Over the last two or three years Tony Housman has wanted to try his hand at racing at South Boston Speedway. Unfortunately, his plans to race at “America’s Hometown Track” did not fully materialize.
“I’ve built cars two times to come here and run full seasons here at South Boston Speedway, and then something happened – like this year (2020) it was COVID-19,” Housman explained following a December testing session at the .4-mile oval.
The Rocky Mount, Virginia resident is hoping 2021 will be different. He tested a Limited Sportsman Division car at the .4-mile oval last month with an eye toward competing in South Boston Speedway’s Limited Sportsman Division this season.
Recent changes to South Boston Speedway’s Limited Sportsman Division rules package steered Housman to want to compete at South Boston Speedway in 2021.
“They (South Boston Speedway officials) are reeling the Limited Sportsman cars back to where people like me can afford to run them,” Housman pointed out.
“You don’t have to have $7,000 or $8,000 shocks and bump stops and everything under the sun to make it work.
“That’s the reason I decided to come here,” he continued.
“When I saw the rules, I said this is where we’re going to try to run. We were going to run at Orange County Speedway and run some at Franklin County Speedway. When South Boston Speedway changed the rules to make it more affordable, we said we were going try racing here.”
Housman raced at Franklin County Speedway in 2020, starting out competing in a car that he built to race in the Hornets Division at South Boston Speedway. He raced the car six times and recorded three wins before selling the car. After selling the car, Housman got a Limited Sportsman Division car, and raced it seven times at Franklin County Speedway. His best effort was a pair of third-place finishes.
Housman’s December test session at South Boston Speedway went well, giving him a sense of optimism.
“The car was driving good, and we had okay speed,” he noted.
“I was pretty comfortable after we turned about five or six laps. I think we’re going to be pretty good. We’re going to keep working on it. We’ll try again later to do some more testing and keep looking for more speed.”
Housman is a veteran driver, having raced for 27 years.
“I’ve had my hand in a little bit of everything on both dirt and asphalt,” he explained.
“I’ve raced as far south as Georgia and as far north as Wisconsin. We used to try to race three or four nights a week, but I don’t try that now. There aren’t many places that we haven’t won.”
As far as his early plans for 2021 go, Housman says he plans to compete in most of the races at South Boston Speedway.
“We’re going to try to run the majority of the races here at South Boston Speedway, and we might venture off somewhere else on the off weeks,” he said.
“If we’re doing well in the points, we may try to make the whole season. I want to get as much seat time and run as many races as I can and try to get the best results we can get.”
South Boston Speedway officials have put together a 13-event schedule for the 2021 season. And, for people looking for a birthday gift or special-occasion gift for the race fan in their life there is no better gift than a South Boston Speedway gift certificate.
“The thing that makes a South Boston Speedway gift certificate so nice is that the favorite race fan in your life can come out and enjoy a night of exciting short-track racing,” said South Boston Speedway General Manager Cathy Rice.
“You can spend as much or as little as you want, and you won’t have to deal with traffic or worry about dealing with shopping for something inside a crowded store.”
Gift certificates from “America’s Hometown Track” may be purchased by calling the South Boston Speedway office at 1-434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540. The South Boston Speedway office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
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