By Gary Daughtrey

Special to the News-Herald

Lee Pulliam took the lead for good on lap 181 and pulled away in the closing circuits to win the Eighth Annual Hampton Heat 200 for the ComServe/Verizon Wireless Late Model Stock Cars, the headliner of Saturday evening’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program at Langley Speedway.

Outside pole starter Tyler Hughes grabbed the lead as the race got under way. He was out front until lap 8 when Pulliam regained command. But Todd Gilliland, son of NASCAR Sprint Cup regular David Gilliland, edged ahead of Pulliam on a restart at lap 45.

Bunching for another restart, at lap 57, Gilliland suddenly stopped on the backstretch, then headed to the pits to replace a flat right-front tire. Gilliland’s misfortune returned Pulliam to the lead.

Back under green, at lap 59, Matt Waltz rocketed ahead of Pulliam to take the lead for the first time. Except for a restart at lap 87, when Brenden “Butterbean” Queen snuck ahead, Waltz led all the way to the break at the midpoint. With 103 laps on the board, the field headed to the pit lane for adjustments.

On the restart to begin the closing segment, Pulliam nosed ahead of Waltz on the backstretch. Queen moved up to join the battle, but he and Waltz tangled in Turn 4, sending Waltz for a spin and bringing out the eighth yellow flag. Reverting to the rundown at the ill-fated restart, Queen was placed in the lead, followed by C.E. Falk and Pulliam. As the race resumed, Pulliam, who had opted for the outside lane, powered ahead of Queen and took the lead for the fourth time. While Pulliam widened his advantage, Queen, Falk and Greg Edwards battled in his mirror. Edwards finally came out on top of that tussle, rooting past Falk to take second on lap 122. The race was slowed by caution flags on laps 127, 138, 144, 159 and 166 as the attrition list began to swell.

Finding the outside lane to his liking, Pulliam chose the high side for each restart and was able to hold Edwards at bay. Closing in on the finish, Edwards began to get a little more aggressive with the leader. On lap 180, he muscled Pulliam up the track in Turns 3 and 4 and snagged the top spot.

Pulliam returned the favor on the very next circuit, though, taking the lead for the fifth and final time. Looking for his fourth Hampton Heat 200 win, Falk scooted past Edwards on lap 182. Four laps later, though, Edwards bunted Falk aside and retook second.

Waltz, who had clambered back into contention, moved up to third. On lap 191, Waltz bypassed Edwards for second. With the laps dwindling down, though, he faced a half-straightaway gap between himself and the leader.

Waltz got to make up that ground when the last of the race’s 14 caution flags waved on lap 194 for Falk’s spin in Turn 2.

Once again, Pulliam picked the outside lane, ceding the inside groove to Waltz. Under green for the last time, Pulliam got an excellent restart, clearing Waltz before they reached Turn 1.

Over the final four laps, Pulliam gradually eased away, winning by 0.574-second — about three lengths — over Waltz. Edwards was third to the stripe, while Tyler Ankrum and Nick Smith completed the top five.

A review of the final statistics showed 11 lead changes among six drivers, and the 14 caution flags consumed 92 laps. Including a bonus for winning the pole, Pulliam pocketed over $10,000 for the victory.