombe[3]; 3. 29H-Corey Almond[9]; 4. 92-Nick Davis[7]; 5. 38B-Billy Hubbard[2]; 6. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[1]; 7. 96-Derek Magee[5]; 8. 37-Bud Stinson[14]; 9. 14C-Chuck Bowie[11]; 10. 10-Matt Ashworth[8]; 11. 38-Nicolas Love[6]; 12. 28-Tyler Dettor[12]; 13. 17-Colby Bradshaw[15]; 14. 28N-Noah Whited[17]; 15. 51S-Garrett Donnell[18]; 16. 45-William Baker[16]; 17. 7-Curtis Hughes[13]; 18. H2O-Luke Hyre[10]; 19. 43-Jarrett Edwards[19]
Fast Qualifier: Trevor Collins – 18.660 seconds
Truckin Thunder Sportsman (25 laps): 1. 16-Brett Adkins[4]; 2. 9-Steve Causey[3]; 3. 23-Matt Meads[2]; 4. 00-Hunter Wright[5]; 5. 01-Adam Breeden[1]; 6. 101-Tony Breeden[6]; 7. 01X-Tommy Upshaw[7]; 8. 24K-Kevin Olinger[12]; 9. 33-Matt Brown[9]; 10. 30-Joe Millen[11]; 11. OU1-Dale Rhodes[8]; 12. 1-Blake Adkins[10]
Fast Qualifier: Brett Adkins – 21.048 seconds
Budweiser Modified (25 laps): 1. 1ST-Bret Hamilton[1]; 2. 11-Chase Butler[3]; 3. 35-Scott Heath[2]; 4. 2-Michael Pappas[6]; 5. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[5]; 6. 814-Samuel Lamborgini[9]; 7. 40-Brent Bordeaux[4]; 8. 44-Stephen Bryant[10]; 9. 36-Mario Lamborgini[11]; 10. 21J-Curtis Mason[8]; 11. 11K-Robert Kramer[7]
Fast Qualifier: Brent Bordeaux – 19.726 seconds
Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Limited Stock Car (20 laps): 1. 7-Johnny Brooks[8]; 2. 01-Trent Clemans[3]; 3. 53-Gregory Morgan[1]; 4. 59-Jason Speelman[10]; 5. 41-Cory Bradley[2]; 6. 9-Justin Pullen[7]; 7. 99-Hilton Pickeral[4]; 8. 14-Christopher Bryan[9]; 9. 25-John Hankins Jr[5]; 10. 6-Zac Elliott[6]; 11. 07-Christian Sherr[12]; 12. 85-WL Johnston[11]; 13. 18-Shawn Morgan[13]
Fast Qualifier: Johnny Brooks – 21.920 seconds (NEW DIVISION TRACK RECORD)