SOUTH BOSTON, VA (September 27, 2023) -- There is likely no other driver among the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour competitors that is looking forward to the AutosByNelson.com 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers on Saturday night, October 7 at South Boston Speedway more than Bobby McCarty.
(Photos courtesy of Victor Newman and Joe Chandler)
McCarty started his racing career at South Boston Speedway, winning the track’s Limited Sportsman Division crown in 2012, and he has nine career wins in NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division races at the .4-mile oval.
McCarty prevailed in a must-win situation in the October, 2021 CARS Tour event at South Boston Speedway, fending off Kaden Honeycutt to win the final race of the CARS Tour season and capture his third career CARS Tour championship.
This season at South Boston Speedway, McCarty won the 200-lap Virginia Late Model Triple Crown opener at South Boston Speedway in July and finished fourth in a 150-lap race on September 2.
“We always love coming to South Boston Speedway,” McCarty remarked. “It’s my home track. It’s where I started, and I have a lot of great memories and done a lot of cool things there. I have a ton of confidence.”
Winning the upcoming October 7 CARS Tour race at South Boston Speedway would be huge.
“If we can come back to South Boston Speedway and get another win I’d be over the top,” McCarty said with a big smile. “It would mean a lot. The competition on the CARS Tour has gotten much stiffer this year. There are a lot of good cars, a lot of fast cars, and a lot of good drivers. Winning one of those races now means a ton more than it did two years ago.”
Earning the win in the 200-lap race in July was big for McCarty.
“Getting the win for that 200-lapper is a big deal,” McCarty said. “I won it once before. You always think you know what it’s like to win that race until you win it a second time. It was a really cool deal. Those Triple Crown races are a really big deal for all of the drivers.”
While McCarty earned the win in the 200-lap race as the result of the disqualification of apparent winner Carson Kvapil, it was still a great result.
“I hate to get a win that way,” McCarty pointed out, “but I had one stripped from me earlier in the year for kind of the same deal. We did have a really good car. We were a little too tight towards the end of the race to make a really good run at Kvapil for the win. Second place with the car count and the caliber of cars that were here was a good run for us.”
McCarty enters the 125-lap Solid Rock Carriers CARS Late Model Stock Tour race on October 7 standing fifth in the series points standings. In his 13 starts he has a win, five Top-5 finishes and 9 Top-10 finishes. Unfortunately, three DNFs have dashed his hopes of winning the 2023 CARS Tour title.
“We’ve had a really good season,” McCarty said. “We’ve had three DNFs which hurt our championship hopes. Other than the transmission breaking at Ace Speedway we have finished outside the Top-10 only once since then. That’s a really strong stat running the CARS Tour.”
McCarty says he and his R&S Racecars team are in a good place.
“We’re learning some things with the racecars,” McCarty noted. “We’re trying new things that are working. My R&S group has really turned it on these last few months. We’ve had a lot of really good runs with the Triple Crown and the CARS Tour in general. We’re in a really good place. It’s good to be getting back to some places that are familiar to me.”
The October 7 AutosByNelson.com 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers at South Boston Speedway includes a 125-lap race for the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Late Model Stock Tour, a 100-lap race for the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Pro Late Model Tour and a 25-lap race for the touring Virginia Mini-Cup Racing Association.
Advance adult general admission tickets for the AutosByNelson.com 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers CARS Tour event are priced at $17 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 on October 7 will be $20 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $17 each at the gate on race day.
The tentative race day schedule has practice for the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car and Pro Late Model series running from 11 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. Practice and qualifying for the Virginia Mini-Cup series is set from 3:30 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
All spectator gates will open at 3:45 p.m. CARS Tour qualifying starts at 4:15 p.m. A driver autograph session will be held on the frontstretch from 5:30 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. Driver introductions and pre-race ceremonies start at 6:30 p.m. and the first race is set to get the green flag at 7 p.m.
The latest news and updates about the Saturday night, October 7 AutosByNelson.com 250 presented by Virginia Is For Lovers CARS Tour event and other events can be found on the speedway’s website, , www.southbostonspeedway.com, 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.