Timothy Peters Returns To Victory Lane At Myrtle Beach Speedway After 15 Years

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Following a 15-year hiatus, Timothy Peters returned to Victory Lane at Myrtle Beach Speedway after winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series IceBreaker on Saturday night.

Since Peters has stepped away from fulltime competition in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the Virginia native has been a strong contender in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Last year, he won the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway and two months later, he finished runner-up to Josh Berry in Myrtle Beach Speedway’s prestigious Myrtle Beach 400.

Saturday’s IceBreaker served as the season opener for Myrtle Beach Speedway, and this time, Peters unloaded a brand-new race car and came ready to take on the local weekly racers. Peters began the 125-lap race from the pole, and he ran up front throughout the entire event. In the closing laps, Peters and Chad McCumbee battled head-to-head for the victory. In the end, McCumbee just couldn’t keep up, and Peters went on to win his first race at Myrtle Beach Speedway since 2003.

“I thought that I went too early,” Peters said. “I was slipping around a little bit, more than I remember, but you know, nothing surprises me with the racing that Myrtle Beach Speedway produces. The guys worked on a brand-new car over the off season.”

Peters continued and said, “I could search around those last 25 laps and try to find some grip. They (team) suited the balance of my car to where we could capitalize on the win.”

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com | Chad McCumbee leads the field into Turn 1 during the IceBreaker.

While a win slipped from his grasps, McCumbee, who finished third in the 2017 season finale at Myrtle Beach Speedway, was very proud of the runner-up effort in the opening race of 2018. McCumbee feels that if his tires weren’t as worn towards the end of the race that he and Peters would have put on an even better show for the fans at Myrtle Beach Speedway.

“I wanted to see if we were good enough to at least run with him, and we weren’t,” McCumbee said. “The only thing that I could do was just try to hold on as long as I could. We’ve raced together a lot. I knew that it was going to be fun, and I wish that I had a little more left to race with him at the end. We certainly could’ve put on a show. I was done way earlier than it showed.”

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com | Justin Milliken captures a solid third-place finish at Myrtle Beach.

Local racer, Justin Milliken finished third on Saturday. In October of 2017, Milliken returned to the racetrack following a horrific roadway crash, where he sustained terrible injuries. In his debut back to the track, he was running ninth before a mechanical failure took him out of the race. Milliken then followed that effort up with a solid eight-place finish in the Myrtle Beach 400. On Saturday, Milliken kicked off the 2018 season with a strong top-three finish. Following the race, his No. 02 team members were fired up in the pits, and they celebrated Milliken’s impressive performance as if it were a victory…and it was for the local team.

North Carolina’s Tommy Lemons Jr. and Virginia’s Matt Bowling completed the top-five in the 3^rd Annual IceBreaker on Saturday. Rounding out the top-10 was Brian Vause, Ty Gibbs, Matt Cox and Ryan Glenski.

Prior to Glenski capturing the 10^th-place finish in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model feature, he won the 100-lap Limited Late Model race on Saturday. Mack Little III finished second, followed by Chris Chapman, Anthony Cordell and Heath Causey.

Michael Rouse won the Mini Stock feature. Finishing behind Rouse was AJ Sanders, Shane Canipe, Mark Evans and Brandon Clements.

Darlington, South Carolina’s Ricky Locklair Jr. dominated to win the Street Stock race. Greg Peterson finished second, while Sonny Schoffen, Jeff Melton and Kevin Ellis rounded out the top-five.

The next race at Myrtle Beach Speedway will be the Performance Plus 300 on Saturday, March 17. The speedway’s bracket-style format, Beach Madness will begin that weekend. Racing at the track will be the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models, Chargers, Mini Stocks and Street Stocks.