Saturday’s season-opening Danville Toyota ’23 Opener at South Boston Speedway will be an event Carter Langley will never forget.
The Zebulon, North Carolina resident not only scored his first career Late Model Stock Car Division win, he went one step better – sweeping the twin 75-lap Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division races that headlined South Boston Speedway’s 2023 season-opening event.
“I didn’t expect my first and second win to come this close,” Langley said after scoring the sweep. “This is special. This really means a lot. I couldn’t think of a better place to get my first win. I didn’t think I was going to get back into Victory Lane. Winning the first and second race back-to-back really gives you a big boost of confidence.”
Langley took the lead from Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia with six laps to go, but had to hold off Looney and fast-closing Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia in a three-lap dash to the finish that followed the race’s third caution period. He prevailed at the end, edging Looney by .386-second with Sellers taking third place.
Camden Gullie of Durham, North Carolina finished fourth and Logan Clark of Mechanicsville, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers in the 23-car starting field.
The early portion of the race was a battle between pole winner Bruce Anderson of South Boston, Virginia, Sellers, Looney, Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina and Langley. However, that changed when Anderson, Sellers and Borst were involved in a mishap on lap 59 – a crash that sidelined Anderson and relegated Borst and Sellers back into the field. Sellers rallied to take third place and Borst recovered to finish seventh.
There were three lead changes among four drivers in the first 75-lap race, with Anderson leading the first 42 laps, and Sellers leading the next 17 circuits before he was involved in the mishap. Looney inherited the lead at the restart and led 10 laps before Langley surged into the lead and ultimately scored the win.
In the nightcap, Langley, who started the race in ninth-place after the drawing for the inverted start, gradually worked his way through the field, taking second place from Sellers with 25 laps to go and taking the lead from Borst with 16 laps to go. Once in front, Langley managed to separate himself from his challengers and sped across the finish line 1.636-seconds ahead of Borst, who started the race from third place.
Sellers finished third, giving him a pair of third-place efforts for the afternoon, with Mark Wertz of Chesapeake, Virginia, and Craig Moore of Rougemont, North Carolina completing the top five finishers.
There were two lead changes among three drivers with Borst leading 44 laps, Langley holding then top spot for 16 laps and Moore leading the first 15 laps of the race.
MURRAY, BARNES SPLIT BUDWEISER LIMITED SPORTSMAN DIVISION TWINBILL
Adam Murray of Bailey, North Carolina and last season’s division champion, Kyle Barnes of Draper, Virginia, split wins in Saturday’s twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division.
Murray scored his first career South Boston Speedway win the first 30-lap race. He took the lead from J.D. Eversole of Richmond, Virginia on the 19th lap and led the rest of the way, edging Eversole by .314-second at the finish.
Carter Russo of Rougemont, North Carolina finished third, Barnes finished fourth and Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia finished fifth in the 19-car starting field.
There were two lead changes among two drivers with Murray leading twice for a total of 28 laps. Eversole led once for two circuits.
Barnes started sixth in the second race but needed only 10 laps to get to the front of the field. He passed Zach Peregoy of Clarksville, Virginia to take the lead on the tenth lap and led the final 21 circuits in picking up the victory.
Ronnie Jones of Kenly, North Carolina finished second, 1.217-seconds behind Barnes. Myers finished third, Drew Dawson of Halifax, Virginia finished fourth and Justin Dawson of Halifax, Virginia rounded out the top five finishers.
There were two lead changes among three drivers with Barnes leading 21 laps, pole starter Ronald Renfrow of Kenly, North Carolina leading the first six laps and Peregoy leading three laps.
LAYNE WINS SOUTHSIDE DISPOSAL PURE STOCK DIVISION OPENER
Johnny Layne of Halifax. Virginia won Saturday’s 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division – and had a tough path in doing so.
After the motor in Layne’s car blew during practice he left the speedway, headed home, retrieved his other car, returned to the speedway, and started the race at the rear of the field.
Undaunted, Layne quickly surged through the field, took the lead from defending division champion Scott Phillips of Halifax, Virginia on the seventh lap, and led the rest of the way to pick up the win. He crossed the finish line 1.395-seconds ahead of runner-up Zach Reaves of South Boston, Virginia, who had started the race from the pole.
B.J. Reaves of South Boston, Virginia, Bruce Mayo of Halifax, Virginia and Phillips, who led the first six laps of the race, rounded out the top five finishers.
GOBLE TAKES VIRGINIA STATE POLICE HEAT HORNETS DIVISION WIN
Cameron Goble of Ringgold, Virginia scored his first career South Boston Speedway victory Saturday, earning a flag-to-flag win in the 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
Goble finished .883-second ahead of runner-up Dillon Davis of Nathalie, Virginia, with pole winner Jason DeCarlo of Chase City, Virginia, Steven Layne of Halifax, Virginia and Andrea Ruotolo of South Boston, Virginia rounding out the top five finishers.
NEXT RACE AT SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY
South Boston Speedway will host its first special event of the 2023 season when racing action returns to the historic track on Saturday afternoon, April 1 with the URW Fools Rush 260 racing program. The first race of the afternoon is set for 3 p.m.
The high-horsepower open-wheel Modifieds of the SMART Modified Tour will be featured in a 99-lap race. Fans will also see the Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division competitors battle it out in twin 71-lap races. A 21-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division will round out the four-race card.
Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $17 each. 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 tentative event-day schedule for the URW Fools Rush 260 on Saturday afternoon, April 1 has frontstretch spectator gates opening at 10:45 a.m. Qualifying is set for 1:30 p.m. and the first race of the afternoon will get the green flag at 3 p.m.
The latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway are available on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, through the track’s social media channels, and by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
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