Some hot lap practices in the days leading up to a major series run were good for drivers and teams setting up cars for South Boston Speedway. Race day for the SMART Modified “King Of The Modifieds” proved to be a test for the drivers and the cars as well as a big test for the track and emergency crews.
Nobody expected there would be no spins or cautions… With that said – Nobody expected racing with a 2 o’clock start and a total of 275 laps to get into “lights on”.
6:00pm-ish… Give or take a notch… With expected time out for stops and ceremony the expected time out was around 6…ish… That would have been well before the need for the overheads to come on.
The lights did come on. It wasn’t dark but the sun had set and the track lights did come on as the SMART checkered flag flew and Victory Lane festivities got under way. Racing went longer than expected but with that the fans were given a treat of excitement, drama and even a bit of intrigue.
The track crews and emergency teams were also given a very real workout to get their season started. Their efforts were able to turn track incidents back to green flag racing well in time enough. It was the volume and, perhaps, the variety of track incidents that tested the knowledge of those crews. There was debris. There were fluids. There were potential injuries. There were cars needing towed and cars needing tag team lifting. There was mess and mayhem and the crews were there jumping in and getting it done.
There were veterans making rookie errors with a hard drive in and a spin coming out. There was racing in for tight spaces and contact spins. There were cars stuck in a line with nowhere to go but smack into the full stop in front of them. There was at least one (allegedly) drive sideways push point blank into the wall.
With all of it the crews got it back on track. They had a real “trial by fire” thrown at them on day one and they were a step above all of it.
The “winners” of the races got trophies. The track and emergency crews don’t get the trophies but they should, at least, get a wave and a “well done”. They certainly earned it on this race race day.
For the racing, there were two 50 lap rounds of SoBo Sentara Late Model races and a showcase of classic racers in the 50 lap STAR Super Stock Tour. The Late Models started the day with 19 teams ready to race. The SMART Tour had over 30 entries on the track.
Peyton Sellers and Trevor Ward took the wins in the Late Models. Sellers dominated the first with pole sitter Mike Looney hanging on for the second slot. Third place went to Ward. Bobby McCarty and Carter Langley filled out the top five in the first.
The second race stirred up the dust a bit with four cautions that damaged several and put a few off the track completely. Trevor was out front for the final restart and held for the win. Landon Pembelton, Mike Looney and Blake Stallings followed Ward for the top five.
There were nine entries for the Alliance DriveAway Solutions STAR Super Stock Tour race and Jeff Melton was the star of that race from the pole to the checkers. Driving in for second place was Charles Baldwin. Cody DeMarmels came in for third with Gary Ledbetter and Chris Riendeau filled the top five.
The SMART field started large but seven cautions with three red flag stops took a toll. Almost half the entries were off the lead lap pace or off the track completely by the end.
Matt Hirschman had his car and his team on the spot when it was needed and took the lead on the 77th lap. Through three cautions and restarts he was able to hold the spot for the win. Stephen Kopcik and last year’s winner, Luke Baldwin filled the top three. Brandon and Carson Loftin finished in the fourth and fifth slots.
The sixth through tenth slots were scored for Paulie Hartwig, Joey Braun, Ryan Newman, Eddie McCarthy and Jayden Harmon.
Racing at South Boston has only just begun. Rest easy as competitors with the knowledge that the crews on the track have your back. For fans, the edge is on your seat for mash-ups knowing that those crews are working to get the laps going as quickly as possible.
Stay safe – Go racing!
Full photo gallery – King Of The Modified / SMART Tour – South Boston Speedway
