Goode driver wins Late Model championship

Staff reports
Published: September 22, 2008

JAMAICA — It came down to the final four laps of the 40-lap feature to decide the 2008 championship as Walker Arthur of Goode held off a late-race challenge by Stevie Long to take Round 4 of the Victory Lap Late Model $25,000 Challenge at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway.
“I’ve never been so worried or excited in a race car before,” said Walker. “But, I still had a lot of fun. That was the most fun racing I’ve had in a long time.”
The win netted the 23-year-old Arthur $16,500. He won $10,000 for the championship, a $5,000 bonus for winning two of the four Challenge races and $1,500 for the Fall Classic win.
Walker, who qualified with the third fastest time (18.76 seconds) in the 25-car time-trial session, started the race on the outside pole. Long, who was tied with Arthur for the championship, started eighth on the 14-degree banked, half-mile dirt oval.
Arthur led the first 24 laps until Stephen Evans passed him on lap 25. Evans began to pull away as Arthur battled Tom Cohick for second. Long began working Cohick for third, eventually getting by on lap 33.
Then, on lap 36, Evans blew an engine in Turn Four, handing the lead back to Arthur. Long tried to slide under Arthur in Turn One on the restart, but Arthur powered out of Turn Two, maintaining the lead and going on to capturing the victory and Championship.
“I knew we had a shot at the win,” said Walker. “All the drivers here race you real clean, VMS is a great track and has awesome fans.”
Arthur, who was driving his Cecil B. Arthur-owned, Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms/Cecil B. Arthur General Contracting/CAMS Engine/PMZ GROUP Rocket Chassis No. 87 car, and thanked his crew chief Mark Parks and crew J.R. Overstreet and Clint Parks, all of PMZ Group in Lynchburg and his sponsors.
Walker plans to compete at other tracks in Virginia, North Carolina, and West Virginia until the new year starts at the Virginia Motor Speedway.