SOUTH BOSTON, VA (June 7, 2023) -- A lot of things can change for drivers and their racing team from one season to the next. Ronnie Jones, who competes in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway, is seeing a big leap in performance over last year and is earning a place among the division’s frontrunners.
The Kenly, North Carolina resident tested the waters in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway last season. In his four starts in 2022, Jones logged three Top-10 finishes with a sixth-place effort as his best finish and had a pair of eighth-place finishes.
In his first five races this season at South Boston Speedway Jones has a runner-up finish and a fourth-place finish among his four Top-10 finishes. He is tied with Bob Davis of Thaxton, Virginia for third place in the division point standings entering the twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division that will be part of the Sentara Health Prelude to the 200 event on Saturday night June 17 at South Boston Speedway.
“For the car I had I thought we did pretty well last year,” said the 28-year-old racer from North Carolina. “We got rid of that car and got a better car. We’ve had some good runs this year, but we still haven’t put a solid race together.”
Jones raced in some Limited Sportsman races in 2013 and 2014 at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina. He has competed in the Charger Division and Limited Sportsman Division there over the years since that time.
“I have never led a lap in the Limited Sportsman Division here at South Boston Speedway but I have won three races at Southern National Motorsports Park in the past in the Limited Sportsman Division,” Jones noted.
He noted that the high level of competition in South Boston Speedway’s Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division is what drew him to wanting to race regularly at the .4-mile oval.
“The competition here is pretty stout,” Jones remarked. “That’s why I come here. If you win a race here at South Boston Speedway you’ve done something. You’re only as good as the competition you race against.”
Jones said after a tough night and a seventh-place finish in the 50-lap race on June 3 he and his team are making progress racing against the tough competition at South Boston Speedway.
“Ronald Renfrow is helping me on my car,” Jones explained. “He’s very smart about these cars. He has done a whole lot for me and my family. We’re getting closer every week. We just haven’t had a solid race yet.
“Tonight, we had the left rear tire go flat,” Jones continued. “If the tire hadn’t gone flat, we probably should have finished second or third. We didn’t have anything for the 75 car (race winner Nathan Crews). We’ll get there.”
Jones is proud of what his team has achieved at South Boston Speedway thus far this season.
“We’re proud to be a little team from Kenly, North Carolina doing what we can do,” he remarked. “We have an inexperienced team, but we’re coming together and we’re going to get things figured out. We don’t have anything to hang our heads about. I feel we’re going to win a race this year.”
South Boston Speedway’s next NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series event is the Sentara Health Prelude to the 200 on Saturday night, June 17.
First Responders Night presented by Viny’s Italian Restaurant will be held as part of the 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.
The six-race Sentara Health Prelude to the 200 event will feature twin 60-lap races for the Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division and twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division. A 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division will round out the night’s racing action.
Registration and pit gates will open at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 17. 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.
The latest news and updates for fans and competitors can be found on the speedway’s website and 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.
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