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Lee Pulliam took another step towards another NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship, while Jonathan Findley closed out the 2017 Late Model Stock season with a victory at Southern National Motorsports Park.

Pulliam, seeking his fourth NWAAS National Championship, scored the victory in the first of two 40-lap events for the Late Model Stock division.

“The car was on rails,” Pulliam said in victory lane. “It definitely got through the corners really, really good today.”

While it appeared Pulliam was on cruise control, the victory was not without an interesting moment in the closing laps.

“The last 10 laps, the throttle started sticking,” Pulliam said. “I was having to pull it up off the floor with my foot. That was kind of interesting. Once we got through that, I had a good lead and I was able to take it easy from there.”

Meanwhile, Findley scored the win in the second feature, holding off Andrew Grady for his fourth win of the season.

Findley made a bold decision in the closing laps of the feature, electing to restart on the outside line with ten laps to go. The gamble paid off, as Findley held off Grady for the win.

“I figured he’d help me out, knowing that I had the faster car,” Findley said of allowing Grady to pull to his inside on the restart. “He did, thankfully. It gave us a chance to race for the win. We had to make some adjustments from the first race, and they paid off.”

With a pair of top-six finishes, Mason Diaz secured the Late Model Stock track championship. Diaz won five races at Southern National during his title run, joining the likes of Scott Riggs, Denny Hamlin, Jamey Caudill, and Deac McCaskill as SNMP Late Model track champions.

“I’ve got a great group of guys,” Diaz said while accepting the track championship. “Mike Darne Racing has given me good cars all year, I can’t thank them enough. Everybody here at the track has raced me smoothly all season.”

The results from both races can be viewed below.

LMSC Race 1

  1. Lee Pulliam
  2. Jonathan Findley
  3. Andrew Grady
  4. Rusty Daniels
  5. Paul Williamson
  6. Mason Diaz
  7. Thomas Chappel
  8. Stephen Ford
  9. Thomas Scott
  10. Garrett Bunch

LMSC Race 2

  1. Jonathan Findley
  2. Andrew Grady
  3. Lee Pulliam
  4. Rusty Daniels
  5. Mason Diaz
  6. Stephen Ford
  7. Thomas Chappel
  8. Thomas Scott
  9. Paul Williamson

Marquis comes from St. Charles, Maryland and has a widespread background in journalism, having covered politics in Washington and Maryland as well as nearly every form of auto racing, including NASCAR, IndyCar, AMA Motocross and IHRA Drag Racing. Now living near Emerald Isle, North Carolina, Marquis covers Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models in the Carolinas and Virginia.

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