This season has been a tough one for Scott Phillips. The Halifax, Virginia resident had looked forward to racing in the Pure Stock Division at South Boston Speedway in 2020 only to see the COVID-19 pandemic crush that hope.
Phillips attempted to race at other speedways from time to time, but misfortune struck virtually every time.
“2020 has been rough,” Phillips said with a sigh.
“I got tired of waiting for some racing to start (at South Boston Speedway) and started going to some other tracks and had problems with one thing or another every time.”
Phillips made his first attempt to race in 2020 at Orange County Speedway in North Carolina and immediately suffered misfortune.
“I ended up getting into an accident during practice and it twisted the car,” Phillips explained during a break in a recent testing session at South Boston Speedway.
“It pushed the roll cage and door pillar in really bad. I straightened it (the car’s chassis) up, but it’s not right. I’ve been doing things with the (chassis) setup to compensate. It (the car) is good, but it’s not like it should be.”
After the mishap in his first attempt to go racing in 2020, Phillips encountered some form of misfortune every time he attempted to compete. Phillips worked on his car during his recent test session at South Boston Speedway to prepare for an event at a nearby track. Unfortunately, he had issues yet another time.
The combination of not being able to race at his home track, South Boston Speedway, combining with the misfortune in his few attempts to race this season have made 2020 very frustrating for Phillips.
“Last year (2019) I finished the season off strong and had the car set up right,” Phillips said.
“I ran up front really well in the last race of the season, led a lot of laps at Orange County Speedway and finished second in one of their races last year. This year everything just seemed to fall apart.”
With the 2020 season behind him, Phillips is looking ahead to 2021with hopes of much better future fortunes.
“I’m looking forward to coming back to South Boston Speedway for a full season 2021,” Phillips noted, “and hopefully, with some things I have learned and a new car, maybe I will be able to get back up front.”
The new car Phillips plans to bring to South Boston Speedway in 2021 will be another Nissan.
“I plan on having a brand-new car for next year, and maybe turn this car into a backup car if I can cut some stuff apart during the winter,” Phillips explained.
“I definitely will be in a different car next year for the primary car.”
Not only does Phillips have plans to bring out a new primary car for 2021, he has additional plans in the works as well.
“I’ve also got a Nissan 240 hatchback that used to be raced at Orange County Speedway,” noted Phillips.
“That car will be turned into a second car for a back-up car next year. I may have somebody running that car for me. I’ve got a couple of guys who want to drive it, so we’ll see. I know if something happens to my car I will have something to fall back on.”
While weather temperatures have fallen some over the past few weeks with the arrival of fall there are still a lot of good days ahead for drivers and race teams wishing to schedule test sessions to work on their cars and begin preparations for the 2021 season.
South Boston Speedway is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. for teams wishing to schedule testing sessions. The track is available for testing from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day. Teams wishing to schedule a test at South Boston Speedway should contact the speedway office at 434-572-4947 at least a day ahead to schedule a test session.
The 2021 season at “America’s Hometown Track” kicks off on Saturday, March 20, 2021 with twin races for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Cars, twin races for the track’s Limited Sportsman Division and races for the Pure Stock and Hornets Divisions.
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