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Layne Riggs, Craig Von Dohren, Jacob Goede and Neal Latham win NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series regional titles

A quartet of drivers who enjoyed successful NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series seasons now have additional reason to celebrate.

Layne Riggs, Craig Von Dohren, Jacob Goede and Neal Latham have been confirmed as regional champions of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series for 2022.

NASCAR reintroduced regional championships last season for the first time since 2004, giving drivers from across the country who might not be able to contend for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship something else for which to race. Each regional champion earned $15,000 for his season-long efforts.

The regional championships are broken into four regions: Southeast, Northeast, Midwest and West.

Below is a closer look at each of the four NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Regional champions.

Layne Riggs of Bahama, North Carolina, surrounded by team members (front, left) is congratulated by South Boston Speedway General Manager Chase Brashears (front, right) after winning the 2022 South Boston Speedway NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division championship on Sept. 3. The championship is Riggs‘ first South Boston Speedway NASCAR track championship. Riggs finished second in both of the twin 65-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division races that highlighted Saturday night‘s Halifax County Farm Bureau Championship Night event at South Boston Speedway. (Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway)

Southeast Region: Layne Riggs

A fantastic season for Riggs continues to get better, as the driver from Bahama, North Carolina, can now add the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series southeast region championship trophy to his case alongside the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship trophy.

Riggs, who recently was confirmed as the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion by four points ahead of Peyton Sellers, secured the southeast regional championships by eight points.

Riggs’ season included 16 victories at four tracks, including Dominion Raceway and South Boston Speedway in Virginia, plus Hickory Motor Speedway and Wake County Speedway in North Carolina. He also secured his first track championship at South Boston this year.

Sellers ranked second in the southeast region standings, followed by Doug Barnes Jr., Wake County Speedway champion Clay Jones and Bowman Gray Stadium champion Tim Brown.

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Northeast Region: Craig Von Dohren

For the second straight season, the king of the northeast is Von Dohren.

A veteran dirt Modified driver from Oley, Pennsylvania, Von Dohren dominated his competition at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway this season. In 23 NASCAR-sanctioned starts this year at Grandview, Von Dohren collected 11 victories and only finished outside of the top 10 once.

In addition to collecting his second straight NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series northeast region championship, Von Dohren also secured his third straight Grandview Speedway track championship and 13th overall.

David Hebert, competing at RPM Speedway and Autodrome Granby in Canada, fell 18 points shy of the northeast region championship. Another Canadian driver, Steve Bernier, was third ahead of a pair of Grandview regulars, Brett Kressley and Jeff Strunk.

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Midwest Region champion Jacob Goede. (Photo: Courtesy Madison International Speedway)
NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Midwest Region champion Jacob Goede. (Photo: Courtesy Madison International Speedway)

Midwest Region: Jacob Goede

When it comes to NASCAR racing in the Midwest, Goede continues to set the bar.

The driver from Carver, Minnesota, collected his second straight NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series midwest region championship this season following another banner year of Late Model racing.

Competing at three tracks — Minnesota’s Elko Speedway, plus Wisconsin’s LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway and Madison International Speedway — Goede scored six victories in 29 starts. He scored 20 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes in those 29 starts and secured his ninth consecutive Elko Speedway track title.

The 2019 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion bested Adams County Speedway competitor Jesse Dennis by 18 points to secure the midwest region crown. Elko Speedway competitor Jake Ryan was third, followed by LaCrosse and Elko racer Chad Walen and Elko’s Jeremy Wolff.

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series West Region champion Neal Latham. (Photo: Courtesy Latham Motorsports)
NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series West Region champion Neal Latham. (Photo: Courtesy Latham Motorsports)

West Region: Neal Latham

For the first time in his career, Latham can call himself a NASCAR champion after laying claim to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series west region championship this season.

Latham, who competes in the Modified division at Idaho’s Meridian Speedway, scored six victories in 21 races to put himself in position for his first regional championship. His results also included 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes.

Latham had the biggest advantage in the final standings of any regional champion, besting Irwindale Speedway racer Linny White by 30 points to claim the west region championship.

Another Irwindale racer, Trevor Huddleston, was third, followed by Magic Valley Speedway and Meridian racer Caity Miller and Meridian’s Colton Nelson.