Garrett Smith Tackling Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series

 

The Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals Series is an annual dirt super late model summer series that features a dozen races in a two week period at various tracks in West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.

 

“This is definitely going to be the toughest thing we’ve done so far,” said Smith. “Some of the best drivers in the Southeast come to the Southern Nationals races, so it’ll be a real good chance to test my skill and get a lot of experience in a short amount of time.”

 

The Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals Series begins on July 16 at Beckley Motorsports Park in Mount Hope, W.Va., and is followed by races at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va., on July 17, Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., on July 19 and I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, Tenn., on July 20.

 

The series continues on July 22 at West Georgia Speedway in Whitesburg, Ga., followed by trips to Needmore Speedway in Norman Park, Ga., on July 23, Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., on July 24 and Rome (Ga.) Speedway on July 25.

 

Tri-County Race Track in Brasstown, N.C., welcomes the series on July 27 followed by consecutive nights of racing at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Ga., on July 29, 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tenn., on July 30 and Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway on July 31 to wrap up the series.

 

Smith, 17, made his dirt super late model debut late last season with an impressive showing during a Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series race at Georgia’s Lavonia Speedway. The young gun is looking forward to hitting the road with the series for the first time.

 

“When you look at the history of the Southern Nationals, the best of the best have made names for themselves racing with this series,” Smith said. “Guys like Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport and Chris Madden have all dominated the series in the past. My goal is to go out there, be competitive, learn and hopefully pick up a few wins along the way. You never know what could happen.”