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Wallace
Passes and Outruns Her Mentor for Carteret County Speedway Sweep
Swansboro, North
Carolina (June 8, 2026) – The Super Cup Stock Car Series had
the fans on their feet in their inaugural appearance by the Crystal
Coast at Carteret County Speedway on Saturday night.
With many learning the characteristics of the 0.4-mile oval
for the first time, it ended up being two drivers with prior
experience at the Swansboro, North Carolina facility setting the
pace.
Qualifying did not
start off on the best foot for one competitor, as leader for much of
final practice Dylan Godinez lost brakes entering turn one on the
second lap, slapping the driver side of the No. 57 Ashton Racing
Chevrolet with the outside wall.
The young driver was okay; however, damage from the impact to
the frame of the ride ended the day early.
Five-time
NASCAR Cup Series race winner Jeremy Mayfield was making his SCSCS
debut and put the No. 19m Don Doster Painting / Dan Althoff Trucking
/ MW Pressure Washing / D2 Motorsports Chevrolet top of the charts
with a best time of 17.379 seconds.
This marked the fourth different driver and fourth unique car
to win a Pole Award in as many events in 2026.
Starting straight
up from qualifying, second in series points Damian Payton took the
green flag outside of Mayfield.
Leader in the season-long standings Chrissy Wallace lined up
third and was up to second
by
the opening lap. She
then advanced inside of Mayfield, a two-time past winner at Carteret
County Speedway in past years, only four laps into the first 50-lap
main event. Mayfield
fought a loose condition allowing Wallace to increase to a somewhat
comfortable gap to take her third victory of the 2026 season.
The win and passes also earned the Concord, North Carolina
driver five bonus points upon claiming the Hard Charger honors.
Payton, Renick,
West Virginia’s Harvey Harrison, and series newcomer Roger
Stivenson from Kittanning, Pennsylvania rounded out the top five in
the No. 08 Dixon/s Service Company / Winners Circle Auto Service
Chevrolet.
Inverting the lead
lap finishers from the first race, Payton brought the field to speed
in the concluding feature under the lights.
It was Mayfield who fought on the outside though and led at
the stripe. A lap later
Wallace worked under Payton for the runner-up position.
The only yellow and
ensuing red flag of the evening occurred when nearby Wilmington,
North Carolina’s Tom Toby, who took the wheel of the
aforementioned No. 08 for the second race, hit the tire barrier
cushioning some of the blow with the outside wall exiting turn one.
The first-time driver to the series was okay, but significant
cosmetic damage was sustained and his night was over.
During
the stoppage, Harrison came to the pits for various adjustments to
the No. 35 John 3:16 Ford. The
two-time champion lost a lap in the first main event and during the
time between races elected to make a gear change, thanks to a
borrowed gear from Mayfield and the D2 Motorsports group.
When racing
resumed, Wallace increased the pressure on her teammate, maneuvering
under Mayfield right before halfway.
Throughout the ensuing laps, Mayfield continued putting on
the pressure, trying to find a way back by, adding to the suspense
for those watching in the stands.
In the end, the driver of the No. 19 Dan Althoff Trucking /
JDH Engineering / J4 Truss / The Also-Ran Broadcast / CP Race Wear /
MW Pressure Washing / D2 Motorsports Chevrolet held off the
Owensboro, Kentucky native to sweep the night.
For the final
feature, she had her father Mike Wallace, race winner last time out
at Hickory spotting for her.
“That
second race is the hardest race I’ve driven all year,” Wallace
indicated. “Whenever
dad came across the radio telling me Jeremy is a half car back,
he’s coming, run 10 hard laps, but to be able to beat him and
knowing the success he’s had here over the years, to me that’s a
huge accomplishment. I
was waiting to hear ‘nose inside’.
It’s awesome to be able to race somebody like Jeremy to
where even coming out of the corner in the center, you can touch a
fender if you need to and you’re not going to get wrecked.
You’re going to come out side by side still racing
aggressively, and I love that.
Wallace had special
guest SSGT Zach Muscianese riding along with a windshield banner in
recognition for his service. At
a track where she had previously raced once and struggled but
quickly became a fan favorite, it was gratifying to get the job
done, passing and outrunning a racer she has looked up to.
“Jeremy from the
get-go, he and (his wife) Shana both have been my biggest supporters
and Jeremy has been a big mentor and has helped critique my driving
to make me a better driver.”
For the second time
on this evening, Mayfield had to settle for a runner-up result.
“We were good the
second race,” Mayfield explained.
“We pulled out to a lead there and the caution came out.
It got a little loose at the end but it wasn’t anything
like it was the first race. She
just got under me a little bit, and I was like, okay, I’ll try to
get her back and I couldn’t. The
good thing about it though is I knew we had to be putting on a good
show. You could lay
paper between us just about all the way around.”
“I’m very proud
and that’s why she is driving this car.
I know she can do it, she can get the job done, and now she
needed that last little bit, straighten your shirt up here and
we’re good.”
Assisting fellow
competitors with the learning curve, Mayfield knows the competition
is bound to increase for visits years into the future at Carteret
County Speedway.
“You can’t come
out here the first time and outrun people that have been here
before. This place is
tough in its own way because if you don’t have anybody to explain
a couple little things here and there that you have to do, it’s
just about finessing the throttle and driving it smooth.”
For the second race
in a row, Payton rounded out the podium finishers, ahead of Harrison
once more.
“I
think how we ran today was fair,” the driver of the No. 64
Fauquier Stitch Studio / Donovan Asphalt Paving / Total Stormwater
Solutions LLC / Blue Ridge Seafood Restaurant / McElligott
Performance & Design / J&K Grounds Maintenance Chevrolet
commented. “We made a
lot of adjustments and continued to go in the right direction.
I struggled to get around this place and it’s a new aspect
to me with it being flat. I’m
used to banking everywhere I’ve raced.
I’m pretty good at going to the outside and not having that
ability here is tough.”
Payton and more
will have that opportunity in two weeks when the series makes yet
another debut appearance at the fast and wide Orange County Speedway
in Rougemont, North Carolina on Saturday, June 20th.
Wallace now holds a 100-point advantage going into the races
at the 3/8-mile oval where a number of competitors are planning
their return.
More information
can be found on the Super Cup Stock Car Series official website supercupstockcarseries.com,
on Facebook (search Super Cup Stock Car Series), Twitter (@SCSCSRacing),
Instagram (SCSCS_Racing), and https://www.youtube.com/SCSCSRacing.
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