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BY JOE CHANDLER

South Boston Speedway

The battle for the South Boston Speedway (SBS) NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division championship is taking on a new intensity.

What had been a somewhat comfortable points lead for Layne Riggs has dwindled and the championship chase has suddenly become a close contest among three drivers.

Riggs was involved in an incident in the 200- lap race on Saturday, July 2 and was left with a 23rd place finish. Jacob Borst, who was second in the point standings, finished second in the race. Defending NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and defending SBS champion Peyton Sellers finished third in the race. Borst gained 21 points on Riggs and Sellers gained 20 points on the division points leader in the July 2 event.

Heading into the twin 50-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division races that will headline the Billy’s A/C Service Night event on Saturday, July 16 at SBS Riggs holds a slim six-point lead over Borst and a narrow eight-point margin over Sellers.

While the results of the July 2 event greatly benefitted both Borst and Sellers, it was Sellers that reaped the most benefit. Sellers was in the hunt for the track championship but was somewhat at the edge of the title picture. Now, the two-time NASCAR national champion and six-time SBS champion is squarely in contention for the title along with Borst.

“We kind of reset a little bit,” Sellers remarked.

“I had a bad race the first event of the year and got wrecked off of turn two. That was our mulligan. He (Riggs) used his mulligan July 2. You throw Jacob (Borst) in the mix and he’s doggone good too. It (the championship chase) will be interesting these last few races.”

Sellers has had strong showings in his last three starts at SBS, with a pair of second-place finishes and a third-place finish in the July 2 event. Borst has finished in the top three in three of his last four starts, one of which was a win. Riggs has won two of his last four starts at SBS.

With four event nights, three of which will be twin-race events, and a total of seven races remain in SBS’s points season, there is plenty of opportunity for a lot to happen before the season ends.

Six races are on the card for the Saturday, July 16 Billy’s A/C Service Night event at SBS. Twin 50-lap races for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division will highlight the night’s action. Saturday night’s racing action will also include a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.

Grandstand gates will open at 5:30 p.m., qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Advance adult general admission tickets for the event are priced at $10 each and may be purchased online on SBS’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at (434) 572-4947.

Tickets at the gate on race night will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $10 each at the gate on race night.