WHEATLAND, Mo. — Peyton Taylor came to Lucas Oil Speedway on a mission to repeat his Big Buck 50 championship.
Call it mission accomplished for the veteran racer from Batesville, Ark.
Taylor led all 50 laps Saturday night to capture the big prize at the seventh annual Street Stocks Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy.
Driving his final Street Stocks race, with plans to go Modified racing full time, Taylor for the second year in a row earned $10,000 and a free entry into this fall’s prestigious mid-Missouri Whitetail Trophy Hunt, valued at another $3,000.
T.J. Herndon finished a distant second, 5.3 seconds behind Taylor with David Hendrix coming home in third.
“There was a lot of attrition,” Taylor said. “We knew we were pretty good (Friday) in the dash. We fought some stuff. Everybody just worked hard. At the end of the day, I have to give all the glory to God. I was talking to him every caution. Without him, none of this is possible.
“I want to thank all the fans. We’ve had a good couple of years. It looks like we’re going to focus on the Modified stuff now. We’re beyond blessed. I’m really thankful for everything.”
Taylor did a reverse victory lap, in tribute to close friend Randy Sherril of Batesville who passed away recently of an apparent heart attack.
“A couple of weeks ago, I lost a really good friend and this one’s for him,” an emotional Taylor said in victory lane.
The Big Buck 50 attracted 90 entries when action began with time trials on Thursday night.
Johnny Fennewald led flag to flag to capture the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Model 30-lap feature victory. Fennewald finished a dominating 7.4 seconds in front of second-place Justin Russell.
Meanwhile, Cole Henson’s fourth-place finish was plenty good enough to earn the Lucas Cattle Company ULMA season championship. Henson doubled up after also winning the Lucas Oil Speedway season championship.
Consistency was the key. Henson, 24, did not win a feature race but had 12 top-five finishes in 14 races. He never finished outside the top 10.
“I said in an interview at the beginning of the year that I would like to come out and win either the Lucas Oil Speedway championship or the ULMA championship. I cannot believe I just done both,” Henson said. “It’s been a crazy year. I know we didn’t get the win, but I tell you what, this is way better than a win.
“In my second year in a late model and to come out and do this, it’s unbelievable.”