By Gary Daughtrey
Special to the News-Herald

Mike Rudy notched his first two wins of the season with a sweep of the 4CDL.com/Thomas Nelson Community College Twin 25s for the KeesVacations.com Modifieds, the featured events of Saturday evening’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program at Langley Speedway.

In the opener, Rudy started on the pole and led flag-to-flag to snap Shawn Balluzzo’s three-race winning streak. While Rudy was dominant throughout the event, Robbie Babb and Anthony Kincaid each took a turn in the runner-up spot. Neither one could offer a challenge to the leader, however.

By the finish, Rudy had stretched his winning margin to nearly half a straightaway over Kincaid. Balluzzo was third, while Casey Wyatt and Todd VanGuilder completed the top five.

In the nightcap, Rudy again started on the pole and posted his second wire-to-wire run of the evening. Kincaid held down the runner-up spot until the restart following the only caution flag, at lap five. As the race resumed, Balluzzo, who chose to restart to the outside of Rudy, slipped into second.

Nearing the halfway mark, Rudy enjoyed a five-length advantage over Balluzzo. During the second half of the race, though, Balluzzo was able to narrow the gap. Balluzzo closed to within three lengths of Rudy’s rear bumper. At that point, however, his charge stalled.

At the checkered flag, Rudy was the winner by three lengths. Balluzzo was second, followed by Kincaid, who held off Wyatt for third. Babb rounded out the top five.