ROCKINGHAM — Sergio Pena has a chance to sweep the inaugural season of Rockingham Speedway’s Crown 9 Champion Series this weekend — if he can remain at the front of the pack.
Pena, a veteran driver and driving instructor from Virginia, has won the previous two races and sits 10 points ahead of Mark Dysart in the standings.
Pena’s experience behind the wheel started with go-karts as a kid, to coming in 8th in the 2012 K&N Pro Series race at the Rock.
However, Dysart is looking to put an end to Pena’s streak.
Wisconsin-born and Illinois-raised, Dysart — who now lives in Aberdeen — has years of seat time himself, running regional road races from 1987-1996, before switching gears to dirt-track racing, with more than a dozen second-place finishes in the past few years, including the Crown 9 series.
“The work has been put in, the Vic is ready,” Dysart told the RO on Wednesday. “Our team is hunting that elusive W. I plan to do everything I can to make that happen.”
Dysart stayed on Pena’s bumper for much of the second race in September, even leading until Pena was able to edge to the front after one of several cautions.
The first two races of the year had the same results for the top three finishers: Pena, Dysart and Doug Horn.
Click here to read about Race 1.
Click here to read about Race 2.
After an impressive showing in the second race, Gaskins Motorsports will have two entries for the final round.
Derick Gaskins, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, will be joining the field now that the season has ended for MB Drift. He finished the year tied for seventh place.
Gaskins, who has been driving in the MB Drift series since it moved to the Rock in 2021, is hanging up the keys to his C5 Corvette and slipping behind the wheel of a Crown Victoria.
The car was destroyed in a hail storm and was given to the team by a friend, Gaskins said.
“I put a battery in it and drove it out of the junkyard,” he told the RO on Monday. After getting it back to the shop, the car was outfitted with a roll cage and has been repainted.
Gaskins’ father, Steve “Smokey” Gaskins, held third place for much of the second round until he spun out coming out of the first turn and was hit by local driver Eli “Otis” Russell, blowing a tire.
However, they were able to get another tire on the rim and “Smokey” Gaskins still finished the race.
Russell and Andy Cooke will again be behind the wheel of the No. 45 and No. 65 cars, respectively, for the Cooke Boys Septic Services team.
Driving for the Franklin’s Rod Shop team will be Alex Bradley again in the No. 13 car and Eric Sutton, owner of EHS Racing down the street from the track. Sutton was originally slated to drive in the October race, which was canceled.
Steven Franklin, who drove in the No. 13 car in the first race, said the team is “gonna be in full swing for next season.”
Jon Morton, who has been battling for position with Horn in the other races, sits in fourth place in the points, followed by Bradley and Russell. (Points go to the car, not the driver.)
“Smokey” Gaskins and Cooke, along with Robert Diaz and Kaleb Brown are farther down on the leaderboard since they’ve only each competed in one race — Diaz in the first, Cooke, Gaskins and Brown in the second.
Payouts for the final race are: $3,500 for first place; $2,500 for second; $1,500 for third; $700 for fourth; $600 for fifth; $400 for sixth; and $200 each for those finishing seventh-10th.
Gates open at 9 a.m. with the first 15-lap heat starting at 1:30 p.m. The second heat will follow at 3 p.m. and the final lap at 4:15 p.m., followed by the awards at 5:15 p.m.
Warriors In Motion will be offering paid ride-alongs from 2-3 p.m.
The schedule for the 2025 season, which will feature nine races, will be announced on Saturday.
After the race will be the second annual Hops and Hot Rods event hosted by Richmond County Economic Development.
The craft beer festival, which was started last year when the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce announced it would no longer organize Hoptoberfest, will include free wings and samples from the following breweries:
- Southern Pines Brewing Company
- Hatchet Brewing Company
- Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom
- Gaston Brewing Taproom
- Red Oak Brewery
- Foothills Brewing
- Highland Brewing Company
- Gizmo Brew Works
- NoDa Brewing Company
- Mother Earth Brewing Company
- Aviator Brewing Company
- New Belgium Brewing
- Oskar Blues Brewery
- Austin Eastciders
- Bell’s Brewery
That event will also include the annual Raffle at the Rock, as well as live music from Muddy Creek Revival.
Click here to read more about Hops and Hot Rods.
Tickets for the Easter weekend NASCAR races at the Rock — featuring the Craftsman Truck, ARCA Menards East and Xfinity series — go on sale 10 a.m. Nov. 1 at RaceTheRock.com.