By Joe Chandler
Director, Public Relations
South Boston Speedway
SOUTH BOSTON, VA (April 8, 2024) – The biggest and richest race of the season for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division is set Saturday night, April 13 as South Boston Speedway goes under the lights for the first time this season in hosting the 7 p.m. running of the Danville Toyota Weekly Series Opening Night event.
The 75-lap race that will pay $1,500 to win is attracting the interest of a good number of drivers, two of which are looking to do double duty by competing in the 75-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race and the double 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division that will be part of the five-race event.
Late Model Stock Car standout Kyle Dudley of Roanoke, Virginia, who had four wins and 14 Top-5 finishes in 16 starts last year, and defending South Boston Speedway Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division champion Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia, have indicated they will likely compete in both divisions.
“We kicked around the idea of bringing them both (the Limited Sportsman car and Late Model Stock Car) for the first Limited race on April 13,” Dudley said. “Then I saw they were putting up bigger money and more laps, so we decided we’d go ahead and get it (the Limited Sportsman car) ready and have a little fun with that one too.”
Dudley is no stranger to competing in Limited Sportsman and Late Model Stock Car races on the same night.
“The last race at Motor Mile last year we ran twins in the Late Model and twins in the Limited, so we ran four races that night and won three of them and finished second in one,” he noted. “Hopefully we can have a performance like that.”
Dudley is expecting great competition in both the Limited Sportsman and Late Model Stock Car divisions.
“You’re running against the best in the nation here, no matter what division,” Dudley pointed out. “That’s why we come here. We come to compete. We come to see how we stack up against the best-of-the-best. Hopefully we can bring good cars and see what we can do.”
When asked what it would mean if he could pull off a couple of wins Dudley said “that’s a lot to think about. That would be a huge night for us. That would be a lot of fun. Hopefully we can do it.”
Myers, like Dudley, is planning to compete in both divisions Saturday night.
“I have both cars ready, so I think that’s what we’re going to try to do,” Myers remarked.
The Hurt, Virginia resident is expected to be one of the top contenders for the win in the 75-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race. Last season he had three wins, six poles and finished in the Top-5 in 11 of his 13 starts. A win in the 75-lap race would be big for Myers and his team.
“It would be the biggest race that I’ve won,” he pointed out. “I won one a few years ago that paid $1,000 to win. At the time, that was the biggest one that I had won.”
Myers feels he will have a good car for the race.
“We always think we’re going to perform decent, especially in long races because the longer races really show the balance of your car,” he explained. “I feel we always have a well-balanced car. Some cars fire off really fast, and then fall off by halfway through the race. I feel like our car kind of stays the same the whole race. As long as we can stay out of trouble early, I believe we will be there at the end.”
In addition to paying $1,500 to win, Saturday night’s 75-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race will have purse increases throughout the field. Extra bonus money will also be on the line as Anderson Turf Management of South Boston, Virginia will post a $500 Hard Charger Award for the race. The Anderson Turf Management Hard Charger Award will reward the driver who gains the most positions from their starting position. Along with that, Sellers Racing has posted a $500 pole award for the race. The $500 Sellers Racing Pole Award will go to the driver who is the fastest in qualifying for the race.
The double 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division are expected to be highly competitive races as well. Craig Moore of Rougemont, North Carolina won the 100-lap season-opening race on March 13, scoring his first career NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Weekly win at South Boston Speedway. Moore won a CARS Late Model Stock Tour race here in 2018.
Moore will be attempting to add to his win total while competing against top drivers that include two-time NASCAR national champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia, and former Virginia champion Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia.
In addition to the double 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division and the 75-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, Saturday night’s Danville Toyota Weekly Series Opening Night event will include a 25-lap race that will be the season-opening race for the track’s Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
The April 13 Danville Toyota Weekly Series Opening Night event schedule has pit gates opening at 1 p.m., and frontstretch spectator gates opening at 3:30 p.m. Practice will run from 3:25 p.m. to 5:05 p.m., and qualifying will start at 6 p.m. The first race of the night is set to start at 7 p.m.
Advance tickets for the Danville Toyota Weekly Series Opening Night 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.