It’s crazy to think that Lee Pulliam hadn’t won a race (as a driver or an owner) since July of 2020, but that was the reality for the four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and his race team, Lee Pulliam Performance, entering Saturday’s running of the Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway.

That race is a race that Pulliam himself had completely dominated, with six straight wins in the South Boston 200 from 2011 to 2016. It’s a feat that will be difficult to see replicated ever again. But even still, there was still that long winless streak leading into Saturday night.

Fortunately, Pulliam’s driver Corey Heim was able to break that drought and put Lee Pulliam back in victory lane at a track that has a section of the grandstand named after him.

“I think Lee was honestly more excited than I was,” said Heim after Saturday’s win. “He was pumped up and that’s awesome to see. I love Lee. He’s like family to me. It’s awesome to park it in victory lane for him.”

VIDEO: Corey Heim discusses his South Boston 200 win on Saturday night. 

As excited as they were to win on Saturday, now a few days later the reality of the night is starting to set in, and the excitement has started to wane as they realize how much money in damage the South Boston 200 has cost them.

“(You) won $10,000 to repair $15,000” is what Layne Riggs tweeted to Pulliam Tuesday morning with a “face palm” emoji. That tweet was in replay to Pulliam’s tweet to Riggs that said, “He (Jacob Borst) got us too! Ridiculous.”

Second-place finisher Jacob Borst made hard contact with Heim coming to the checkered flag, crashing both race cars. Borst also made contact with Riggs with about 20 laps to go on the backstretch that resulted in a flat tire on Rigg’s No. 99 machine and indirectly led to his car getting destroyed because he was caught up in the 15-car wreck on the frontstretch with 12 laps remaining.

The second Lee Pulliam Performance car driven by Brandon Pierce was also heavily damaged in that multi-car crash with 12 laps left, making the repair bill from Saturday’s race quite hefty.

Borst Gave It Everything He Had

It’s definitely not an understatement to say that a win in Saturday’s South Boston 200 would have been the biggest accomplishment of Jacob Borst’s career by a country mile. Borst has three wins at South Boston, two of which have come this season. He also has two Southeast Limited Late Model Series wins and an Allison Legacy Series win on his resume.

So, like we said, a win in the South Boston 200 would have been massive. And Borst was willing to do whatever it took to get it. Including wrecking the leader coming to the checkered flag.

“Coming off he had a good run and I knew I had to make a little bit of contact,” explained Borst. “We both ended up hitting the wall, but all in all we’re racing for $10,000 in one of the biggest races of the year. I can’t let him just go. You’ve got to rub on somebody.”

VIDEO: Jacob Borst discusses his last-lap bid for the win and runner-up finish in the South Boston 200. 

Struggles At The Madhouse

Believe it or not, there’s just seven weeks of racing left at Bowman Gray Stadium for 2022 and incredibly Burt Myers and Tim Brown only have one total win between the two of them. That win belongs to Myers and came in the most recent race at the Stadium on June 25.

It’s obvious that the new racing surface put down just prior to this season has thrown both drivers a curveball. The two drivers with the most wins in the history of Bowman Gray Stadium don’t just forget how to drive race cars.

But, even though it’s been a struggle to get wins, the consistency has still been there for Brown. He’s currently fourth in the championship standings, just 16 points back of points leader Brandon Ward as he chases a record 12^th championship at Bowman Gray. 

His arch-nemesis, Myers, may have a victory, but consistent strong runs have not been there for him. Myers, who is hoping to keep pace with Brown and get his own 11^th championship, is currently 80 points back of Ward in eighth in the standings.

Meanwhile, there’s a good chance Bowman Gray sees a first-time champion this season. Ward, the current points leader, and Jason Myers are separated by just eight points and neither driver has won a championship at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Points Standings

NASCAR Roots On FloRacing This Week

Friday

6:30 p.m. ET – Modifieds at Autodrome Granby

Saturday

4:45 p.m. ET – NASCAR Modifieds at Riverhead Raceway

5:30 p.m. ET – Late Models and more at Jennerstown Speedway

7 p.m. ET – Late Model Stocks at Hickory Motor Speedway

7 p.m. ET – Twin Late Model Stock Car features at Langley Speedway

7:50 p.m. ET – Modifieds at Bowman Gray Stadium

8 p.m. ET – Demo Derby night at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway

8 p.m. ET – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Wall Stadium

8:30 p.m. ET – Modifieds and Sprint Cars at Meridian Speedway

9 p.m. ET – Pro Late Models at Evergreen Speedway

9 p.m. ET – Twin Late Model features at All American Speedway