SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (Oct. 18, 2022) -- It is easy to see the excitement on Daniel Silvestri’s face and hear it when he speaks.
The 19-year-old Ashburn, Virginia resident, a sophomore majoring in business information technology and minoring in finance at the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business, returns to racing this weekend in the 125-lap Late Model Stock Car Division race that will comprise half of the CARS Tour Commonwealth 225 doubleheader Saturday afternoon, October 22 at South Boston Speedway.
“I’m ready to go,” Silvestri said with a smile during a break at a Monday afternoon testing session at South Boston Speedway.
“I’ve been sitting there doing homework all week every week and watching the Virginia Tech football team at times. I’m really focusing on school right now, but I’m excited to get back in the car, go race again, and do what I love to do.”
Silvestri is looking this weekend to build upon a successful record that includes a runner-up finish in last year’s CARS Tour event at South Boston Speedway, a win earlier this season at Dominion Raceway, a Top-10 finish in the CARS Tour Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway in August, and a strong showing at Martinsville Speedway in late September in which he qualified fourth fastest overall and finished seventh in the race.
“We’ve had good runs and have had success,” Silvestri pointed out. “I’m really excited to go back to CARS Tour racing. It’s a very competitive series. There are a lot of great cars in the series and it’s always a good show.”
Silvestri’s second-place finish after starting 14th in last year’s CARS Tour race at South Boston Speedway gives him a lot of confidence heading into Saturday’s 125-lap Late Model Stock Car Division race.
“I have a lot of confidence in what the car will be this weekend,” Silvestri remarked. “We didn’t qualify as well as we needed to last year, and that kind of cost us. Coming from 14th to second you have to burn your tires up to get to the front. I think we’ll be pretty quick this weekend.”
With his previous experience competing at South Boston Speedway and the history of excellence Sellers Racing has put together over the years, Silvestri is confident of having a successful weekend at South Boston Speedway.
“South Boston Speedway is a good track for Sellers Racing and myself,” Silvestri pointed out.
“I have a lot of experience here. Sellers Racing has a long history here at South Boston Speedway. When you come to this racetrack in a Sellers Racing car you expect to do well. I finished second in this race last year, and we had a really good car. If we build on that, I don’t see any reason we can’t finish in the top five again.”
As of Tuesday, total of 28 drivers had filed entries for the 125-lap Late Model Stock Car Division race. In addition to Silvestri, the entry list includes 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion, Southeast Region Champion and South Boston Speedway Champion Layne Riggs of Bahama, North Carolina. Riggs, who won 10 races enroute to winning the South Boston Speedway title, has two top-five finishes in three starts this season on the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour circuit. He has six career wins, and eight career pole wins in the CARS Tour series. Riggs comes into the event fresh off of a win in last weekend’s Rodney Cook Classic at Ace Speedway.
Also among the drivers entered in this weekend’s event, the next-to-last event on the CARS Tour 2022 schedule, are CARS Tour points leader Carson Kvapil, who drives a JR Motorsports entry, and Connor Hall of Hampton, Virginia and Kaden Honeycutt of Aledo, Texas who are tied for second-place in the series point standings 42 points behind Kvapil. Kvapil and Hall both have three wins and Honeycutt has one victory.
Defending race champion Bobby McCarty of Kernersville, North Carolina, who has won two of his last three starts at South Boston Speedway, Chad McCumbee of Shallote, North Carolina who has one win in the series this season and sits in fourth-place in the series standings, Jacob Heafner of Dallas, North Carolina who is fifth in the standings with four top-five finishes, and South Boston Speedway regular Landon Pembelton of Amelia, Virginia are also among the drivers entered in Saturday’s race.
Saturday afternoon’s CARS Tour Commonwealth 225 at South Boston Speedway will also include a 100-lap race for the CARS Tour Pro Late Model Division. Luke Fenhaus of Wausau, Wisconsin holds a 15-point edge over Caden Kvapil of Mooresville, North Carolina with William Sawalich of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a five-time winner this season, sitting in third place 45 points behind the leader in the Pro Late Model Division point standings.
Saturday’s CARS Tour Commonwealth 225 race day schedule has rotating practice sessions for the two divisions from 8:15 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. Grandstand gates will open at 12 noon and qualifying starts at 12:15 p.m. There will be an on-track Fan Fest driver autograph session at 1:15 p.m. and the first race of the afternoon will get the green flag at 3 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $15 each and are available through Friday night, October 21 on the South Boston Speedway website, www.southbostonspeedway.com. Also, advance tickets may be purchased at the South Boston Speedway office during regular business hours between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by calling the speedway at 1-434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540.
Tickets purchased at the gate and online on race day are priced at $20 each. Children ages 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
The latest news and information about South Boston Speedway and its events can be found on the South Boston Speedway website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, and through the speedway’s social media channels.