There is nothing like kicking off your season in a big way and Jason Myers captured some opening night magic in South Boston Speedway’s first Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race of the 2024 season.
Myers won the 75-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race that highlighted Saturday night’s Danville Toyota Weekly Series Opening Night event, taking home a total of $2,000 that included the $1,500 prize posted for the winner of the season’s longest and richest race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway and a $500 award from Sellers Racing for winning the pole for the event.
“This is super special,” Myers said with a huge smile. “This is the biggest race I’ve ever won and it’s the biggest Limited Sportsman race they’ve ever had here, so for us to get the pole and somehow come out with a win is awesome.”
It was something of an improbable win for South Boston Speedway’s defending Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division champion. Myers was in third place behind race leader Nathan Crews and second-place driver Eric Winslow when the pair made contact while battling for the lead and spun in the second turn with three laps to go.
That gave Myers the lead for the second time in the race and elevated Drew Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia to second place and Cory Dunn of Salem, Virginia to third place for the ensuing restart. Before the field could make a complete circuit, the right front suspension broke on Dawson’s car and he came to a stop against the fourth turn wall to being out the race’s fourth and final caution period.
Myers got a good start on the final restart and edged Dunn by .927-second at the finish to close out the win.
“Once the 22 (Winslow) got around me and 75 (Crews) was leading I kind of held my own there in third,” Myers explained. “I was hoping for a caution. My car would fire off good early. I knew that it could get interesting up there and I just needed to be in the right position to capitalize.”
Dunn was pleased with his runner-up finish after having been in fifth place with a dozen laps to go in the race.
“We’re very pleased,” Dunn remarked. “We were in a good position at the end of the night. Some things happened in front of us and fortunately we were able to capitalize a little bit.”
Justin Dawson of Nathalie, Virginia finished third behind Myers and Dunn. Stacy Puryear of South Boston, Virginia and Jason Pittman of Chester, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
Zach Peregoy of Clarksville, Virginia, Crews, Winslow, Ross Mountcasel of Crewe, Virginia, and Drew Bond of Troutville, Virginia rounded out to the top 10 finishers.
Puryear received the $500 Hard Charger Award from Anderson Turf Management of South Boston, Virginia for the driver who gained the most positions from their starting position. Bond received a $250 award from LS Tractor of South Boston, Virginia for the tenth-place finisher in the race.
There were two lead changes among two drivers in the race. Myers led the first 25 laps before Crews took over the top spot on lap 26. Crews led the next 47 laps before losing the lead in the late-race incident.
Stallings, Borst Split Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division Twinbill
Blake Stallings of Danville, Virginia and Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina scored their first wins of the season Saturday night, splitting the double 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division that were part of Saturday night’s Danville Toyota Weekly Series Opening Night event at South Boston Speedway.
With Stallings and Borst splitting wins in the twinbill South Boston Speedway now has three different winners in its first three Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division races of the 2024 season.
Stallings’ win in the first of the double 75-lap races was especially sweet for him and his team as he gained his first career win in NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division competition at South Boston Speedway and snapped a five-year winless streak in the process.
“This win means the world to me,” Stallings said. “I’ve won races at South Boston Speedway in the Limited Sportsman Division, but we’ve always chased a Late Model win. My dad (Steve Stallings) has always wanted us to win here because this was his home track too.”
Two-time NASCAR national champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia jumped out front early and led the first 67 laps. Stallings, who inherited second place after pole winner Craig Moore of Rougemont, North Carolina suffered a flat tire on the 25th lap while running second, made a run at Sellers inside of 20 laps to go in the race.
Stallings cleared Sellers on lap 68 and led the rest of the way, edging Sellers by .533-second. Stacy Puryear finished third, Borst took fourth place and Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia finished fifth.
A total of 17 cars started the race.
The top 10 finishers of the first race were inverted for the start of the second 75-lap race, with Borst starting seventh and Stallings starting tenth. Moore, who had won the season-opener and had been strong in the opening race, muscled his way into the lead on lap 40, with Borst squeezing through to take second place behind him.
Borst needed only a few laps to close the gap between himself and Moore and worked his way into the lead on lap 51. With no caution periods to close up the field, Borst was able to drive to a .891-second win over Moore to score his first win of the season. Saturday night’s win makes it four seasons in a row that Borst has won at least one NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division race at South Boston Speedway.
The win was a big one for Borst who had the misfortune of having his car damaged in a mishap in practice for the opening race of the season.
“This means a lot,” Borst remarked. “There has been a lot of hard work put into this car. That (the practice crash on the opening day of the season) is not how you want to start the season. To rebound with a win, and getting a fourth-place finish in the first race is good. We were able to come out and execute and get the win.”
Sellers finished third behind Borst and Moore with Puryear and Stallings rounding out the top five finishers.
There were three lead changes among four drivers. Kyle Dudley of Roanoke, Virginia led the most laps, spending 35 laps in the lead. Borst led 25 circuits, Moore led 11 laps and Karl Budzevski led the first four laps of the race.
Johnny Layne Wins Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division Opener
Defending South Boston Speedway Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division champion Johnny Layne of Halifax, Virginia got his 2024 season off to a flying start with a flag-to-flag win in Saturday night’s 25-lap Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division race.
Layne edged B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia by a narrow .421-second margin to earn the win in the division’s season-opening race.
Bruce Mayo of Halifax, Virginia finished third with Zach Reaves of Danville, Virginia and Kendall Milam of Keeling, Virginia completing the top five finishers.
Cameron Goble Scores Victory In The20-Lap VSP HEAT Hornets Division Race
Cameron Goble of Ringgold, Virginia won Saturday night’s Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division race which ended after 17 laps due to time limits. Goble has now won the first two races of the season in the division.
Dustin Davis of Nathalie, Virginia finished second with Steven Layne of Nathalie, Virginia, Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia and Jordaine Penick of Meherrin, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
Next Race At South Boston Speedway
NASCAR racing will return to South Boston Speedway for a daytime event on Saturday afternoon, April 20 with the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Day event. Race time is 2 p.m.
The six-race event will be headlined by a 100-lap race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division. Double 30-lap races are set for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division. In addition, the competitors in the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division will battle it out in a 25-lap race and a 20-lap race is set for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division. Fans will also see the competitors of the regional touring East Coast Flathead Fords Racing Association in action in a 25-lap race.
The Saturday, April 20 race day schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 8:30 a.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 10:30 a.m. Practice will run from 10:30 a.m. until 12:15 p.m., qualifying is set for 1 p.m. and the first race of the afternoon is set to get the green flag at 2 p.m.
Advance tickets for the Viny’s Italian Restaurant & Italian Delight Family Restaurant Race Day event are priced at $12 each. Advance tickets 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 will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.
Fans and competitors can find the latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway on the speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours, and through the track’s social media channels.
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