Story By: DAVE SEAY / VIRGINIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – JAMAICA, VA – In the Steel Block Bandits Dirt Late Model Challenge portion of the Mark Batten Memorial presented by Truckin Thunder, Russell Erwin of Beaver Dam, VA, held off Tyler Bare of Lexington, VA, to take home the $10,000 victory.
Erwin inherited the lead from Dustin Mitchell on lap 19, when he slowed with mechanical issues that ended his night. Erwin looked to be on cruise control, but with five laps left, Bare began working the high side, reeling in the leader. Bare would run out of laps, with Erwin holding on for the win.
“I put a lot of work into trying to win this race; the Mark Batten Memorial means a lot to me. We are going to stay right here tonight and party like rock stars,” commented Russell Erwin in Virginia is for Racing Lovers Victory Lane.
In the Modified Mafia Tour $10,000 feature, Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, NC, took the lead from Cole Falloway of Owensboro, KY, to take the $10,000 victory. Hoffman began working on Falloway for the lead as they worked through traffic. On lap 35, Hoffman went outside Falloway in turn 4 to take the lead and went on to take the win.
“This is a new car; we only put it together three days ago for Drake Troutman. We decided to bring it out and shake it down. I was confident I could get the win; it felt good to grab this win, commented Nick Hoffman in Virginia is for Racing Lovers Victory Lane.
Russell Erwin and Dustin Mitchell led the Vision Wheels Steel Block Bandits Dirt Late Model Challenge field to green, picking up the lead out of turn two. Several cautions slowed the pace for the first nine laps. On the lap 9 restart, Mitchell would pull away from Erwin, only to have the field closed up on his bumper for a car slow in turn four with mechanical issues.
On the restart, Mitchell got a great jump, but Erwin kept pace with the leader. On lap 19 Mitchell’s race would come to an end as he slowed heading into turn one, handing the lead over to Erwin. Erwin pulled away from Jamie Lathroum on the restart, and Tyler Bare went from fifth to third. With 10 to go, Bare pulled within two car lengths when another caution came out.
On the restart, Erwin would get an amazing restart and pull away by four car lengths over Bare. Erwin would hold off Bare for the $10,000 victory in the Mark Batten Memorial presented by Truckin Thunder.
Cole Falloway and Austin Holcombe led the 26-car field to green, with Falloway taking the lead out of turn two followed by Ray Kable, Nick Hoffman, Charlie Mefford, and Todd Neiheiser. By lap five, Falloway had pulled out to a three-second lead. The race’s first caution would come out for a stopped car in turn three, closing the field back up on Falloway’s bumper.
By lap 13, the leaders started working lapped traffic. Several times Hoffman got next to Falloway, but lapped cars would keep him from taking over the top spot. On lap 25 a caution flew for Todd Neiheiser who slowed in turn two with mechanical issues, ending his night.
On the restart, Falloway and Hoffman began to pull away from the field. On lap 27, they came out of turn four side by side, with Galloway holding on. In turn one, Hoffman put a slide job on Falloway only to have Falloway cross back over to keep the lead. With five laps to go, Falloway and Hoffman were nose to tail. Heading into turn four, Hoffman went to the bottom and got under Falloway to take the lead at the line. A caution on lap 36 came out for Slade Parsons, setting up a four-lap race for the win.
On the restart, Hoffman pulled away, as Falloway and Kable battled for second going on to take the $10,000 victory in the Modified Mafia Tour portion of the Mark Batten Memorial presented by Truckin Thunder. Falloway, Kable, Michael Altobelli, and Austin Holcombe rounded out the top five.
In the Victory Lap Pro Late Model 25 lap feature, Billy Hubbard and Jarrett Edwards led the field to green, but Jeremy Pilkerton would lead the first lap. Once out front Pilkerton pulled away while Davis Lipscombe and Corey Almond battled for second. The race would go caution-free and looked like an easy win for Pilkerton, but the scales showed him seven pounds light, handing the win to Davis Lipscombe. Rounding out the top five were Corey Almond, Jarrett Edwards, Ben Scott, and Billy Hubbard.
In the Truckin Thunder Sportsman 20 lap feature, Hunter Wright and Tyler Shipp led the field to green, with Wright grabbing the lead out of turn 2. On lap three, something broke on Wright’s car, sending him spinning into turn three, handing the lead to Shipp. Brett Adkins would take the lead three laps later. On the final lap Shipp would get inside Adkins as they came to the start finish line with the race ending in a photo finish, with Adkins winning by .006 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Shipp, Blake Adkins, Matt Meads, and Steve Causey.
In the Joe Hudson’s Collision Centers Limited Stock Car 15 feature, Brandon Bowler and Cory Bradley led the field to green, with Bradley leading the opening circuit. On lap 6, current point leader Brian Hubbard spun in turn four, collecting Christopher Bryan in the process. On the restart, Bradley would pull away and go on to his first win of the season. Rounding out the top five were Brandon Bowler, Trent Clemans, Justin Pullen, and Christian Sherr.
The speedway will return to racing on Saturday, June 22nd, for week 5 of Dirt Series Championship Weekly Racing, featuring the Victory Lap Pro Late Model, Truckin Thunder Sportsman, Budweiser Modified, Joe Hudson’s Collision Centers Limited Stock Car, and Petie’s Radiator Service JuiceBox divisions in action. Spectator gates will open at 5 PM, with racing beginning at 7 PM.
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 MARK BATTEN MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY TRUCKIN THUNDER, SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2024:
Vision Wheels Steel Block Bandits Dirt Late Model Challenge (40 Laps) – 1. 22-Russell Erwin[1]; 2. B8-Tyler Bare[6]; 3. 15K-Jamie Lathroum[9]; 4. 16-Blake Craft[4]; 5. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[13]; 6. 32-Michael Batten[3]; 7. 01-Matt Glanden[17]; 8. 48-Hunter Kohn[12]; 9. 002-Tyler Arrington[14]; 10. 7-Dan Breuer[10]; 11. 17-Timmy Blackwell[22]; 12. 57-Landen Zakalowski[16]; 13. 98-Josh Pierce[19]; 14. 18*-Matt Cochran[11]; 15. 13-Joe Radford[21]; 16. 12-Ricky Wells[18]; 17. 72-Derrick Rankin[15]; 18. 74-Derick Quade[5]; 19. 43H-Josh Harris[25]; 20. 4-Doug Penny[23]; 21. 9E-Robbie Emory[8]; 22. 23-Josh Canipe[20]; 23. D8-Dustin Mitchell[2]; 24. B1-Billy Tucker[24]; 25. 24-Kenny Moreland[7]
Scott Service Company Heat 1 (8 Laps) – 1. 22-Russell Erwin[1]; 2. 16-Blake Craft[2]; 3. 24-Kenny Moreland[3]; 4. 7-Dan Breuer[5]; 5. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[4]; 6. 57-Landen Zakalowski[6]; 7. 98-Josh Pierce[8]; 8. 17-Timmy Blackwell[7]; 9. B1-Billy Tucker[9]
M&W Transport Heat 2 (8 Laps) – 1. D8-Dustin Mitchell[1]; 2. 74-Derick Quade[4]; 3. 9E-Robbie Emory[2]; 4. 18*-Matt Cochran[7]; 5. 002-Tyler Arrington[5]; 6. 01-Matt Glanden[6]; 7. 23-Josh Canipe[3]; 8. 4-Doug Penny[8]; 9. 43H-Josh Harris[9]
Earnhardt Technologies Heat 3 (8 Laps) – 1. 32-Michael Batten[1]; 2. B8-Tyler Bare[2]; 3. 15K-Jamie Lathroum[3]; 4. 48-Hunter Kohn[4]; 5. 72-Derrick Rankin[5]; 6. 12-Ricky Wells[6]; 7. 13-Joe Radford[7]; 8. 51S-Garrett Donnell[8]
HGR’s Qualifying – 1. 22-Russell Erwin, 00:18.509[14]; 2. D8-Dustin Mitchell, 00:18.764[8]; 3. 32-Michael Batten, 00:18.899[12]; 4. 16-Blake Craft, 00:18.956[26]; 5. 9E-Robbie Emory, 00:19.084[15]; 6. B8-Tyler Bare, 00:19.097[7]; 7. 24-Kenny Moreland, 00:19.113[20]; 8. 23-Josh Canipe, 00:19.123[9]; 9. 15K-Jamie Lathroum, 00:19.143[11]; 10. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton, 00:19.180[4]; 11. 74-Derick Quade, 00:19.260[25]; 12. 48-Hunter Kohn, 00:19.301[19]; 13. 7-Dan Breuer, 00:19.346[1]; 14. 002-Tyler Arrington, 00:19.523[18]; 15. 72-Derrick Rankin, 00:19.547[22]; 16. 57-Landen Zakalowski, 00:19.710[3]; 17. 01-Matt Glanden, 00:20.017[13]; 18. 12-Ricky Wells, 00:20.058[21]; 19. 17-Timmy Blackwell, 00:20.124[23]; 20. 18*-Matt Cochran, 00:20.182[10]; 21. 13-Joe Radford, 00:20.212[24]; 22. 98-Josh Pierce, 00:20.299[6]; 23. 4-Doug Penny, 00:20.377[2]; 24. 51S-Garrett Donnell, 00:20.418[5]; 25. B1-Billy Tucker, 00:20.436[16]; 26. 43H-Josh Harris, 00:20.462[17]
Modified Mafia Tour A Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 5-Nick Hoffman[3]; 2. 66-Cole Falloway[1]; 3. 90-Ray Kable[5]; 4. 95-Michael Altobelli[6]; 5. 8A-Austin Holcombe[2]; 6. 13-Charlie Mefford[4]; 7. 6-Ryan Ayers[16]; 8. 5T-Jonathan Taylor[13]; 9. 2T-Ty Norder[23]; 10. 7T-Evan Taylor[12]; 11. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[20]; 12. 18-Rick Hulson[17]; 13. 51-Joey Polevoy[21]; 14. 11-Chase Butler[9]; 15. 12R-Ty Rhoades[18]; 16. 84-Ryan Toole[14]; 17. 22-Russell Erwin[26]; 18. 82-Gary Dillon[24]; 19. 2-Michael Pappas[11]; 20. 60-Jim Manka[19]; 21. 96-Slade Parsons[22]; 22. 99-Cole Hilton[7]; 23. 40-Brent Bordeaux[10]; 24. 72-Todd Neiheiser[8]; 25. 23Z-Austin Self[15]; 26. 7&7-Jeff Solinger[25]
B Feature 1 (8 Laps) – 1. 18-Rick Hulson[1]; 2. 60-Jim Manka[4]; 3. 51-Joey Polevoy[6]; 4. 82-Gary Dillon[7]; 5. 22-Russell Erwin[2]; 6. 7D-TJ DeHaven[11]; 7. 7&7-Jeff Solinger[5]; 8. 10S-Tim Schulte[8]; 9. 01-Bradley Majors[3]; 10. 814-Sam Lamborgini[10]; 11. 04-Kaleb Toole[9]
B Feature 2 (8 Laps) – 1. 12R-Ty Rhoades[2]; 2. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[1]; 3. 96-Slade Parsons[7]; 4. 34-Cody Williams[3]; 5. 2T-Ty Norder[4]; 6. 7-Johnny Brooks[6]; 7. 11L-Troy Loomis[5]; 8. 21J-Curtis Mason[9]; 9. 1ST-Bret Hamilton[8]; 10. (DNS) 28-Mason Lobb
Heat 1 (8 Laps) – 1. 66-Cole Falloway[2]; 2. 90-Ray Kable[4]; 3. 11-Chase Butler[1]; 4. 5T-Jonathan Taylor[3]; 5. 18-Rick Hulson[8]; 6. 01-Bradley Majors[9]; 7. 7&7-Jeff Solinger[6]; 8. 82-Gary Dillon[7]; 9. 04-Kaleb Toole[10]; 10. 7D-TJ DeHaven[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps) – 1. 8A-Austin Holcombe[2]; 2. 95-Michael Altobelli[4]; 3. 40-Brent Bordeaux[3]; 4. 84-Ryan Toole[5]; 5. 22-Russell Erwin[1]; 6. 60-Jim Manka[7]; 7. 51-Joey Polevoy[6]; 8. 10S-Tim Schulte[8]; 9. 814-Sam Lamborgini[9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps) – 1. 5-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 99-Cole Hilton[3]; 3. 2-Michael Pappas[2]; 4. 23Z-Austin Self[6]; 5. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[4]; 6. 34-Cody Williams[8]; 7. 11L-Troy Loomis[5]; 8. 96-Slade Parsons[7]; 9. 21J-Curtis Mason[9]
Heat 4 (8 Laps) – 1. 13-Charlie Mefford[1]; 2. 72-Todd Neiheiser[2]; 3. 7T-Evan Taylor[3]; 4. 6-Ryan Ayers[4]; 5. 12R-Ty Rhoades[5]; 6. 2T-Ty Norder[6]; 7. 7-Johnny Brooks[7]; 8. 1ST-Bret Hamilton[8]; 9. 28-Mason Lobb[9]
Qualifying 1 – 1. 11-Chase Butler, 00:19.898[18]; 2. 22-Russell Erwin, 00:20.079[15]; 3. 66-Cole Falloway, 00:20.214[4]; 4. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 00:20.243[14]; 5. 5T-Jonathan Taylor, 00:20.510[6]; 6. 40-Brent Bordeaux, 00:20.576[12]; 7. 90-Ray Kable, 00:20.699[10]; 8. 95-Michael Altobelli, 00:20.880[8]; 9. 7D-TJ DeHaven, 00:20.919[16]; 10. 84-Ryan Toole, 00:20.963[3]; 11. 7&7-Jeff Solinger, 00:21.055[19]; 12. 51-Joey Polevoy, 00:21.058[13]; 13. 82-Gary Dillon, 00:21.088[17]; 14. 60-Jim Manka, 00:21.116[11]; 15. 18-Rick Hulson, 00:21.539[9]; 16. 10S-Tim Schulte, 00:21.545[5]; 17. 01-Bradley Majors, 00:21.776[1]; 18. 814-Sam Lamborgini, 00:21.926[2]; 19. 04-Kaleb Toole, 00:22.441[7]
Qualifying 2 – 1. 5-Nick Hoffman, 00:19.679[3]; 2. 13-Charlie Mefford, 00:19.738[17]; 3. 2-Michael Pappas, 00:20.096[1]; 4. 72-Todd Neiheiser, 00:20.250[2]; 5. 99-Cole Hilton, 00:20.263[5]; 6. 7T-Evan Taylor, 00:20.321[14]; 7. 9R-JP Roberts Jr, 00:20.372[4]; 8. 6-Ryan Ayers, 00:20.453[8]; 9. 11L-Troy Loomis, 00:20.486[18]; 10. 12R-Ty Rhoades, 00:20.552[16]; 11. 23Z-Austin Self, 00:20.752[10]; 12. 2T-Ty Norder, 00:20.766[6]; 13. 96-Slade Parsons, 00:20.768[12]; 14. 7-Johnny Brooks, 00:20.965[13]; 15. 34-Cody Williams, 00:20.978[15]; 16. 1ST-Bret Hamilton, 00:21.093[9]; 17. 21J-Curtis Mason, 00:22.342[7]; 18. 28-Mason Lobb[11]
Race to the Pole – 1. 66-Cole Falloway[1]; 2. 90-Ray Kable[2]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe[3]; 4. 13-Charlie Mefford[7]; 5. 5-Nick Hoffman[5]; 6. 99-Cole Hilton[6]; 7. 72-Todd Neiheiser[8]; 8. 95-Michael Altobelli[4]
Victory Lap Pro Late Model A Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 71-Davis Lipscombe[4]; 2. 7A-Corey Almond[6]; 3. 43-Jarrett Edwards[2]; 4. 80-Ben Scott[7]; 5. 38B-Billy Hubbard[1]; 6. 38-Nick Love[5]; 7. 6-Chase Blackwell[12]; 8. 7-Curtis Hughes[8]; 9. 4-Doug Penny[11]; 10. 45-William Baker[14]; 11. 82-Roger Robertson Jr[10]; 12. 17-Colby Bradshaw[13]; 13. (DNS) 51S-Garrett Donnell; 14. (DQ) 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[3]
Fast Qualifier: Corey Almond – 19.410 seconds
Truckin Thunder Sportsman (20 laps): 1. 16-Brett Adkins[8]; 2. 25-Tyler Shipp[2]; 3. 1-Blake Adkins[7]; 4. 23-Matt Meads[6]; 5. 9-Steve Causey[5]; 6. 7-Lucas Sandy[4]; 7. 39-Cole Johnston[9]; 8. 01-Adam Breeden[3]; 9. 00-Hunter Wright[1]; 10. 33-Matt Brown[10]
Fast Qualifier: Brett Adkins – 21.633 seconds
Joe Hudson’s Collision Centers Limited Stock Car (15 laps): 1. 41-Cory Bradley[2]; 2. 14-Brandon Bowler[1]; 3. 01-Trent Clemans[3]; 4. 9-Justin Pullen[7]; 5. 07-Christian Sherr[4]; 6. 99-Hilton Pickeral[9]; 7. 09-Jacob Buie Sr[10]; 8. 89-Craig Newcombe[13]; 9. 18-John Hankins Jr[12]; 10. 53-Gregory Morgan[5]; 11. 23B-Brian Hubbard[8]; 12. 95-Christopher Bryan[6]; 13. 14J-James Rainey Jr[11]
Fast Qualifier: Trent Clemans – 22.498 seconds