Kyle Barnes had no idea he could make as big of an early-season splash as he has made in South Boston Speedway’s Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division this season.
Heading into the twin 30-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division races that will be part of the God’s Pit Crew Presents First Responders Night event on Saturday night, May 14 at South Boston Speedway Barnes has scored two wins and a second-place finish in the three Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division races held at South Boston Speedway this season. He holds a six-point lead over Jason Myers of Hurt, Virginia and an eight-point edge over third place Chris Donnelly of Montross, Virginia entering the May 14 twinbill.
“My year as far as racing at South Boston Speedway has been made,” Barnes remarked. “We were just looking to come down here, have some fun and run in the top five. To come down here and already have two wins and a second is huge for us. If we don’t do anything else here at South Boston Speedway this season, we’re as happy as we can be. I can promise you there is nobody happier here.”
Motor Mile Speedway is the home track for the Draper, Virginia resident, and he did not expect to come into South Boston Speedway and fare as well as he has thus far.
“This is totally unexpected for us,” said Barnes who won nine Limited Sportsman races last year at Motor Mile Speedway.
“When we showed up the first week, I felt pretty confident we could get out of here with a Top-Five finish.
Then, once we saw everyone who unloaded I was feeling like I was going to be lucky to walk out of here with a Top-10 finish.
“Anyone who can show up at South Boston Speedway and do well their first few times there is really doing something,” Barnes added. “We’ve been blessed to have some really good runs this season. We didn’t expect it. This is a completely different animal compared to anywhere else, in my opinion.”
Barnes said the level of the competition in South Boston Speedway’s Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division was something of an eye-opener.
“We have great competition back home (at Motor Mile Speedway) but these guys (at South Boston Speedway) treat the racing completely different,” Barnes pointed out.
“When you come to South Boston Speedway these guys eat, live and breathe racing. It’s a whole different group of guys compared to what I’m used to. A lot of these guys at South Boston aren’t treating it just as a hobby like a lot of us do back at Motor Mile. These guys are doing it 24/7 and that makes a big difference. We have to really elevate our game every time we show up here at South Boston Speedway.”
The God’s Pit Crew Presents First Responders Night event on Saturday night, May 14 will be a big night as South Boston Speedway is offering free admission for first responders with ID as a special thank you for their service to the community.
Five races are scheduled for the night with a 100-lap race for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division headlining the action. Also included on the night’s schedule are twin 30-lap races for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Hornets Division.
Registration and pit gates will open at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 14. Practice starts at 4 p.m., grandstand gates will open at 5:45 p.m., qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets for the event are priced at $10 each plus a $1.50 processing fee and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, through Friday night, May 13. Advance tickets may also be purchased by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Tickets at the gate on race night will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $10 each at the gate on race night.
South Boston Speedway fans are urged to vote for the speedway in the Advance My Track Challenge. The voting window for the first round of voting is open until Friday, May 6
During the Advance My Track Challenge program fans are invited to go to AdvanceMyTrack.com to cast their vote for their favorite NASCAR Home Track. The most popular track will win a $50,000 grand prize. The track with the second-most votes will receive a $15,000 prize and the track with the third-highest vote total will receive a $10,000 prize.
The top six tracks receiving the most votes will move on to the final round of voting which will take place May 9-13.
Prizes earned by the top three tracks may be used for facility enhancements or to establish community-based programs with schools, non-profit agencies or other local organizations.
The latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway are available on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, and through the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
SBS PR
