ACC Bowl Schedule 2017

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 15, 2017
@ACCFootball

— courtesy theacc.com

Weekly Football Release: https://theacc.co/fb17rel
ACC Football Media Guide: https://theacc.co/fb17guide

ACC Bowl Schedule

Dec. 26
Quick Lane Bowl: Duke (6-6) vs. Northern Illinois (8-4), 5:15 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 27
Walk-On’s Independence Bowl: Florida State (6-6) vs. Southern Miss (8-4), 1:30 p.m., ESPN
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College (7-5) vs. Iowa (7-5), 5:15 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 28
Military Bowl presented by Northrup Grumman: Virginia (6-6) vs. Navy (6-6), 1:30 p.m., ESPN
Camping World Bowl: Virginia Tech (9-3) vs. Oklahoma State (9-3), 5:15 p.m., ESPN

Dec. 29
Belk Bowl: Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (7-5), 1 p.m., ESPN
Hyundai Sun Bowl: NC State (8-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5), 3 p.m., CBS

Dec. 30
TaxSlayer Bowl: Louisville (8-4) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), Noon, ESPN
Capital One Orange Bowl: Wisconsin (12-1) vs. Miami (10-2), 8 p.m., ESPN

Jan. 1
Citrus Bowl presented by Overton’s: Notre Dame (9-3) vs. LSU (9-3), 1 p.m., ABC
CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl: Clemson (12-1) vs. Alabama (11-1), 8:45 p.m., ESPN

ACC Football Notes

  • Clemson Ranked No. 1, Returns to CFP: The ACC Champion Clemson Tigers (12-1) are No. 1 in the CFP rankings and will face No. 4 Alabama (11-1) in the CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 1. It marks the third-consecutive year Clemson has faced the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff. If the Tigers advance past Alabama this year, they will face No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1) or No. 3 Georgia (12-1) for the CFP National Championship at 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Tigers are looking to become the first team to repeat as national champions since Alabama in 2011 and 2012.

 

  • Orange Success: ACC Coastal Division champion and 10th-ranked Miami (10-2) will face No. 6 Wisconsin (12-1) in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m. (ESPN). It will be the 41st bowl appearance for the Hurricanes, who own a 20-20 record in their previous postseason games. Miami will be playing in the Orange Bowl for the 10th time, and the first since 2004. The Hurricanes own a 6-3 record in their previous appearances. The ACC has won five consecutive Orange Bowl games, the longest streak by any conference in 73 years.

 

  • ACC Earns Nation’s Best 10 Bowl Bids: Led by defending national champion Clemson, the ACC secured 10 spots in the 2017 postseason bowl lineup – the most of any conference. Over the last two years, the ACC has had 21 teams in bowl games. This marks the 17th consecutive year that at least six ACC teams are in a bowl game. The ACC ranks second among all conferences with 116 total bowl bids since 2005.

 

  • The Last Five Years: Since 2013, the ACC has made 54 postseason appearances (second-most among Power 5 conferences), has the most wins (7) of any conference in BCS, New Year’s Six and CFP games, and has captured the most national championships (Florida State in 2013, Clemson in 2016).

 

  • Bowl Streaks: A pair of ACC schools – Florida State and Virginia Tech – will continue the two longest current Division I bowl streaks in the nation. FSU is in a bowl game for the 36th-straight year and will face Southern Miss in the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl on Dec. 27. Virginia Tech, which has the longest streak recognized by the NCAA, will play in its 25th-straight bowl when the 22nd-ranked Hokies take on No. 19 Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl on Dec. 28.

 

  • BCS/NYE6/CFP Success: Since 2012, no other conference has been as successful on the biggest stage as the ACC. During that time, the league is 8-3 (.727) in BCS, New Year’s Six and CFP games. The only other Power 5 conference with a winning record in those games entering this year’s bowl season is the Pac-12 with a 5-4 mark (.556)

 

  • Bowling the Last Two Years: Thirteen of 14 ACC teams have earned an invitation to a postseason bowl game over the last two seasons. Over the last four years, every ACC team has enjoyed a trip to a bowl game and the league has made 43 postseason appearances.

 

  • Swinney Becomes Fourth ACC Head Coach to Win 100 Games: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney became just the fourth head coach to win 100 games while coaching in the ACC, when his Tigers defeated South Carolina 34-10 on Nov. 25. Swinney joined Bobby Bowden (173) of Florida State, George Welsh (136) of Virginia and Frank Beamer (113) of Virginia Tech, who each had at least 100 wins as ACC head coaches.

 

  • Seven ACC Coaches Rank Among the Top 25 Active Head Coaches in Career Victories: The ACC has seven of the Top 25 active coaches nationally in career victories – all of them with 100 or more – which is by far the most of any conference. The next closest league has four coaches in the top 25. Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson is in fourth place with 182 wins. He is followed by Miami’s Mark Richt, who is eighth with 164 wins, Louisville’s Bobby Petrino is 17th with 116, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson is tied for 21st (110), Virginia’s Bronco Mendenhall is 23rd (107), Duke’s David Cutcliffe is 24th (102) and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is 25th (101).

 

  • Winning 10: Clemson has won 10 or more games in each of the last seven years. The Tigers and Alabama are the only two teams that currently have active streaks of seven or more years with double-figure victories.

 

  • NC State’s Bradley Chubb Becomes Fourth ACC Player in Eight Years to win the Nagurski Trophy: NC State DE Bradley Chubb was named the winner of this year’s Bronko Nargurski Trophy, given annually by the FWAA to the nation’s defensive player of the year. Chubb becomes the fourth ACC player in eight years to win the Trophy, joining Da’Quan Bowers of Clemson (2010), Luke Kuechly of Boston College (2011) and Aaron Donald of Pitt (2014). He is also the eighth player from a current ACC school to win the honor. Chubb is second nationally in tackles for loss per game (2.2) and eighth in sacks per game (0.83).

 

  • ACC Has Won Five Straight in the OB: When No. 10 Miami faces No. 6 Wisconsin in this year’s Capital One Orange Bowl, the Hurricanes will be seeking to extend a streak of five consecutive wins by ACC teams. The streak is the longest in Orange Bowl history since the SEC won seven straight from 1938-44 (73 years ago). One of those wins was by Georgia Tech, then a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Great Season for South Granville Football

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— by Jeff Jenkins, WIZS

The 2017 football season ended for the Northern Carolina Conference last Friday night with South Granville’s only loss of the season — a 35-19 disappointment to North Davidson in the 3rd round of the 2AA East playoffs. The number 3 seeded Vikings had successfully continued their bulldozing running attack into the playoffs until they finally met up with the #2 seed Knights — a former 4A team that had the right (or wrong) combination of tough defense and balanced offense. The Knight defense limited the Viking runners, especially in the second half, and accounted for one touchdown on a pick 6 interception, and South Granville’s mostly run-oriented defense gave up two touchdown passes to ND’s veteran QB and his stable of experienced receivers.

And so the curtain comes down on another local high school football season, but we at WIZS congratulate the Vikings for their 13-1 overall finish, and their perfect 8-0 NCC 2A championship season ! We also wish coach Hobgood a full recovery from the heart issue that sidelined him (briefly) during the latter part of this season.

South Granville (@SGHSVikingFB) at North Davidson

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— by Jeff Jenkins, WIZS

Friday, November 24, 2017 — South Granville is still alive in the 2AA East bracket of the playoffs, after defeating outclassed West Craven in Creedmoor last Friday night by a lopsided 50-12 final score. Meanwhile, 1A Granville Central was soundly trounced in its playoff game 45-0, leaving the Vikings the lone team to carry the Northern Carolina Conference banner into the third round.

With basically two warmup playoff games behind them, the #3 seed Vikings (13-0) will give up home field advantage this Friday when they square off against #2 seed North Davidson (12-1) in Lexington – about a 150-mile trip (one-way) for South Granville’s team and their fans. This game will be the toughest test of the season for both teams, and the winner will play for the 2AA east regional championship on December 1 against either #1 East Duplin or #4 Randleman (which eliminated Roanoke Rapids in the opening round).

The Knights of North Davidson won their first playoff match 52-18 over the #15 seed, and then barely avoided an upset loss to #7 seed with a 17-10 squeaker. Matching up very closely on paper with the Vikings, the Knights are a true “football school,” with a huge (for 2A) 76-man roster. They won their Central Carolina 2A title with a perfect 8-0 record (like South Granville). They average scoring 41 points per game (to the Vikings’ 43), and their defense allows 8.2 points per game (even better than the Vikings’ 8.9). ND’s running game is highly effective (like SG’s), but is pretty much a 1-man show: Senior RB T. J. Boyce (5-11, 190 lb) leads the conference with 2000 yards on the season, 32 rushing TDs and 206 total points. SG has their own dominant runner in Allajah Mitchell (1700 yards, 26 TDs), BUT the Vikings have at least three other experienced and effective runners, including QB Tucker Brown, who ran for 4 TD’s last week to raise his total to 14 on the ground.

The major difference is in the passing game, and this could determine the outcome. Unlike South Granville, the Knights gain almost as many yards per game through the air as on the ground, and their QB has over 1800 yards passing on the season for 21 TD’s. By contrast, because the Vikings’ rushing attack has been so consistent and dominant, QB Brown has thrown for under 500 yards and just 6 touchdowns. This should be a great game between two real champions — it’s a shame it is not closer to home.

Top Trio Signs with Duke Basketball

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— courtesy Duke Sports Information and GoDuke.com

November 16, 2017

Complete Release

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke head men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski announced the signing of three student-athletes during the early signing period.

R.J. Barrett, Tre Jones and Cam Reddish will enter the Duke program in 2018-19. Each of the three incoming Blue Devils is rated by ESPN as a five-star recruit and ranked among the 10 best overall prospects in the nation.

It is the second consecutive season that Duke has landed ESPN’s No. 1-ranked recruit, as Barrett’s signing this season follows Marvin Bagley III last year.

For comments from Coach K on each of Duke’s early signees, click the GoDuke.com links below or visit the @DukeMBB social media platforms.

R.J. Barrett | Video

6-7 // 200 // Mississauga, Ontario, Canada // Montverde Academy (Fla.)

  • A five-star recruit ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2018 by ESPN
  • Rated as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class by Rivals.com
  • Ranked No. 1 overall in the 2018 recruiting class by Scout.com
  • Ranked No. 1 overall in the 2018 24/7 Sports composite list
  • Reclassified from the Class of 2019 to 2018 this past summer
  • Averaged 21.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game as Canada won a gold medal at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup
  • Had 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in Canada’s 99-87 semifinal win over the United States at the FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup
  • Led the 2017 Nike EYBL circuit in scoring, averaging 28.0 points along with 10.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the UPlay Canada team
  • Earned Most Valuable Player Honors the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic International Game after tallying 22 points and eight assists in the game
  • Averaged 18.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists while helping Canada finish in fifth at the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships
  • Averaged 14.6 points to lead Canada to a silver medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 Championships
  • Narrowed his list to Duke, Kentucky and Oregon before signing with the Blue Devils

Tre Jones | Video

6-1 // 175 // Apple Valley, Minn. // Apple Valley

  • A five-star recruit ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 1 point guard in the class of 2018 by ESPN
  • Rated as the No. 7 overall prospect and the No. 3 guard in the class by Rivals.com
  • Ranked No. 6 overall and the No. 1 rated point guard in the 2018 recruiting class by Scout.com
  • Ranked No. 6 overall in the 2018 24/7 Sports composite list
  • The 2016-17 Gatorade Player of the Year in Minnesota (his brother Tyus earned the honor in 2014)
  • Helped Apple Valley capture the 2015 and 2017 Minnesota 4A State title
  • Put up 24 points, 18 rebounds and five assists in the state final to propel Apple Valley to the championship
  • Averaged 20.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists on the Nike EYBL circuit in 2017 for the Howard Pulley AAU program
  • Averaged 23.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 7.5 assists for Apple Valley during the 2016-17 season
  • Younger brother of Tyus Jones, who led Duke to the 2015 NCAA Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four that year
  • Selected Duke over UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Minnesota and Oregon

Cam Reddish | Video

6-7 // 203 // Norristown, Pa. // Westtown School

  • A five-star recruit ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect and No. 2 small forward in the class of 2018 by ESPN
  • Rated as the No. 4 overall prospect and No. 3 forward in the class by Rivals.com
  • Ranked No. 4 overall and the No. 2 small forward in the 2018 recruiting class by Scout.com
  • Ranked No. 4 overall in the 2018 24/7 Sports composite list
  • Helped the United States earn a bronze medal at the 2017 FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
  • Averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds while leading the Team USA with 12 steals in seven games at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup.
  • Class 3A Pennsylvania First Team All-State
  • Averaged 16.2 points per game in helping Westtown School win the 2017 Friends’ School League Championship.
  • Averaged 23.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks on the Nike EYBL Circuit in 2017 for the Team Final AAU Program.
  • Selected Duke over Connecticut, Kentucky, Villanova and UCLA.

#GoDuke

Duke Voice Bob Harris ACC Legend

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— Information courtesy of the Atlantic Coast Conference and theacc.com

Full Press Release

Bob Harris, Broadcaster, Duke (1976-2017) – The first full-time broadcaster to be recognized as an ACC Football Legend, Harris retired last spring after more than four decades as “The Voice of the Blue Devils,” providing football and basketball play-by-play to radio listeners. The Albemarle, North Carolina, native is a four-time recipient of the North Carolina Broadcaster of the Year honor from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Harris is also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 2006) and the Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame (1993). In 2009, he was honored with the ACC’s prestigious Skeeter Francis Award, which is presented annually to individuals for distinguished service to the league. In 2016, Harris received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, an honor conferred by the Governor of North Carolina for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and its communities.

West Craven @SGHSVikingFB (South Granville)

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— by Jeff Jenkins, WIZS

West Craven at South Granville — Friday, November 16, 2017

Looking very much like a Team of Destiny, the undefeated Vikings of South Granville started their 2AA playoff run last Friday with a 41-21 victory over Washington County in Creedmoor. Washington was the #14 seed in the 2AA East bracket, with an overall regular season record of only 4-7; but to their credit, the 21 points they scored on the Vikings was 2.5 times the average points allowed by South Granville per game this season, and they held the Vikings to 8 points for the entire second and third quarters. But South Granville scored 20 points in the final quarter to put the game away, gaining 503 total yards in the process, with 446 of those yards on the ground from scrimmage.

This Friday, the #3 seed Vikings will keep the home field advantage when they face the #6 seed, West Craven. The visiting Eagles, from Vanceboro (just north of New Bern) are in the same conference as Washington, the Eastern Carolina 2A, and will have about a 300 mile round trip tonight. The Eagles finished the regular season 6-5 overall, but took their league championship with a 5-1 conference record and a 25-23 upset win over Kinston, which finished 9-3 on the season after losing their first round playoff game last week. West Craven scored 47 points in their regular season win over Washington, but they averaged only 24 points per game on offense on the season as a whole, including last week’s 28-7 opening round win over Richlands. The Eagle defense has allowed 23 points per game, revealing a weakness on defense that South Granville will try to exploit with their bruising ground game.

So tonight will be a battle of two conference champions, and the South Granville Vikings should keep that in mind. However, that is about all these teams seem to have in common, since, South Granville is 12-0 on the season, averages scoring 43 points per game, and allows their opponent to score under 9 points per outing.

High School Football Recap and Playoffs

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— by Jeff Jenkins

Following a close 20-14 Optimist Bowl victory over Northern Vance last Friday night, Southern Vance finished the 2017 football season with a 6-5 overall record — the Raiders’ first winning season since 2011 ! Although the Raiders’ 5-3 Northern Carolina 2A Conference record was not quite good enough for a playoff berth, first year head Darry Ragland and his team hope to carry some momentum into the offseason, with plans to rebuild around a crop of young players who will return without their senior leaders: QB Elijah Stewart, WR Kyree Ford, RB Tyrese Henderson, and wounded warrior Zamari Ellis, who missed the entire season with a foot injury.

Meanwhile over at Northern Vance, first year head coach Antwain Cook and his Vikings will remember the 2017 season as one of mostly disappointments, but with evidence of better things to come. Their offense, which had to completely regroup after Elijah Stewart and Kyree Ford transferred to Southern Vance, was shut out in 3 of their first 4 games, but improved over the last two-thirds of the season, scoring points against Warren County, Roanoke Rapids, and Bunn, and collecting their two wins against Louisburg (17-14) and Webb (33-13). Almost as sweet as another win, the Vikings led Southern Vance 14-0 at the half of last week’s Optimist Bowl, and the outcome was closer than most anyone predicted!

AND NOW the playoffs begin, with undisputed Northern Carolina 2A Conference champs South Granville (11-0) seeded #3 in the 2AA East, Bunn (8-3) at #8, and Roanoke Rapids at #13. Granville Central, only 5-6 overall, but the NCC’s 1A champs (via their win over Louisburg) is seeded #4 in the 1AA East and has a Bye this Friday, while all three 2A teams play their first round this Friday.

Check out this same spot on the Web next week for a report on which NCC teams survive the first round.

VGCC announces 2017-18 Vanguards Basketball schedule

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— courtesy VGCC

Click Here for Full Schedule

The Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards men’s basketball team is scheduled to play at least 28 games during the 2017-2018 season, including 11 home games. This is the program’s second season under the leadership of head coach DeMarcus Oliver.

The Vanguards compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II, which includes 11 two-year colleges in North Carolina and Virginia.

For VGCC, the regular season starts with a visit on Nov. 8 to Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C., to play the Falcons’ JV squad. The Vanguards’ first opponent at home will be Patrick Henry Community College, on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. All of VGCC’s home games are scheduled to be played at Aycock Recreation Center in Henderson. There is no charge for admission.

The second home game, on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., will be the annual “Vanguard Night” game. VGCC will host Wake Tech Community College in that contest, which features special activities and attracts a large crowd of students, faculty and staff.

For the third straight year, VGCC will travel to the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill to play the UNC Tar Heels JV squad. That game is scheduled to take place Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. Last season, the Vanguards defeated the Tar Heels for the first time.

The regular season is scheduled to conclude on Feb. 24, with VGCC’s final scheduled game on the road at Guilford Technical Community College. After the regular season ends, the Vanguards are scheduled to participate in the NJCAA Division II Region X tournament. The first two rounds of the tournament are to be played at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Va., on March 3-4. The semifinals and finals will follow at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, on March 9-10.

For more information, contact VGCC Coordinator of Student Activities & Athletics Jermiel Hargrove at (252) 738-3246 or hargrovej@vgcc.edu.

–VGCC–

(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)

@NorthernVanceFB @SVHS_Athletics

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It’s the big game, the Optimist Bowl, and you need to be there in person at Southern Vance High School.  Like and share on Facebook, Tweet your friends, bring a neighbor.  And, if you can’t make it to the game, be sure to listen live on 1450 AM WIZS and online at wizs.com.  Click on Listen Live!

Pregame show at 6:45 p.m. and the kickoff follows at 7 p.m.

Scouting Report by Jeff Jenkins

Northern Vance at Southern Vance — Friday 11/3/2017

Friday’s Optimist Bowl will feature the leading passer in the Northern Carolina 1A/2A Conference, Southern Vance’s Elijah Stewart (1999 yards), and the league’s leading receiver, Raider WR Kyree Ford (692 yards). On top of that, Southern RB Tyrese Henderson is number 2 in rushing yardage (1065), Number 5 in total TDs (12), and number 4 in total points scored (80). Raider DB Malik Boyd has 4 interceptions – good enough for 3rd in the conference. With an even 5-5 overall record, and a 4-3 winning record in the conference (currently 5th place), a win tonight for Southern Vance will probably not lift them into the playoffs, but a Raider victory would result in an overall winning record for the first time since 2011, as well as taking the Optimist trophy back from the Vikings, who won the match-up 27-6 last year.

Northern Vance pales in comparison to these impressive stats: The Vikings and new head coach Antwain Cook had a difficult time overcoming the loss of Stewart and Ford, who both transferred to Southern Vance when former Viking offensive coordinator Darry Ragland took the Raider head coach position. Northern’s Coach Cook, who was the defensive coordinator for Northern before his promotion to the top job, did not find a consistent quarterback until sophomore Samien Burell took over the signal calling and the Vikings began to avoid shutouts (they failed to score in 3 of their first 4 games). Northern got their first victory in week 7 over 1A conference member Louisburg, failed to defeat the other 1A member Granville Central the next week , but then caught fire last week for their second win, a 33-13 thrashing of J. F. Webb in Oxford. This surge of offense is great for the 2-8 (2-5) Vikings, but it remains to be seen whether it will be too little / too late against the Raiders. Both teams allow opponents an average of 28 points per game, but Southern scores 30 per game, while Northern has averaged just under 10 points per game.

In the past 10 years, this rivalry has been pretty close: Southern Vance holds a 6-4 lead in the series for that period, but Northern has the largest margin of victory with a 42-0 victory in 2008. Since 2013, the teams are locked at 2-2, with Northern holding the trophy from last year’s victory.

Back-to-Back South Boston Speedway Championships Was Tougher Than Layne Expected

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— courtesy South Boston Speedway by Mike Smith

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (October 30, 2017) – Johnny Layne coasted to his first track championship in 2016 behind a whopping seven wins. His second championship … well it was a little more difficult.

Layne claimed the 2017 South Boston Speedway Budweiser Pure Stock championship for back-to-back titles. This season’s win total? One. Last year’s point margin? Ninety points. This year’s championship margin? Seven. But in the end, the margin means little. What means a lot to Layne is that he captured back-to-back championships”

“That was my thing this year, to go for the championship again,” said Layne. “I wanted to win back-to-back.”

He admits, though, he thought it would be a little easier.

“We were surprised that last year didn’t help us this year,” Layne said, referring to the seven wins in 2016. “The competition was different this year. It was better. Last year was easier. This year we only had one win. But it meant more this year because of the competition.”

Layne said he and his team had a difficult time adapting to the new racing surface at South Boston Speedway this season.

“It was a surprise how tough it was for us this season. Everybody picked up a lot (of speed) on the new pavement and us not much,” said Layne.

“It was like the new track came to them and not to us. It definitely had us scratching our heads and finally we figured out the car was tight with the new track. Once we figured that, then we took off.”

Layne was also hampered by early-season engine issues.

“I had some motor problems that put us behind. It was a new motor, but we still had problems with it,” said Layne.

Once the motor issues were solved, Layne knew the only way he would be able to race his way back into the championship picture was to make the most of South Boston’s passing points system, which allows drivers to drop to the rear of the field at the start of a race and pick up additional points for each car passed.

“I went to the rear in a lot of the races to get extra points to catch up. It was tough at times,” he said.

In the final race of the season Layne was trying to get his second win of the year when he was involved in a final-lap wreck on the front stretch.

“In the last race when we figured that I had enough points to win (the championship) I tried to pass for the lead on the last lap and it didn’t come out my way,” said Layne, whose sponsors include Mills Tree Service, McBride’s Designs, Liberty Mini-Market, Hershberger Home Improvement and Wilborn Brothers Auto Repair. “I spun and backed it into the retaining wall. I had about 20 feet to go (to the start-finish line. I just made it go that far before it stopped.”

Layne isn’t exactly sure what he’s going to be doing in 2018, but don’t be surprised by another repeat performance.

“We actually have some sponsors that say they want me to go for a third championship in a row,” Layne said. “I don’t know that anyone has ever done that in Pure Stock before.”

South Boston’s 61st season will open on Saturday, March 24 with twin 100-lap races for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Division, a 50-lap Limited Sportsman event, a 30-lap Pure Stock race and a 15-lap Hornets race.

For the full 2018 South Boston Speedway schedule, visit www.southbostonspeedway.com.

(South Boston Speedway is an advertising client of WIZS.)