JACKSONVILLE, NC – Nathan Hall picked up his third win of the season, and his first since mid-April, in the Back to School Battle at New River All-American Speedway on Saturday night.
The Jacksonville racer, driving Eddie Humphrey’s car, was able to take advantage of a restart shortly after Dale Drum and Sammy Pacitti tangled battling for the lead. Drum’s car spun off the front bumper of Pacitti in a three-wide battle as the two drivers negotiated around a lapped car. When Pacitti was sent to the rear with Drum, it cleared the way for Hall and Charlie Mercer to battle for the lead – with Hall prevailing.
“I was scared for my life that whole race,” Hall said. “That’s Eddie’s racecar and I was more scared about tearing it up. I couldn’t hear him on the radio so I didn’t know if I broke out or not, or the other cars. I’ve missed it. My car’s been torn to pieces.”
Hunter Brown was able to race his way past Charlie Mercer to finish in the runner-up spot, while Mercer, Pacitti and Richard Smith rounded out the podium.
Mercer won later in the evening when the track held a trophy dash for the bottom points competitors.
Stony Point’s Tyler Chapman swept in the Charger division once again, with wins over Gator Williams in the first race and Mike Jones in the second feature. After the race, he and his father, Chris Chapman, dedicated the win to the late Marty Ward, a six-time champion at the historic Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. Ward passed away due to a heart attack a week prior while racing in a Southeast Super Truck Series race at Anderson Speedway.
“I want to dedicate this win to Marty Ward,” Tyler Chapman said. “I know my dad worked for him and were buddies. I wanted to dedicate that to him. I think he rode with us and gave us that one.”
Williams was challenging Chapman for the lead in the first race when the two drivers got together. Williams lifted to give Chapman a chance to hold on, which ultimately allowed Chapman to get away. Chapman thanked Williams for racing him clean in his postrace interview, while Williams noted that he races drivers how they race him and that Chapman had always raced him clean.
Kinston’s Josh Eubanks was victorious in the Champ Kart feature for the fifth time in 2023, holding off Brent Townsend, who made his New River All-American Speedway debut, and Ashley Keaton. Jacksonville’s Travis Miller was the overall winner in the Mini-Stock/U-CAR combined feature, while Richlands’ Cornell Williams won the U-CAR portion.
New River All-American Speedway will be going into hiatus for the remainder of August. Racing resumes on Saturday, September 2, with the Grand National Super Series and INEX Legends playoff semifinals as well as Late Models, Bandoleros, Bombers, and Champ Karts in the Furniture4Less Labor Day Classic.
The following week, on September 9, the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour will return to New River for the second-consecutive season for the Carolina 125 presented by Milam Construction Rentals. The CARS Tour features the biggest names in short track racing, including Carson Kvapil, Brenden Queen, Connor Hall, Mason Diaz, Bobby McCarty, Chad McCumbee, Andrew Grady, Mini Tyrrell, and much more.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook, follow @newriverswy on Twitter, or follow the track on Instagram.
Unofficial Results for 8/12/2023 at New River All-American Speedway – Jacksonville, NC
Bombers | 30 Laps | 00:11:03.122
1. 14-Nathan Hall; 2. 11-Timothy Brown; 3. 01-Charlie Mercer; 4. 44-Sam Pacitti; 5. 77-Richard Smith; 6. 83-Robert Drum; 7. 88-Dale Drum; 8. 4-Devin Axton; 9. 79-Dominic Baez; 10. 66-Ronnie Kropp; 11. 34-Michael Withrow; 12. 29U-Tyler Ubel; 13. 71-Chad Cunningham; 14. 97-Justin Brooks; 15. 81-Brian Gooden
Champ Kart | 20 Laps | 00:07:13.434
1. 28-Josh Eubanks; 2. 06-Brent Townsend; 3. 10-Ashley Keaton; 4. 011-Jacob Tingen; 5. 85-Jonah Lind; 6. 10M-Trey Massengill; 7. 18-Keith Webb; 8. 7X-Tripp Dail; 9. 30-Martin Grasso; 10. 01-Adam Riggs; 11. 1-Daniel Baker; 12. 5-Aaron Layden; 13. 55-Corey Lucas; 14. 18S-Carlton Sullivan; 15. 20-Herbert Keaton; 16. 127-Jimmie Whitehurst
Chargers – Race 1 | 20 Laps | 00:06:01.000
1. 51-Tyler Chapman; 2. 71-Gator Williams; 3. 18-Matthew Gurganus; 4. 6-Mike Jones; 5. (DNF) 51B-Gerald Benton
Chargers – Race 2 | 20 Laps | 00:06:01.070
1. 51-Tyler Chapman; 2. 6-Mike Jones; 3. (DNF) 51B-Gerald Benton; 4. (DNF) 71-Gator Williams; 5. (DNF) 18-Matthew Gurganus
Mini Stock | 25 Laps | 00:08:12.489
1. 99-Travis Miller; 2. 55-Randy Hewett; 3. 38-Joseph Bryant; 4. 03-Cornell Williams; 5. (DNF) 11-Abby Jolly; 6. (DNF) 22-Haiden Masterson-Thomas
