LUCAMA, NC – Ryan Repko made the most of his Southern National Motorsports Park debut on Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon, by scoring wins each day of the weekend doubleheader.
Repko, 19, from Denver, North Carolina, drove past Wes Burton in the closing laps in the first of two Late Model Stock Car feature races on Saturday night. He backed that up in the opening act of Sunday’s racing program with another win after passing pole-sitter Bradley McCaskill in the early laps of the race.
“Reynolds Racing Chassis has me dialed in and the car’s been driving better than it ever has,” Repko told The Wilson Times. “Just hit on something here that’s been really good, and it’s worked everywhere. It means a lot to win, especially since this is my first time here. Southern National is one of those really well-respected racetracks where you know a lot of good people run and there were a lot of national championships in the field. It’s tough to win and I’m really proud of how this weekend went.”
The two wins over the weekend are the latest in an impressive season for Repko which was defined just a couple weeks ago by a win in a CARS Late Model Stock Tour race in Hickory, North Carolina.
“Hickory was a huge win,” Repko said. “Everybody good was there. There’s not much more that you can win other than a CARS Tour race. I mean, those are where all the best guys are.”
Repko held off Wes Burton and Carteret County (NC) Speedway champion Brandon Clements in his triumph on Saturday. On Sunday, multi-time Southern National feature winner Bradley McCaskill finished runner-up to him while former ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner Mike Looney finished third.
Saturday night’s second Late Model feature was won by Myrtle Beach (SC) competitor Brian Vause while Bradley McCaskill was victorious in Sunday’s second act.
McCaskill’s victory was a hard fought one in a race that came down to the wire.
2017 track champion Mason Diaz, who stepped in for an ill Ronald Renfrow at the last minute on Saturday, started on the pole after an eight-car invert and dominated for much of the race. However, the handling on Diaz’s car faded in the final few laps of the race, allowing McCaskill to take the lead – and the win.
The Mini-Stock division produced two local winners. Ronnie “Buckshot” Jones of Kenly picked up the win in Saturday’s Mini-Stock feature while Lucama’s Joseph Pittman was victory on Sunday. Clayton’s Carter Langley swept the weekend’s Charger features, Cameron Murray of Fuquay-Varina swept in Bandolero competition over his younger sister, Olivia, and won Sunday’s Legends race, while Burlington’s Kade Lambert scored a victory on Saturday.
The 2019 season at Southern National Motorsports Park will resume on Saturday, August 31st with twin races for the Late Model Stock Car division as well as racing for Chargers, Mini-Stocks, Legends, Bandoleros, Any Cars, and the Southern Ground Pounder Vintage Racing Club.
