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Navy Yard Credit Union/RaceWorld.com Night

CAPRON, Va. (Aug. 17) — Brandon Butler of Richmond, Va., rolled to his third straight win and sixth overall in the 100-lap Late Model Stock Car portion of Friday’s NASCAR Weekly Racing Series program, presented by Navy Yard Credit Union and RaceWorld.com, at Southampton Motor Speedway.

Butler was fastest in time trials, at 95.377 mph, then pulled No. 1 in a redraw among the top-six qualifiers to claim the pole for the event. He shared the front row with Jamey Caudill of Four Oaks, N.C., who turned in the fourth-quickest qualifying lap.

As the race got under way, Butler leaped into the lead, while Caudill settled into second place. Bud Kenny of Virginia Beach, Va., and Frank Deiny Jr. of Mechanicsville, Va., went door-to-door for third with Deiny taking the position on lap 3, a lap before the first caution flag flew.

On the restart, Doug Godsey of Richmond slipped by Kenny for fourth, bringing Eric Sartin of Kermit, W.Va., along with him. Kenny regained fifth from Sartin on lap 12 with Phil Warren of Norfolk, Va., following on his rear bumper.

The second yellow flag appeared on lap 14. Lining up for the restart, Butler, Caudill, Deiny, Godsey and Kenny made up the top five.

Back under green, Butler bolted to a four-car-length advantage as Deiny went to work on Caudill, eventually taking the runner-up spot on lap 19 and opening the door for Godsey and Kenny, who also slipped by Caudill. Warren moved past on lap 25 and dropped Caudill from the top five.

Continuing his march toward the front, Warren grabbed fourth from Kenny on lap 31 and motored around Godsey for third on lap 38.

Meanwhile, at the head of the procession, Butler began to encounter traffic. As he dealt with the slower cars, Deiny closed in, narrowing Butler’s lead to three car-lengths.

The green-flag run ended on lap 86 when the third caution flag flew. The fourth and final yellow flag was unfurled on lap 92, setting up a dash to the checkers. The lead-lap cars were positioned at the front for the last restart.

Under green for the final time, Butler drove away as Warren moved up to challenge Deiny for second. On laps 95 and 96, Warren tried to muscle to Deiny’s inside, only to have Deiny fight him off. Warren finally forced his way under Deiny on lap 99 and the two went side-by-side for the final circuit.

With Warren and Deiny jousting in his mirror, Butler enjoyed a leisurely cruise to the checkered flag, winning by 1.753 seconds — about half a straightaway.

Deiny won the race for second, edging Warren by half a car-length at the line. Godsey was fourth, while Mike Shearin of Emporia, Va., slipped by Caudill on lap 98 and came home fifth.

In Victory Lane following the event, Butler was cognizant of his good fortune in the redraw: “Ol’ Lady Luck was on our side tonight. We redrew the pole. Both Phil and Frank had a great car. I was glad to see that caution (at the end). I’m sure they weren’t. Frank was gonna give us all we wanted, I believe. He was mighty good.”

For his part, runner-up Deiny agreed with Butler’s assessment: “We really didn’t need to see that last caution. That last caution hurt us real bad. I felt like we had something for Brandon and, then, all of a sudden, that caution comes out and, then, we barely had something for Phil.”

Warren, who was third-fastest in qualifying, but started sixth after the redraw, was bitterly disappointed with his third-place outing: “I really think we had the car to win and I really can’t say that I like the draw thing. We came down here with a chance to win and I think we had the car to win and, by virtue of the draw, we started sixth instead of third, where we should have started, and I think it cost us the race.”

In the division standings, Butler added six points to his lead over Godsey. He now holds a 22-point advantage, 694-672.

Navy Yard Credit Union/RaceWorld.com Night

   LATE MODEL STOCK CARS - 100 laps

1.  Brandon Butler - Richmond, Va., 100
2.  Frank Deiny Jr. - Mechanicsville, Va., 100
3.  Phil Warren - Norfolk, Va., 100
4.  Doug Godsey - Richmond, Va., 100
5.  Mike Shearin - Emporia, Va., 100
6.  Jamey Caudill - Four Oaks, N.C., 100
7.  Bud Kenny - Virginia Beach, Va., 100
8.  Jim Williams - Chesapeake, Va., 99
9.  Buck Godsey - Richmond, Va., 99
10. Jimmy Adkins - Chesapeake, Va., 99
11. Andy Bell - Norfolk, Va., 99
12. Eric Sartin - Kermit, W.Va., 99
13. Max Smith - Roanoke Rapids, N.C., 98
14. Mike Conner - Gloucester, Va., 97
15. Terry Allison - South Mills, N.C., 90
16. Ty Miller - Mineral, Va., 23
17. Robbie Babb - Chesapeake, Va., 13
18. Duane Shreeves - Chesapeake, Va., 5
• Pole: Butler - 95.377 mph.
• Hard Charger Award: Shearin.
• Hard Luck Award: Babb.