When Bobby McCarty and his dad decided it was time to go stock-car racing a few years back, there was only one track on their list: South Boston Speedway.
“It has the best of the best,” McCarty said of South Boston. “I wanted to run against the best in Limited (Sportsman) and now in Late Model.”
After last Saturday night the 22-year-old McCarty can include his own name among South Boston’s “best.”
McCarty, in just his second Late Model season, pulled away from point leader Matt Bowling down the stretch to pick up his first career Late Model victory in the second 75-lapper of the night.
“To finally break the ice is a huge relief,” McCarty said earlier this week from his family’s business, Champion Automotive, where he works as a mechanic. “To finally give these guys that work for free on this car, to give them a win, it’s awesome. They don’t get paid a thing for all their hard work.”
McCarty has been on the verge of victory all season. He has seven top 5s in 11 starts, including three runner-up finishes. He spent the early part of Saturday’s second race on the heels of leaders Matt Waltz and Lee Pulliam and when those two tangled, he shot past and took a relatively easy win over Bowling.
“I didn’t necessarily like the situation that I won, but I had run (the leaders) down and the whole time I was catching them, I was trying to figure out how to pass them,” the Summerfield, NC, driver said. “Matt won the first race and he was second in the race we won. My car was just as good as theirs if not better.”
McCarty’s crew chief, Troy McCarty, is also his father. McCarty said his dad “took a big swing” at his car’s setup between races Saturday and it paid dividends.
“I think we really found something before the second race,” said McCarty, who has backing from Stalling’s Collision Center, Champion Automotive, FiveStar Bodies, Hedgecock Racing, Graphix Unlimited, Banks Racing Engines and Advance Auto Parts.
The father-son crew chief and driver combination is a little different than most, and can be difficult at times, McCarty said, but in the end it has been the perfect recipe for success.
“It’s one of those deals where he knows how to say things to get me fired up and get after the car,” the younger McCarty said. “And I know how to say things to get him fired up. It’s not always easy, but it’s a lot of fun.”
McCarty has been successful in everything he has driven, starting in go-karts at six years old. He progressed to the Allison Legacy Series when he was 15 and then to South Boston’s Limited Sportsman Division when he was 18. He won “three or four” races in his rookie season and came back with seven wins and the championship the next year racing against veteran drivers with multiple championships between them.
That amazing rate of success slowed suddenly when he made the big leap to South Boston’s Late Model Division in 2014. He found himself racing against former national champions on a regular basis and faced a steeper learning curve than in the past.
“We won three or four races in Limited our first year and then the championship the next year. We were on the pole in our first Late Model race, so we figured it was going to be fairly easy … “
But racing against “the best of the best” meant learning every time out and improving race by race. And now with that first Late Model win in the rear view mirror, he’s looking down the road with self-assurance.
“I have a ton of confidence going into the big 200-lapper next week. We plan on running the big races at the end of the year and we want to get on a hot streak,” said McCarty
The “big 200-lapper” is the Bojangles Presents Dr. and Mrs. Maresca of St. Lawrence Radiology and Thunder Road Harley Davidson NASCAR Late Model 200 on Saturday, August 29.
In addition to a 200-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race, there will be a 100-lap Limited Sportsman race, a 50-lap Budweiser Pure Stock race, a 15-lap Budweiser Hornets race and a 20-lap Champ Kart event. The night will be capped with a spectacular fireworks display.
Grandstand gates will open at 4:30 p.m., qualifying will begin at 4:45 p.m. and a fan appreciation event will be held trackside following qualifying. The first of the night’s five races will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets are $15 each and may be purchased at the speedway office until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 28. Adult admission on race day is $20, with admission for youth ages 7-12 being $10. Kids six-and-under are admitted free with a paying adult.
South Boston Speedway PR
- General Tire 150: Zilisch triumphsfor first ARCA Menards Series victory - April 26, 2024
- Greg Van Alst Determined to Conquer Monster Mile Debut - April 26, 2024
- Chiaramonte’s Speed Impressive at Merced – Debuts New Car at Perris on Saturday - April 26, 2024