SOUTH BOSTON, VA (July 11, 2023) -- There is one twinbill in South Boston Speedway’s Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division that Jason Myers has pointed to on his calendar this season – the twin 30-lap races that are part of the Saturday, July 15 Billy’s A/C Service Night event at South Boston Speedway.
A big reason why the twinbill is so special to Myers is that Billy’s A/C Service is owned by his father, three-time former South Boston Speedway Limited Sportsman Division Champion Billy Myers, who continues to race in selected races at South Boston Speedway.
Also, Myers is dedicating Saturday night’s twinbill in honor of his late teammate and close friend, Chris Seay, who passed away unexpectedly on July 5. Seay had worked with the Myers Family team for eight years and was the only spotter Jason Myers ever had on race night. He tackled any and every task both at the track and when he helped in the Myers’ race shop.
“It would be bittersweet to win one or both races,” Myers remarked. “On one hand, my dad is sponsoring Saturday’s race, and on the other hand, we just lost a guy that has been very crucial to my racing career up to now.
“It would be awesome to have a trophy in my house with my dad’s name on it,” Myers added. “Last year we came really close to winning one of them, and Kyle Barnes won both races. It would be really special if I could win at least one of them.”
Both Myers and his father hold Seay in a special place in their hearts.
“Chris was a huge part of our team,” Jason Myers pointed out. “He did everything from working on the car during the week to working in the pits on Friday and Saturday. When race time came around, he was my spotter.
“Chris was very special,” he continued. “He knew something about everything on a racecar, whether it was putting graphics on it, straightening a door panel, doing fiberglass work, or changing suspension parts all the way to helping me put motors in the car. He was very involved in racing his whole life and has been involved with a lot of teams as well as ours. His experience is definitely going to be missed.”
“He has done so much for us,” Billy Myers added. “At the last race (on July 1) we raced both the Late Model and Limited Sportsman races, and Chris was the first one there and was the last one to close the door on both of the trailers at the end of the night. He was so dependable. He was a first-class person.”
A win or a sweep in Saturday night’s twinbill would be big for Myers in his quest for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division championship. Myers enters Saturday night’s twin-race event with a 19-point lead over Carter Russo of Rougemont, North Carolina. Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Bob Davis of Thaxton, Virginia are tied for third place 22 points behind Myers and Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia rounds out the top five in the standings, 34 points behind Myers.
With only four nights of racing and a total of five races remaining in South Boston Speedway’s points season each race is an important race for Myers. He had to settle for second place in the division title chase in both 2021 and 2022, losing the championship chase by two points in 2021 and by 29 points in 2022.
Having a cushion in the championship point standings in the highly competitive division that has seen five different winners in seven races, Myers’ focus for the remainder of the season is on protecting his points lead.
“I guess you could say we’re doing a little bit of points racing at the moment,” said Myers, who has two wins, six Top-3 finishes, and a division-high four pole wins in his eight starts.
“Points racing doesn’t mean I’m going to be less aggressive. We’re always there to win. Points racing, to me, means I’m not going to put myself in a dumb spot. I’m not going to go three-wide or do something that could potentially take us out of a race, especially in a twin-race event. In a twin-race event you’ve got to get through the first race to have a chance in the second one.”
In terms of his and the team’s overall racing philosophy, Myers notes there has been little change over recent seasons.
“We’ve had pretty much the same philosophy the last three years,” he explained. “Sometimes the cards fall the way you want them to and sometimes they don’t. Earlier this year we had a big lead in points, got knocked out of a race and the points tightened back up. Fortunately, the last race we gained a pretty big lead again. There are ups and downs throughout a season and you’ve got to take the good with the bad, keep coming back and keep trying to play your cards as good as you can each week.”
The twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division will be part of Saturday night’s seven-race Billy’s A/C Service Night Race event at South Boston Speedway. Twin races will be featured in two divisions with twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division headlining the night’s action along with the twin races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division.
Saturday night’s racing action will also include a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division, a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division, and a 25-lap race for the regional touring East Coast Ford Flathead Racing Association.
The Billy’s A/C Service Night Race event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:20 p.m. and practice will start at 3:30 p.m. Backstretch spectator and tailgate section gates will open at 5:30 P.M. Qualifying starts at 6 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $12 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Tickets at the gate on race day will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.
Fans and competitors can find the latest news and information about the Billy’s A/C Service Night Race event as well as other items and information of interest on the speedway’s website and through the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Opmerkingen