Dub Fulford gets first victory of season at Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach Speedway celebrated Memorial Day weekend by bringing all five racing divisions back to the track for racing May 29.

To entertain the crowd while the drivers had their weekly drivers meeting, the track had its third bike race of the 2010 season. Four of the five participants started from turn four, while one participant started at the halfway point due to the age difference. 

Seven year-old Adam Fulford brought home the trophy and celebrated in victory with his family. Fulford also sang the national anthem to the largest crowd at Myrtle Beach Speedway for this season.

Mini-Stocks started the night off. Five-time champion Dub Fulford started on the pole and never gave up the leading position. Tom Hutson brought his No. 54 Mini-Stock to the track for the first time this season and had a solid sixth-place finish.  

Dub Fulford’s victory Saturday night was his first win of the 2010 season; son Adam finished second.

NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series had two twin 35-lap races during Saturday’s activities. Rick Smith and his No. 28 was the car to beat. Being solid during qualifying, Smith won the pole and both races. Although many drivers were conserving their equipment for the second race, Smith and Jeremy McDowell in the No. 83 car battled for the leading position. 

Because the Late Model division has two races on race night, the track inverts the top-six positions from the first race to line them up for the second. Terry Evans was the lucky dog who finished sixth in the first race and started from the pole position for the second race. Evans kept his No. 20 car out front until Smith and defending track champion Brent Brinson in the No. 1 car made it to the front and began to challenge Evans for the lead. The battle for the lead among those three drivers began on lap 25 and continued until Smith crossed the finish line on the last lap. 

Limited Late Models was the third division of the night on the track. Although defending track champion Randall Roberts put his Black Cat on the pole, Dal Wright was determined to make him work for the lead. The two battled as soon as the green flag dropped and lasted the whole race. Kevin Barnhill was working his way through the field when a caution came out for Brant McMullan, who spun his No. 82 car in turn four. On the restart, Barnhill’s No. 15 went from third to last and stopped in turn two. The battle between Wright and Roberts continued, but it was Wright who got to celebrate his second win of the season in victory lane. 

There were a lot of love taps going on during the Super Truck race. Jimmy Herrington led the first lap of the race. Current points leader and defending track champion Jamie Weatherford jumped up to second on the second lap and began giving Herrington love taps to let him know he was there and ready for the lead. 

John Brown of the No. 29 truck gave Kerry Lawrence in the No. 03 truck some love taps as well. Weatherford and Herrington battled for the lead throughout the race, but at the end Herrington lost his second-place position to Ronnie Daniels. Weatherford celebrated another victory at Myrtle Beach Speedway. 

The Street Stock race was action packed with aggressive drivers. The field completed only one lap before the cautions started coming out. On the second lap, the top three cars spun out in turn four. The three cars didn’t have any damage and continued to race hard. Mark Hale, Davey Hatchell and Clay Gossett made it three wide before Hatchell took his No. 21 car to the garage. Hale was looking forward to another victory, but in turn four on the last lap his car got extremely loose, giving the win to Gossett. Defending track champion Tommy Poole was second.

TOP TWO AND                    LOCAL FINISHERS

Mini Stock—1. Dub Fulford; 2. Adam Fulford; 7. Craig Schiel; 9. Steven Plis.

Street Stock—1. Clay Gossett; 2. Tommy Poole.

Limited Late Model—1. Dal Wright; 2. Randall Roberts; 6. Tommy Poole; 9. Brant McMullan.

Late Models, first race— 1. Rick Smith; 2. Jeremy McDowell; 3. Brent Brinson; 5. Justin Milliken; 6. Terry Evans.

Late Models, second race—1. Rick Smith; 2. Brent Brinson; 3. Terry Evans; 7. Justin Milliken.

Super Trucks—1. Jamie Weatherford; Ronnie Daniels.