NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racer Layne Riggs will return to South Boston Speedway Saturday night, September 14 to compete in the 125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour race that will headline the Autos By Nelson 280 CARS Tour event.
Riggs, the 2022 NASCAR national champion and South Boston Speedway champion, will drive the No. 00 car for Tom Usry Racing in the 125-lap race that will headline Saturday night’s four-race card.
“It’s great to come back to South Boston Speedway,” Riggs said. “It’s a good opportunity to drive the No. 00 for Tom Usry Racing. I’m excited about it.”
Riggs is very familiar with South Boston Speedway, having won 10 times in his career at the .4-mile oval and having captured the 2022 track championship. Driving a car out of the Kevin Harvick stable, Riggs finished second to race winner Deac McCaskill in last year’s race, In 2022, Riggs finished second in this race driving his own car.
“We had a good shot at winning the race last year,” Riggs pointed out. “We qualified on the pole and finished second to Deac (McCaskill). I feel we can be right on track to do the same and get the “W” this time.
“I know the track hasn’t changed a whole lot since I have been there,” added Riggs. “We’re going to be back on the same tire. I know exactly where the car needs to be. I feel everybody else will be as good or better than the last time I was there, but I think I have a good understanding of what I need to be fast and win the race.”
Riggs remarked he plans to enjoy the weekend.
“It’s going to be about having fun,” he remarked. “I just want to try to soak it all up and enjoy being at the racetrack. Hopefully we can run well enough and end up in Victory Lane.”
Along with Riggs, there are a couple of other familiar faces that will be in the field for Saturday night’s race. South Boston Speedway’s 2024 champion, Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia, is entered as is former South Boston Speedway regular Aaron Donnelly. Former South Boston Speedway CARS Tour winners Bobby McCarty and Carson Kvapil are also among the drivers on the pre-race entry list.
Only three races remain to decide the championship in the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour.
Entering Saturday’s race at South Boston Speedway, Connor Hall holds a slim three-point lead over Brenden ‘Butterbean” Queen with Mini Tyrell occupying third place 30 points down. Brent Crews sits in fourth place 36 points out of the lead and the series’ most recent winner, Ryan Millington, rounds out the top five in the standings, 39 points out of the lead.
zMAX CARS Tour officials have 16 drivers on the entry list for the 100-lap race for the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour will serve as the co-feature event for the Autos by Nelson 280 event.
Entering Saturday night’s action Spencer Davis leads Kaden Honeycutt by four points with Caden Kvapil sitting in third place 24 points behind Davis.
There have been two previous zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour races at South Boston Speedway with Nick Loden being the only previous race winner entered in Saturday’s event.
Also on Saturday, the region’s top INEX U.S. Legend Car competitors will compete in a 30-lap INEX Legend Car race that will mark the first INEX U.S. Legend Car race at South Boston Speedway in 12 years.
The most easily recognizable competitor in the field will be Keelan Harvick, the 11-year-old son of NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick. Harvick will compete against some of the best INEX U.S. Legend Car competitors in the race that features the 5/8-scale cars that resemble the modified coupes and coaches that competed on tracks across the United States in the early years of NASCAR racing.
U.S. Legend Cars International and its sanctioning body INEX serve as a stepping-stone for drivers climbing the ladder to NASCAR and have many notable alumni who have driven Legend Cars and Bandoleros.
Rounding out the night’s racing action is a 25-lap race for the competitors of the Virginia Mini Cup Racing Association. The Virginia Mini Cup Racing Association features ½-scale stock cars that compete at tracks throughout Virginia and North Carolina. The series is celebrating 28 years of racing this year.
Tyler Warriner of Glen Allen, Virginia has won the series championship each of the past three years and has over 30 Mini Cup wins. Zach Sprouse of Stafford, Virginia currently leads the series’ championship points chase. Sprouse was the series runner-up in 2022 and 2023.
Advance tickets for the four-race Autos by Nelson 280 CARS Tour event are priced at $17 each. They 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 $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.
Saturday’s event schedule has frontstretch grandstand gates opening at 10 a.m. Practice for the two zMAX CARS Tour divisions going from 11:05 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. Practice and qualifying for the U.S. Legend Car series and the Virginia Mini Cup series will go from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m. Backstretch and trackside parking gates will open at 3 p.m.
zMAX CARS Tour qualifying starts at 4 p.m., a Fan Fest driver autograph session will be held on the frontstretch from 5:20 p.m. until 6:05 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Information about the September 14 Autos By Nelson 280 CARS Tour event at South Boston Speedway and all of the speedway’s events can be found 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.
South Boston Speedway PR
