JAMAICA, Va. – Russell Erwin made a last-lap pass on race leader Walker Arthur to score his first pro late model victory on Collision One Championship Night at Virginia Motor Speedway.
During the race, Erwin fell back to seventh before making his way back to the front. On lap 24, Erwin got by Corey Almond for third and then second on lap 31.
Erwin then made the exciting high side pass on the race’s final lap to score the win.
“At first I didn’t know if I wanted to do any Pro (Crate) Late Model racing, as we do so much Limited Late and Super Late Model racing. But with the $50,000 to win event next week, we thought we would give it a try,” said Erwin. “This gives us momentum and a good feeling heading into that race, and I think I am starting to like this crate racing.”
Walker Arthur and Trevor Collins led the 27-car field to green in the Victory Lap Pro Late Model feature, with Collins taking the lead out of turn two. Collins paced the field until Arthur got inside the leader in turn three to take the lead on lap six.
Justin Williams grabbed second from Collins on lap seven and set out to reel in Arthur. On lap 13, the leaders began racing in heavy traffic, with Williams closing on Arthur as they weaved their way through traffic.
The races first caution would fly on lap 18 with a car slowing on the backstretch.
Things picked up on lap 24, when Eric Erwin got past Corey Almond for third. Once in third, Erwin set out to catch Williams in second.
On lap 29, Erwin began looking inside Williams for second place. On lap 31, Erwin decided to take the high side in turn one, taking the position.
Erwin would then catch Arthur on lap 33. With the white flag in the air, Erwin swept around Arthur’s outside to take the lead, with the race ending under the caution and checkers.
Rounding out the top five were Arthur, Williams, Almond, and David Watts. With his third-place finish, Williams held off Almond by four points for the Pro Late Model championship.
In other action, Brett Adkins picked up his second Truckin Thunder Sportsman win of the season, as Joe Weiss held defending champion Tim Shelton off to score the division title.
Hunter McClendon capped off his second consecutive Budweiser Modified championship in style by also taking home the win, and in the Collision One Limited Stock Car division, James Givens scored the win and took home his third straight and fourth overall title.
In the Sportsman Mechanic’s race, Pat Gonzales drove his son’s car to victory.