While Landon Huffman has a limited amount of experience in racing open-wheel Modifieds, he feels good about his prospects 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.
“I think we’ll surprise some people,” Huffman remarked. “We’re starting to get an understanding of the car. We went to the North Wilkesboro Speedway test, and we were one of the faster SMART Tour cars that were there, which was a good confidence booster.”
Prior to that, Huffman had a good outing in the SMART Modified Tour race at Dominion Raceway on September 14 in his first-ever start in a SMART Modified Tour event.
“We ran surprisingly well at Dominion for most of the race,” the Claremont, North Carolina resident pointed out. “We qualified in the top 10, ran inside the top 10 most of the race, and fell back to 12th at the end. I had raced at Dominion only one time prior to that, and that was in the CARS Tour. I hope to come to South Boston and qualify and race inside the top 10 again and come away with a Top-10 finish. That would be the goal.”
The opportunity for Huffman to drive a Modified came about through Washington state resident Justin Hanney.
“His dad used to build motors for my dad, (former NASCAR driver Robert Huffman) when he raced in the NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series,” Huffman explained. “He wanted to start a Modified team and reached out to me this past off-season. He got a car from Tommy Baldwin, and we keep it in my shop.
“We’ve been trying to pick and choose our battles,” Huffman continued. “Now that my Late Model Stock Car season is winding down, we’re going to try to race the Modified three or four times at the end of the year and attempt to get a game plan together for next year.”
The 2022 Hickory Motor Speedway NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Champion and CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour regular pointed out he and his team are in a learning curve when it comes to the Modified car.
“We’re a bunch of Late Model guys trying to figure out the Modifieds,” he said. “They’re a different animal. The tires and what not are different, so it takes a different approach and we’re learning that. The PSR team, Brandon Ward and a bunch of our friends in the industry have really helped us out and given us the all the tools to be able to perform.”
Huffman and the Shamrock Motorsports team competed on four of the five nights of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida in February. The team was idle until Huffman competed in the SMART Modified Tour race at Dominion Raceway two weeks ago.
Huffman chose to compete in the October 12 SMART Modified Tour race at South Boston Speedway because of his familiarity with the .4-mile oval.
“I haven’t been able to run the Modified much so it’s nice when I go somewhere that I have confidence at track-wise and a place where I have found success,” Huffman said. “I don’t have a ton of laps around South Boston, but I’ve run really well there when I have been there to race. Plus, it worked out that this SMART Tour date was available for us to go race. I didn’t have an overlapping Late Model commitment, so it was a good opportunity for us to go to a track that I know and get more experience in an open-wheel car.”
Two races remain for Huffman and Shamrock Motorsports after the October 12 race at South Boston Speedway, the October 19 SMART Modified Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway and the North-South Shoot-Out at Caraway Speedway.
In addition to the 99-lap race for the stars and cars of the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic South Boston Speedway will host its 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.
Along with the 99-lap SMART Modified Tour race and the 50-lap race for the STAR Super Stock Tour, the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club will be featured in a 25-lap race. This will be the third visit to South Boston Speedway for the Southern Ground Pounders this season.
Advance tickets for the Hitachi Energy Power Up Race Day event on Saturday afternoon, October 12 are on sale and 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.
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