When the checkered flag flew to end the 2022 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at Virginia's South Boston Speedway, everyone in attendance knew who Jacob Borst was.
The Elon, North Carolina native held his own with his family-owned operation against Corey Heim in a Lee Pulliam car for the duration of the race. A side-by-side battle between the two on the final lap ended with them sliding toward the inside retaining wall coming to the checkered flag.
Heim won. Borst took second. Both left South Boston with damaged cars.
The last-lap crash was the only negative on a stellar weekend for Borst. He had already won twice at South Boston in 2022 entering the track’s crown jewel race and was thrilled to have race-winning speed against such a tough field.
“It was a very big deal for us,” Borst said. “The week before, we came across the [finish] line side-by-side with Peyton [Sellers], and were on the winning end. For [the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200], we were on the losing end, but to finish second with 40 other really good cars definitely boosted our conference for the rest of the year.”
RELATED: Watch Saturday's Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 live on FloRacingWith limited resources at their disposal, for Borst and his family, being able to race a Pulliam car for the win in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 was far from an easy journey.
Borst developed his craft and earned respect from other drivers racing quarter-midgets in the early 2010s. The on-track results gradually improved, and at the end of 2015, he finished second nationally in his age group to NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Carson Hocevar.
Borst a few years later fulfilled a childhood dream of running a full-bodied stock car at South Boston. As the wins kept piling in for Borst in the Limited Sportsman division, it only made sense for him to test his luck in South Boston’s storied Late Model Stock class.
Track regulars like six-time champion Peyton Sellers only helped Borst refine his driving style and build morale in a Late Model Stock. For Borst, the key component behind the success so far is the dedication displayed by his small team every weekend.
That quality is essential given the competitive depth in South Boston’s Late Model Stock class.
“One thing that’s really big about South Boston is there are a lot of good cars,” Borst said. “South Boston still does pretty good with its car count, so even if there are only 16 cars, there’s about 14 you can put money on to win the race. It’s really competitive, which means you can have the faster car and still not win the race.
“You can’t make a mistake, and when other people do, you have to attack.”
[caption id="attachment_398101" align="alignnone" width="1300"]Waiting for the right opportunity is what enabled Borst to pull alongside Heim in the final lap of last year’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200.
Having tailed Heim for nearly the entire race, Borst felt his car was much better on the long run. Despite this, an onslaught of cautions over the final 50 laps meant the race would be decided on a short run, which gave Heim the advantage.
Borst did not let the race-ending circumstances deter him. He applied pressure to Heim’s back bumper, resulting in the latter getting loose in Turn 3 on the last lap. With Heim now having the preferred top line, Borst had no intention of surrendering on the bottom as he saw the checkered in his line of sight.
The resulting outcome was not one Borst had wanted. He was left to drive his battered No. 25 back to pit lane all while being confronted by members of Pulliam’s crew eager to figure out why Heim and Borst came together on the frontstretch.
Borst understood the anger Pulliam’s crew members felt, as he also had to fix the damage his car sustained from the last lap crash. He added any driver in his situation would have done something similar if it meant winning a Late Model Stock crown jewel.
“It’s just one of those things with racing,” Borst said. “Everybody is heated, and everyone is in the moment. They were frustrated, but it was a racing accident, and you can’t let that set you back. You have to move forward and take something from [the situation].”
[caption id="attachment_398103" align="alignnone" width="1300"]Borst is bringing the same car that slid across the start-finish line sideways in last year’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 to South Boston on Saturday. Although he is confident about his chances, Borst is approaching this year’s race as a fresh start to his 2023 season.
Through 12 races, Borst has yet to find Victory Lane in a Late Model Stock at South Boston. Slight changes to the setup have yielded mixed results for Borst, who is hoping to tally his first win soon to build momentum against Sellers and Carter Langley for the track championship.
Earning a win in Saturday’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 would not only give Borst a much-needed jolt, but also validate the hard work put into his program since he started racing Late Model Stocks full-time at South Boston in 2021.
After coming so close to his first crown jewel win, Borst is determined to avenge his near-miss and best all the funded teams entered in this year’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200.
“I play back in my head what I could have done differently last year,” Borst said. “[The Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200] would definitely be my biggest win. All of us would be jacked up over it for a while, but there’s a lot of good drivers who haven’t won at South Boston, let alone this race. We’re just going to go out there and try our best.”
Making the most with minimal funding has helped Borst and his family become ingrained in South Boston’s vibrant culture that has featured so many notable names like Pulliam, Sellers, Philip Morris, Jack Ingram, Ray Hendrick and many more.
Borst would forever be immortalized amongst the South Boston greats should he improve upon his finish in the track’s most cherished event by one position on Saturday.