ROCKINGHAM — Sergio Pena took the checkered flag at Rockingham Speedway Saturday in a come-from-behind win, marking his fourth in the Crown 9 Champion Series.
The winning lineup was like deja vu from the first two races in the inaugural season of the track’s grassroots series, with Mark Dysart close behind at second and Doug Horn coming in third.
“Consistency is the key here …now that we have nine races this year,” Pena said in a post-race interview. “I didn’t think I was gonna be finishing in the top three, so to be sitting here now, I’m pretty excited about it.”
Pena, who swept the 2024 season, won his heat race and started the showdown in the pole position, keeping a lead for the first several laps.
“Everything was comfortable,” Pena said, noting he had five to 10 car lengths on Dysart. “I was just riding, I wanted to save my left front tire.”
Sporting the Taco Factory logo on the doors of his No. 3 Crown Vic, Pena was able to lap Justin Seago on the frontstretch heading into Turn 1. However, as the cars bunched up, Seago spun out Pena, sending him into the dirt and handing Dysart the lead.
Sergio Pena is forced off the track by Justin Seago.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Dysart led the pack for about 10 laps before Pena worked his way back to the front.
But that lead would be short-lived.
“My car just died,” Pena said.
The veteran racer put his car in neutral, but it wouldn’t start. So he pulled off the track and was about to throw in the towel when he decided to try again and it “fired up.”
“So I was like, ‘Man I don’t know, but I’m gonna tighten my belts back down and keep going.’”
Pena battled his way past the other driver as it started to drizzle “and luckily enough I got by Mark” — again.
Sergio Pena regains the lead heading into the first turn after passing Mark Dystart on the frontstretch near the end of the race.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
“I was just seeing whatever holes were available,” he said about his race back to the front, adding that Steven Franklin was the hardest one to pass. “Going into the last turn…I kinda crossed him over and kinda forced him to brake late and he went off (the track) a little bit.”
Although he said the race was “a lot of fun,” Pena acknowledged the challenges including sand on the track in one corner, combined with the light rain.
The race was missing several previous drivers, including Round 1 winner Derick Gaskins — who, just the week before, placed second at MB Drifts’s first competition of the year — and his father, Smokey Gaskins.
Cody Mullins veers back onto the track after running off coming out of the final turn.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
However, there were several newcomers including Cody Mullins, who started sixth and managed to make his way to fourth for several laps, and Cody King.
Johnnie Wood, who bought Alex Bradley’s old car, finished fifth.
The Cooke Boys Team — Andy Cooke and Eli Russell — arrived at the track after qualifying. Still, Cooke placed second in his heat race behind Pena and finished fourth in the final race.
For the second consecutive race, Russell’s car died on the starting line while lining up for the showdown.
In addition to Russell, three other drivers never made it to the final race: King, Bennett Deane and Eric Sutton.
Sutton never started and Deane had mechanical issues during his heat race.
The May race was originally scheduled to be the third of the season, but April’s event was postponed and has yet to be rescheduled. The next race in the series is slated for June 7.
See more photos from William R. Toler on the RO's Facebook page and photos from Terry Clark at visitrichmondcounty.com.
