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Shenandoah Twin Races Once More Go to Damian Payton and Chrissy Wallace; Wallace Achieves Her First SCSCS Championship

Shenandoah, Virginia (October 11, 2026) – Valley to Victory Championship Night proactively pivoted to becoming championship morning and early afternoon due to the threat of remnants from Hurricane Isaias arriving earlier than initially predicted.  The race day schedule adjustments collectively coordinated between series officials and Shenandoah Speedway promoter Chris Lilly meant twin 35-lap race distances and a combined round of practice and qualifying.

Following a brief scuff session for those putting on new tires, Concord, North Carolina’s Chrissy Wallace set the fastest time of 16.905 seconds during ‘practifying’ and in the process becoming the first repeat Pole Award winner of 2026.  Second in points Damian Payton was second quickest 0.142 seconds back; however, that lap was recorded with a right rear tire going flat.

The first main event rolled off shortly after Noon with Wallace redrawing the first position and Payton starting behind her in third.  Almost immediately it became an entertaining battle between the two April winners at Shenandoah that have found themselves side by side on many occasions throughout all the year’s races.  Out of the second turn on the halfway lap and after several prior bids to find a way around, Payton cleared for the lead in his No. 64 Fauquier Stitch Studio / Donovan Asphalt Paving / Total Stormwater Solutions LLC / Blue Ridge Seafood Restaurant / McElligott Performance & Design / J&K Grounds Maintenance Chevrolet.

It looked like Payton would never look back and cruise his way to the checkered flag.  A spin though by debut driver Logan Harrison due to a cut tire slowed the field for a final three lap restart.  Nevertheless, the Summit Point, West Virginia driver was able to accelerate to the victory, his second of the year and third of his career at Shenandoah Speedway.

“Racing here in general is special to me, but definitely being able to pick up another win means a lot,” Payton, who began his racing pursuits in Legends cars at the 3/8-mile oval, mentioned.  “I just had to do everything I knew how to do.  I knew if I got in front of (Wallace), as quickly as I was able to run her down, I would be fine.  Getting around her is always a challenge.”

Despite the halfway and most laps led bonuses acquired by Payton, Wallace’s second place finish clinched the championship prior to starting the second main event.

“Damian that first race had a very stout car and unfortunately in the center I was just getting too tight,” Wallace recapped from the first race before setting her sights on the next green flag.  “He had the motor and drive up off the corner to where he could just go.  At one point we were side by side and five or 10 laps later I look ahead and he’s a good five car lengths ahead.  Congratulations to him on that win.”

Petersburg, West Virginia’s Brent Nelson had hit a patch of recent results that were uncharacteristic based on his past championship efforts and numerous wins, five of which have occurred at Shenandoah.  With the lengthy break between races, he now feels they have once again turned the corner.

“We still came out (without putting new tires on) and were able to finish third in the first race and made adjustments (for the second race),” the driver of the No. 80 Precision Auto Collision / JEBCO / RAM Trucking / QH Design / Nelson Motorsports Chevrolet indicated.  “We found some major things wrong between June and now, and I feel that had we found them earlier in the year we would have been a better contender.  Seems like it was the beginning of a new season, but here it is the last race.  We’re here to have fun, we had a good night and will regroup and come back next year.”

Harvey Harrison finished fourth and rounding out the top five was his son Brian Harrison, debuting the No. 17 Ohio River Branding Company Chevrolet after a valiant battle with Uniontown, Pennsylvania’s Bill Ashton, who piloted the No. 44 car in which 2021 series champion Ben Ebeling has won in on five occasions at the picturesque facility.

Receiving hard charger honors for the race was Mike Senica, making his first start in over a year in the No. 57 Mountain Shot Whiskey Chevrolet.  The Warrington, Pennsylvania resident then handed over driving duties to occasional ARCA racer and SCSCS first-timer Alex Malycke from Alexandria, Virginia, thanks to his own sponsors Nordic Aliens, 2I/Borisov Come, and Shane from Arca News-Central, with an eventual seventh place outcome.

Making the longest tow on this day was Richard Hauck from Howell, Michigan.  It was the driver of the No. 31 Roy Smith Co / Schwartz Machine / HEI Dodge’s first appearance since the September 2023 Shenandoah event and would finish eighth twice.

The second green flag flew with yet another redraw of the top four and this one became interesting right from the start.  Harvey Harrison’s No. 35 John 3:16 Ford brought the field to life and skated up the track into turns one and two.  Going down the backstretch, everyone trying to find their footing upon getting shuffled sent Brian Harrison spinning down the backstretch and a complete restart since a lap had not completed.

The next restart got off to a similar beginning, allowing Wallace to take charge and finding a hole after taking the green on the inside of row two.

“Right off the get go, because I changed springs on the car, I spun the tires and it threw everything out of balance,” the two-time champion Harvey Harrison explained.  “When we restarted, that time when we ran into the corner, I went in a little bit low and when I did, where I hadn’t driven all day, the car bottomed out.  It was almost like you were driving down the road and hit ice or snow.  When I turned the wheel to the left to make the turn, the car went straight up the racetrack.”

Payton moved into the runner-up spot early on, but it would be short-lived as he made contact with the frontstretch wall immediately following getting out of shape, exiting turn four.  Nelson spun to avoid Payton’s car right in the groove as well, as the yellow flag was unfurled.

This would be the final stoppage of the afternoon and Wallace pulled away for the remainder of the distance to conclude the season in victory lane for her second time at Shenandoah.

“(Five-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner) Jeremy (Mayfield) winded up making some changes to it, put some rounds into the left rear, and made it more stable to where I was able to drive up off the corner versus spinning the tires as much as I was in the first race,” Wallace recalled.  “I think that was the big difference right there for us.”

Harvey Harrison stabilized following the rocky start and finished second.

“Once I settled in and got strung out a little bit, the car was better after I made the change, but the first couple laps were tough,” the Renick, West Virginia driver repeated with a laugh.  “It was crazy; crazy for everybody else.”

Payton somehow recovered to round out the podium with a bandaged front end.

“We were just fighting a tight racecar,” the current Winston-Salem, North Carolina resident observed.  “From the looks of how the initial start and restart went I think everybody’s car was a little bit tight.  I had so much wheel in it that it snapped around.  I was trying to hook it the other way and then I pointed at the wall, just locked it down, and slid into it.”

Nelson finished fourth but rounding out the top five was the most exciting story for one family and other racers watching.  After a few hundred test session laps across multiple tracks, teenager Logan Harrison made his race weekend debut in the No. 15 Harrison’s Welding / Harrison’s Motorsports Chevrolet with a formidable performance staying ahead of veteran racer Bill Ashton.  In fact, his dad Brian pulled into the pits with handling trouble to view his son in the closing laps.

It was the first time in series history that three generations competed on the track at the same time.

“Absolutely I was proud of Logan,” grandfather Harvey Harrison added, with a quick joke that Logan is his eventual replacement, but hopefully not anytime soon.  “He did really well.”

At the end of the afternoon, successfully winning the race against the weather, Chrissy Wallace was named the champion in her first full season of competition in the Super Cup Stock Car Series.

“We all love Chris (Lilly) and appreciate what he has done here,” Wallace added.  “Their whole staff has busted their butt all week and achieved in getting our races in.  If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think any of this would have been possible this weekend.”

“Can’t thank Jeremy Mayfield and my family enough," Wallace noted about some of the support she has with the No. 19 Dan Althoff Trucking / JDH Engineering / J4 Truss / The Also-Ran Broadcast / CP Race Wear / MW Pressure Washing / D2 Motorsports Ford.  “It’s pretty big having seven wins, two poles, and a championship for the first year.  Couldn’t be prouder than what we all earned.”

An on-demand replay of the SCSCS races and all of the day’s Shenandoah Speedway action can be accessed free of charge on the VidaneTV YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6T100Td0Gk.

More content and a full recap will be available over the coming weeks regarding the annual trophy and awards presentation that took place before everyone made their way safely home from Shenandoah, Virginia.

Further details regarding 2027’s 20th anniversary season will soon 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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