Momentum can be key in a series championship chase and Danny Bohn has a good dose of it entering the 99-lap SMART Modified Tour race that headlines the Hitachi Energy Power Up Race Day event on Saturday afternoon, October 12 at South Boston Speedway.
The Freehold, New Jersey native has five Top-3 finishes including a win in his last six starts on the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic and has not finished outside of the top five in that span. He is looking to add another strong outing in the upcoming race at South Boston Speedway.
“The last handful of races have been really good,” Bohn noted prior to a recent testing session at South Boston Speedway. “The last five or six races we’ve been in the top five. We were able to win at Carteret County Speedway (on August 31) and finished second at New River All American Speedway that morning. If we can continue to run the way we’ve been running, we should have a really good shot at winning.”
Bohn occupies third place in the series point standings heading into the South Boston Speedway event. The tour championship will be decided in a playoff among the top five drivers in the point standings heading into the South Boston Speedway event. Two playoff drivers with the smallest number of points after the South Boston Speedway race will be eliminated, with the top three drivers in points, known as the SMART 3, advancing to compete for the tour championship in the October 19 season finale at North Wilkesboro (NC) Speedway.
However, if one of the two drivers with the least number of points wins the race, that driver will become one of the SMART 3, and the next lowest driver in points would be eliminated.
Bohn, who has a win, seven Top-5 finishes, and nine Top-10 finishes in his 12 starts on the tour, enters the race 28 points behind series leader Carson Loftin but is only eight points behind second-place driver Luke Baldwin. He has a 30-point edge over fourth-place driver Ryan Newman and a 36-point edge over fifth-place driver Burt Myers. That puts him in a good position entering the race at South Boston Speedway.
“I’m going to try to win here at South Boston Speedway and then go on to race for the championship at North Wilkesboro,” Bohn said. “We’re not points racing. I don’t think Burt (Myers) and (Ryan) Newman can pass me in points, but if one of them wins, that would eliminate the third-place guy. I either need to win or those two can’t win. It’s basically win or do what we can to try to put ourselves into the best position to win the race.”
South Boston Speedway has traditionally been a good track for Bohn. That also fuels his optimism heading into the race.
“I had four poles when I raced in the NASCAR Southern Modified Tour here,” Bohn pointed out. “I never won here but was in position to win a few. We led awhile in one race, had a mistake on pit road and came out ninth and finished second or third. The last time we ran the (NASCAR) tour here was the year we ran 150 green-flag laps, and I led the first 127 of them and got passed at the end and ended up fourth.
“It’s a track that fits my driving style,” Bohn continued. “I really enjoy racing here. We struggled here in the springtime. We were still trying to figure this car out. With the baseline we have now I think when we come here next week, we will have a shot to put it in Victory Lane.”
Along with the 99-lap race for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic, fans attending the Saturday, October 12 Hitachi Energy Power Up Race Day event will see the track’s first-ever race for the STAR Super Stock Tour.
The drivers and teams of the STAR Super Stock Tour will compete in a 50-lap race that will pay $1,000 to the winner. The STAR Super Stock Tour features classic racecars of yesteryear such as the 1978 Chevrolet Camaros, 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and Ford Mustangs. To keep costs low, the cars use a crate engine and competitors race on used Hoosier scuff tires.
In addition, fans will see the competitors of the popular regional touring Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club hit the track for a 25-lap race.
Advance tickets for the Hitachi Energy Power Up Race Day event on Saturday afternoon, October 12 are priced at $17 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 $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.
The Saturday, October 12 Hitachi Energy Power Up Race Day event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 7 a.m. and frontstretch spectator gates opening at 9 a.m. Practice will go from 9 a.m. until 10:55 a.m. Backstretch and Turn 4 gates will open at 11 a.m. Qualifying will start at 11:15 a.m. An autograph session will be held on the frontstretch from noon until 12:50 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 1:30 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 2 p.m.
Information about the Saturday, October 12 Hitachi Energy Power Up Race Day 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
