Chris Throckmorton’s return home to race at South Boston Speedway ‘incredibly good’

Photo Courtesy Joe Chandler/South Boston Speedway

Halifax County, Virginia native Chris Throckmorton called his return to South Boston Speedway on August 21 to compete in the twin 75-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division races “incredibly good.”

It had been several seasons since the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina resident and Halifax County, Virginia native had returned home to race at South Boston Speedway. Throckmorton races primarily at Dillon Motor Speedway and Florence Motor Speedway in South Carolina and is a solid contender. He had won his first Late Model Stock Car race at Dillon Motor Speedway three weeks prior to the South Boston Speedway event.

Not having raced on the .4-mile South Boston Speedway oval since it was repaved, Throckmorton understood he was facing an uphill climb. He qualified 14th and finished ninth in the opening 75-lap race. Throckmorton started on the pole in the second race, was involved in an early-race mishap, restarted at the rear of the field, and raced his way back through the field to post a fifth-place finish.

“I’m happy,” Throckmorton remarked after the second race. “For us to come to a racetrack with this caliber of competition and come out of here with a top five finish in the second race, it’s top of the world. We come from tracks where you don’t have grip and there’s no walls and such. For us to come back up here and race with the best in the country and earn a top-five finish is great.”

This return trip home to compete at South Boston Speedway was a far better trip than the one he made in 2012.

“In 2012, when we first got the (Limited Sportsman) car and were living in Myrtle Beach, we decided let’s go home and run at home in South Boston,” Throckmorton explained. “We came back here and had our sights set a little high, and we had a reality check. We’ve been in Late Model now for five or six years, and for us to come back and run a Late Model race in our new car, it’s like homecoming all over again.”

Throckmorton says “South Boston is always home” because it is where his roots are. His parents, Neil and Rachel Throckmorton, formerly owned and operated Discount Furniture & Carpet World, a well-known furniture and carpet store in Halifax County, Virginia for more than 20 years and were active supporters of racing.

The Throckmorton family sponsored cars that competed at South Boston Speedway and participated as a sponsor at South Boston Speedway. Throckmorton’s late grandmother, Josephine Evans, formerly owned and operated a trio of fast-food restaurants, two in Halifax County, Virginia and one in nearby Clarksville, Virginia known as the Dairy Dell. One of those restaurants, the Dairy Dell in the Riverdale area of Halifax County, Virginia, continues to be a popular stop among area residents.

“I live in South Carolina now, but this is still home no matter how you look at it,” Throckmorton remarked.

Throckmorton said he enjoys racing at South Boston Speedway and would love to be able to put together a sponsorship package that would enable him to race a full season at the .4-mile oval. One of his goals is to win a Late Model race at South Boston Speedway.

“I know that before I hang up my helmet, I want to win a race at South Boston Speedway,” Throckmorton pointed out. “I know before I hang up my helmet that I would like to be a championship contender here. South Boston Speedway is like no other. The competition level is great, the facility is state-of-the-art – it’s just all around everything a driver could want.”

South Boston Speedway will close out its regular-season schedule of NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series points events on Saturday night, September 4, with Danville Toyota Championship Night presented by Ad Nerds Media.

It will be a big night for all four of the track’s NASCAR racing divisions with division champions being crowned during the event.

A total of five races are slated for the Danville Toyota Championship Night presented by Ad Nerds Media event with a 100-lap race for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division competitors headlining the action. A 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race, a 30-lap race for the Budweiser Pure Stock Division and a 15-lap race for the Budweiser Hornets Division are also on the schedule.

As a special treat, the regional touring Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club will make its second visit of the season to South Boston Speedway that night. The Modified and Sportsman cars of the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club will be featured in a 25-lap race.

Registration and pit gates will open at 2 p.m. Practice will begin at 3:45 p.m. and grandstand gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Advance adult general admission tickets for the Danville Toyota Championship Night presented by Ad Nerds Media event are priced at $10 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, through Friday night, September 3. Adult general admission tickets online and at the gate on race day are priced at $15 each. Kids ages 12 and under will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.

South Boston Speedway PR

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