Burt Myers has long been a staple of Modified racing in the south, having competed at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for many seasons as well as having competed on the former NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and in former iterations of the SMART Modified Tour.
Historically, Myers has enjoyed good results at South Boston Speedway, and he says the .4-mile oval is a fun track to drive. With that being said, it is only natural that Myers is looking forward to the Flying VA 99, a 99-lap race for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic that will headline the Smart Ford-South Boston 234 racing program on Saturday afternoon, April 2 at South Boston Speedway.
“I love South Boston Speedway,” said Myers who is seeking to defend his 2021 SMART Modified Tour championship. “It’s a track I have always enjoyed racing at. It has a lot of history. I love the old-school history in racing, especially the Modifieds.
“South Boston Speedway is a really unique track,” Myers added. “It fits my driving style. It’s a fun track to drive, especially since it was repaved. It quickly went to the top of my favorite tracks. With the new pavement, layout, and configuration it is almost like it was built for Modifieds.”
Myers had a strong outing at South Boston Speedway in last year’s SMART Modified Tour, qualifying fourth and finishing third in an intense seven-lap dash to the finish that followed the last of the race’s caution periods.
While Myers has had good results at South Boston Speedway, there is one thing lacking – a win.
“I’ve never won there, and I hope we can break that streak this race,” said Myers. “I’ve seen my dad (Gary Myers) win there. I feel like we gave a NASCAR (Modified) race away when I was driving Eddie Harvey’s car. I ran third in the SMART race at South Boston last year. A win would be huge.”
Myers is off to a good start this season, finishing fourth in the season-opener at Florence (South Carolina) Speedway, taking third place at Southern National Motorsports Park, and finishing a close second to winner Caleb Heady this past Saturday at Caraway Speedway.
“We’re kind of picking up where we left off last year,” Myers pointed out. “We’re putting ourselves in contention (to win) and are being really consistent. The big thing is we have yet to visit Victory Lane this season. Hopefully, we can check off a bucket list item by getting a victory at South Boston Speedway.”
Myers is confident about being able to pick up some wins this season.
“I feel our team is capable of not only winning the championship, but also winning races,” Myers noted. “We did not pick up a victory last year, but all it would have taken was a caution to fall a certain way or something during a race go a different direction. It’s not that we are necessarily doing anything wrong, it’s just that things aren’t going just right. Our goal this year is to not only win the championship, but also get as many wins as possible.”
The level of competition has always been high on the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic and this season could turn out to be the best as car counts have been high in early-season events.
“It would surprise me if we didn’t see 30 cars at South Boston,” Myers remarked. “It’s not just the quantity of cars, it’s that the quality of cars seems to be at an all-new high. In my mind, there are eight to 10 cars capable of winning races at any given time.”
Myers enjoys going up against the best competition.
“I’ve always said you’re only as good as your competition,” Myers noted. “When you win a race and you’ve got a field of cars with eight or 10 or 12 cars that are capable of winning a race and teams and equipment that are at the top of their game it is more satisfying.”
The low-slung, high-horsepower open-wheel cars of the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic will be some of the fastest cars fans will see in competition at South Boston Speedway this season. The series’ qualifying record at South Boston Speedway of 13.923 seconds and 103.426 mph which was set last season could be in jeopardy when the series visits South Boston Speedway Saturday afternoon.
The SMART Modified Tour will be honoring the heritage of Southern Modified racing with Saturday afternoon’s running of the inaugural Flying VA 99 at South Boston Speedway. The event will honor one of the south’s most successful Modified racers, Richmond, Virginia, native “Mr. Modified” Ray Hendrick, who won five South Boston Speedway NASCAR track championships during his illustrious career.
In addition to the 99-lap race for the SMART Modified Tour competitors, the four-race Smart Ford-South Boston 234 racing program will include a 100-lap race for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division, a 20-lap Hornets Division race and a 15-lap race for Champ Karts which will be making the first of three scheduled appearances at South Boston Speedway this season.
Adult general admission advance tickets for the event, the first of several special events at South Boston Speedway this season, are available online on the South Boston Speedway website for $15 each plus a $1.50 processing fee, for a total of $16.50.
Advance tickets will be available online on the South Boston Speedway website until midnight on Friday before the race. Tickets online and at the gate on race day will be $20 each.
Grandstand gates will open at 12:30 p.m., qualifying will begin at 12:45 p.m. and the first race of the afternoon will get the green flag at 2 p.m.
The latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway are available on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, and through 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.
SBS PR
