By Joe Chandler
Director, Public Relations
South Boston Speedway
SOUTH BOSTON, VA (May 9, 2024) – Double races for the track’s two top racing divisions and First Responders Appreciation Night headline the ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event Saturday night, May 11 at South Boston Speedway.
Double 65-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division and double 30-lap for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, headline Saturday night’s seven-race card. As part of Saturday night’s event, the competitors of the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club will make the first of two scheduled visits to South Boston Speedway.
South Boston Speedway will host its annual First Responders Appreciation Night as part of the Saturday, May 11 ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event. All first responders will be admitted free with a valid department ID/badge or a department roster signed by the chief with accompanying government-issued ID. In addition, there will be a parade lap of fire trucks, emergency vehicles and police cars from various agencies in the area during pre-race ceremonies.
The competition has been intense through the first four races in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division with four different drivers – Craig Moore of Rougemont, North Carolina, Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia, Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina and Kyle Dudley of Roanoke, Virginia earning wins in the first four races of the season. Moore won the 100-lap season-opener, Stallings and Borst split wins in double 75-lap races on April 13, and Dudley won the 100-lap race on April 20.
There is a possibility that the number of different winners could increase in this weekend’s double-race event as two-time NASCAR national champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia, former Virginia state champion Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia, and Stacy Puryear of South Boston, Virginia, all of whom have been strong contenders this season, are still searching for their first win of the season at the .4-mile oval.
A very tight points battle is underway in the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division. Sellers leads Stallings by one point and Puryear sits in third place just three points out of the lead. Looney is in fourth place just four points back. Moore is in fifth place five points out of the lead, and Borst and Dudley are tied for sixth place only six points out of the lead.
With the division championship points battle heating up the competition will be intense in the double 30-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division races. Drivers will not only be looking for points, they will also be looking to earn a few extra dollars.
Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division driver Eric Winslow and Roof Masters are sponsoring a $100 pole award for the fastest driver in qualifying for Saturday night’s double 30-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division races.
In addition, Winslow and Roof Masters will be awarding a total of $500 to be split evenly between the two races with $250 being awarded in each race. In each of the two races the $250 will be evenly distributed from the 4th-place finisher through the last-place finisher.
Defending division champion Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia won the 75-lap race that opened the season. After finishing eighth in the season-opener, Winslow, of Pelham, North Carolina, rebounded to sweep the division’s double 30-lap races on April 20.
The pair of wins vaulted Winslow into second place in the division point standings, putting him only one point down to Myers entering this weekend’s twinbill.
Cory Dunn of Salem, Virginia sits in third place in the division point standings, just four points out of the lead. There is a three-way tie for fourth place in the point standings between brothers Justin Dawson and Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia and Nathan Crews of Long Island, Virginia with the trio being 12 points out of the lead. Myers and Dunn are the only two drivers to have finished in the Top-5 in all three of the division races run thus far this season.
The competitors in the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division will battle it out this weekend in a 25-lap race. Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia, the 2023 division champion, has picked up right where he left off last season. Layne has won the season’s first two races, has led every lap thus far, and has captured the pole for both races.
B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia is in second place in the division standings and trails Johnny Layne by four points. He has started his 2024 season in a good way with a pair of runner-up finishes in the season’s first two races. Bruce Mayo of Halifax, Virginia is tied for third-place with Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia, with both drivers standing seven points out of the lead.
A 20-lap race is set for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division as part of the seven-race ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event. Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia leads the division points chase by three points over Steven Layne of Nathalie, Virginia. DeCarlo earned his first win of the season in the April 20 event, and it was good enough to move him into the division points lead.
Teenager Jordaine Penick of Meherrin, Virginia is one of the more improved drivers in the division and her results are showing it. Penick is currently in third place in the division point standings seven points out of the lead and four points out of second place.
The event schedule for the ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. Practice will go from 3:25 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:30 p.m. Qualifying is set for 6 p.m., pre-race ceremonies are scheduled for 6:35 p.m. and the first race of the night will start at 7 p.m.
Advance tickets purchased for last week’s canceled God’s Pit Crew Race Night presented by Billy’s A/C Service event will be honored for the Saturday, May 11ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event.
Advance tickets for the May 11 ABC 13, WSET-TV Race Night presented by Bojangles event are priced at $12 each. Advance tickets 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.
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