Jamaica, VA – The Modified Mafia Tour Shoot’ Em Up 30 feature became an instant classic as Chris Arnold of Matoaca, VA, used a little home-track magic to hold off Michael Altobelli of Saxton, PA, over the last 12 laps to score the $2500 victory at Virginia Motor Speedway.
“I have been trying for years to get a win in a special here at Virginia Motor Speedway; I can’t thank Michael Altobelli enough for racing me clean,” commented Chris Arnold in Virginia Is For Racing Lovers victory lane.
Micheal Altobelli and Chris Arnold led the field to green, with Arnold taking the lead out of turn 2. On lap 7 Austin Holcombe moved into second and began to close in on Arnold. Behind the leader Ty Norder, Taylor Cook, and Micheal Altobeill battled for third. A caution on lap 14 for a big wreck in turn 4 that involved six cars closed Holcombe on Arnold’s bumper. On the restart, Holcome would get under Arnold in turn 1, only to see Arnold use the high line to hold on to the lead.
On lap 15 the battle for the lead got three wide with Arnold, Holcombe, and Altobelli. A caution on lap 17 for debris would put the field nose to tail for the restart. On the restart, Altobelli got under Holcombe for second and closed on Arnold. On the next lap, Altobelli got inside Arnold in turn 2 and pulled door-to-door into turn 3. Coming out of turn 4, Altobelli pulled ahead by a bumper, taking the lead at the line.
Arnold would power back around Altobelli on the outside of turn one and two to retake the lead down the backstretch. Two laps later, Altobelli would look outside in turn 2, pulling up to Arnold’s door. Behind them, the battle for third between Holcombe and Taylor Cook heated up.
All eyes were on the race for the lead, with the fans on their feet as Arnold and Altobelli battled side-by-side in the corners with the laps winding down. With three to go, the leaders started working lapped traffic, with both drivers getting through without much hassle. On the final lap, Arnold had Altobelli on his bumper. The two barreled down the backstretch. Heading into turn 3, Altobelli made one last ditch at the win by driving it hard into the corner. Arnold would hold on to grab the win over Altobelli, Taylor Cook, and Ty Norder.
In the first Victory Lap Pro Late Model 15 lap feature, Corey Almond of Appomattox, VA, and Billy Hubbard of Cobbs Creek, VA, led the field to green, with Almond grabbing the lead out of turn 2. Almond paced the field for the first seven laps, with Davis Lipscombe of Mechanicsville, VA, closing in for the lead. On lap 7 Lipscombe began looking inside of Almond the lead. On lap 8, Lipscombe nipped Almond at the line by a bumper. The two race side-by-side all the way to turn 4, where Almond got caught behind a lap car, allowing Lipscombe to pull away. Over the final six laps, Almond would try to get back to the bumper of Lipscombe, but Lipscombe would hold his lead and go on to score his first win of the 2023 season. Rounding out the top five were Almond, Billy Hubbard, Nick Davis, and Ray Love, Jr.
“It’s taken me two years to get this car where I want it; it is a 2006 Rocket that I have cut up and re-welded this chassis to finally get it to victory lane,” commented Davis Lipscombe in Virginia Is For Racing Lovers victory lane.
An invert of four cars put Nick Davis of Millsboro, DE, on the pole for the second 15-lap feature. On the drop of the green flag, Davis jumped to the lead and began to pull away with Corey Almond in tow. Davis paced the first 11 laps with a comfortable lead over Almond. A caution on lap 12 closed Almond up on Davis’s bumper for a restart. On the restart, Davis had Almond to his outside for two corners until Davis pulled away and went on to score the win. Rounding out the top 5 were Almond, Davis Lipscombe, Ray Love, Jr., and Billy Hubbard.
“The car was just fantastic tonight; I could put it just about anywhere,” commented Nick Davis in victory lane.
In the Truckin Thunder Sportsman 25-lap feature, Bret Adkins of Saluda, VA, jumped to the lead on the drop of the green flag. Once out front, he only had to fend off one challenge from Tim Shelton before he went on to grab his second victory of 2023. Rounding out the top five were Tim Shelton, Steve Causey, Hunter Wright, and Davis Lipscombe.
In the Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Limited Stock 20 lap feature Brian Maxey jumped out to the lead with Trent Clemans and Raymond Harper in tow. Harper would grab the lead from Maxey with an outside move out of turn 4 on lap 4. On lap 10, Johnny Brooks would get to the inside of Harper, and the two raced side-by-side to the line, with Harper holding on to the lead. In turn 2, Brooks finally made the pass and went on to score the win, followed by Trent Clemans, Raymond Harper, Cory Bradley, and Brian Maxey.
The speedway will take next weekend off and return to racing on Saturday, August 19, to host week 9 of Dirt Series Championship weekly racing will also feature the Victory Lap Late Model, Truckin Thunder Sportsman, Budweiser Modified, and Collision One Limited Stock divisions in action.
Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a ½ mile dirt oval track located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA, and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA, in Jamaica, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland, and the Hampton Roads area.
Race fans can go to www.vamotorspeedway.com to view the complete schedule of Virginia Motor Speedway’s 2023 season, find detailed event information, get the latest news, and get complete ticket and camping information. In addition, fans can get social with Virginia Motor Speedway by following @vamotorspeedway on Twitter, clicking “Like” at www.facebook.com/VaMotorSpeedway , and on www.youtube.com/VaMotorSpeedway.
MEDIA CONTACT: DAVE SEAY (804) 758-1867 OR (804) 357-7223
RACE RESULTS FOR SHOOT’ EM UP 30 MODIFIED MAFIA TOUR, AUGUST 5, 2023:
Modified Mafia Tour A Main (30 laps): 1. 99W-Chris Arnold[2]; 2. 95-Michael Altobelli[1]; 3. 21-Taylor Cook[7]; 4. 8H-Austin Holcombe[4]; 5. 2T-Ty Norder[3]; 6. 6-Ryan Ayers[10]; 7. 90-Ray Kable[5]; 8. 18-Rick Hulson[11]; 9. 60-Jim Manka[9]; 10. 22-Donnie Levister[25]; 11. 7H-Josh Hughes[16]; 12. 11-Chase Butler[8]; 13. 55-Jason Sage[28]; 14. 21J-Curtis Mason[24]; 15. 10S-Tim Schulte[20]; 16. 84-Ryan Toole[14]; 17. 1ST-Bret Hamilton[17]; 18. 4-Doug Penny[21]; 19. 48-Lance Grady[18]; 20. 95J-Justin Cullum[13]; 21. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[15]; 22. 40-Brent Bordeaux[22]; 23. 814-Sam Lamborgini[23]; 24. 04-Kaleb Toole[19]; 25. 22E-Russell Erwin[6]; 26. 7D-TJ DeHaven[12]; 27. 47-Jimmy Jesmer[26]; 28. (DNS) 99-Cole Hilton
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Taylor Cook[1]; 2. 6-Ryan Ayers[2]; 3. 95J-Justin Cullum[3]; 4. 7H-Josh Hughes[5]; 5. 04-Kaleb Toole[4]; 6. 40-Brent Bordeaux[6]; 7. 22-Donnie Levister[7]; 8. 55-Jason Sage[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Chase Butler[1]; 2. 18-Rick Hulson[4]; 3. 84-Ryan Toole[3]; 4. 1ST-Bret Hamilton[5]; 5. 10S-Tim Schulte[7]; 6. 814-Sam Lamborgini[6]; 7. 47-Jimmy Jesmer[2]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 60-Jim Manka[2]; 2. 7D-TJ DeHaven[1]; 3. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[5]; 4. 48-Lance Grady[3]; 5. 4-Doug Penny[6]; 6. 21J-Curtis Mason[7]; 7. (DNS) 99-Cole Hilton
Climb To the Pole: 1. Micheal Altobelli, 2. Chris Arnold, 3. Ty Norder, 4. Austin Holcombe, 5. Ray Kable, 6. Russell Erwin.
Fast Qualifier: Michael Altobelli – 19.448 seconds
Complete Qualifying Results: 1. 95-Michael Altobelli, 00:19.448[21]; 2. 99W-Chris Arnold, 00:19.546[18]; 3. 8H-Austin Holcombe, 00:19.579[17]; 4. 90-Ray Kable, 00:19.589[7]; 5. 22E-Russell Erwin, 00:19.593[6]; 6. 2T-Ty Norder, 00:19.604[1]; 7. 21-Taylor Cook, 00:19.844[15]; 8. 11-Chase Butler, 00:19.846[10]; 9. 7D-TJ DeHaven, 00:19.882[22]; 10. 6-Ryan Ayers, 00:19.947[3]; 11. 47-Jimmy Jesmer, 00:19.950[9]; 12. 60-Jim Manka, 00:19.977[8]; 13. 95J-Justin Cullum, 00:20.076[25]; 14. 84-Ryan Toole, 00:20.085[28]; 15. 48-Lance Grady, 00:20.169[24]; 16. 04-Kaleb Toole, 00:20.242[20]; 17. 18-Rick Hulson, 00:20.266[11]; 18. 99-Cole Hilton, 00:20.298[5]; 19. 7H-Josh Hughes, 00:20.334[16]; 20. 1ST-Bret Hamilton, 00:20.336[2]; 21. 7+7-Jeff Solinger, 00:20.390[27]; 22. 40-Brent Bordeaux, 00:20.478[4]; 23. 814-Sam Lamborgini, 00:20.591[26]; 24. 4-Doug Penny, 00:20.703[14]; 25. 22-Donnie Levister, 00:21.178[23]; 26. 10S-Tim Schulte, 00:21.229[19]; 27. (DNS) 21J-Curtis Mason; 28. (DNS) 55-Jason Sage
Victory Lap Pro Late Models A Main 1 (15 laps): 1. 71-Davis Lipscombe[4]; 2. 29H-Corey Almond[1]; 3. 38B-Billy Hubbard[2]; 4. 92-Nick Davis[3]; 5. 38-Ray Love Jr[6]; 6. 01-Matt Glanden[5]; 7. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[8]; 8. 37-Bud Stinson[11]; 9. 11-Ed Pope III[13]; 10. 14C-Chuck Bowie[7]; 11. 10-Matt Ashworth[16]; 12. 7-Curtis Hughes[10]; 13. 28-Tyler Dettor[9]; 14. 45-William Baker[12]; 15. 51S-Garrett Donnell[14]; 16. 17-Colby Bradshaw[15]
Victory Lap Pro Late Models A Main 2 (15 laps): 1. 92-Nick Davis[1]; 2. 29H-Corey Almond[3]; 3. 71-Davis Lipscombe[4]; 4. 38-Ray Love Jr[5]; 5. 38B-Billy Hubbard[2]; 6. 37-Bud Stinson[8]; 7. 14C-Chuck Bowie[10]; 8. 01-Matt Glanden[6]; 9. 8-Jeremy Pilkerton[7]; 10. 11-Ed Pope III[9]; 11. 10-Matt Ashworth[11]; 12. 28-Tyler Dettor[13]; 13. 51S-Garrett Donnell[15]; 14. 45-William Baker[14]; 15. 17-Colby Bradshaw[16]; 16. 7-Curtis Hughes[12]
Fast Qualifier: Ray Love, Jr – 18.936 seconds
Truckin Thunder Sportsman (25 laps): 1. 16-Brett Adkins[3]; 2. 55-Tim Shelton[4]; 3. 9-Steve Causey[2]; 4. 00-Hunter Wright[5]; 5. 26-Davis Lipscombe[8]; 6. 23-Matt Meads[6]; 7. 101-Tony Breeden[7]; 8. 1-Blake Adkins[9]; 9. OU1-Dale Rhodes[10]; 10. 01-Adam Breeden[1]
Fast Qualifier: Tim Shelton – 21.492 seconds
Joe Hudson’s Collision Center Limited Stock Car (20 laps): 1. 7-Johnny Brooks[6]; 2. 01-Trent Clemans[5]; 3. 55-Raymond Harper[4]; 4. 41-Cory Bradley[7]; 5. 04-Brian Maxey[3]; 6. 9-Justin Pullen[2]; 7. 25-John Hankins Jr[11]; 8. 59-Jason Speelman[12]; 9. 6-Zac Elliott[9]; 10. 99-Hilton Pickeral[8]; 11. 39-Cole Johnston[10]; 12. 85-WL Johnston[13]; 13. 21-Jacob Buie[1]
Fast Qualifier: Johnny Brooks – 22.006 seconds – NEW DIVISION TRACK RECORD
