In a sport largely dominated by younger drivers 27-year racing veteran Chuck Lawson continues to battle for wins and podium finishes while competing in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway.
“I love being around fast cars and hearing the engines run,” Lawson explained when asked why he continues to race.
“I just enjoy the sport. I enjoy the fellowship with all of the guys. This is fun.
“Sometimes I say I’m getting too old for this,” Lawson added. “If I’m competitive, I feel like I need to keep going.”
While Lawson has spent much of his career competing at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina where he won his only track championship in 2012, he has also competed at South Boston Speedway at times. He has been among the top contenders at South Boston Speedway at various points in his career but has not won a championship at the .4-mile oval.
“I’ve been so close,” Lawson remarked. “I was so close here several times when I used to race against H.C. Sellers in Limited Sportsman. Championships are hard to come by. There are so many drivers that are capable of winning. You never know who is going to win when you go out there on any given night.”
The 53-year-old Providence, North Carolina resident has run well at South Boston Speedway this season. Unfortunately, bad luck has plagued his early-season efforts. He sits in sixth place, just four points out of fifth place, in South Boston Speedway’s Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division point standings entering 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.
Lawson finished 13th in the division’s season-opening race and finished ninth in the second event of the season. Those finishes are not the kind of finishes Lawson expected or wanted to kick off the season.
“We’ve had a monkey on our back,” Lawson said. “I led some of the first race and the car jumped out from underneath me and I hit the wall. The second race, I qualified sixth, was running third and the right rear tire went flat.”
The tide may be starting to turn for Lawson. In the most recent race, a 65-lap race on April 29, Lawson won the pole, led 31 laps, and scored his best finish of the season with a fourth-place effort.
“We can be competitive and have a good season if we can turn things around, shake this monkey off of our back and start getting some decent finishes,” Lawson noted. “I think we’re capable of winning and I think I’m capable of winning. We’ve just got to have some luck go our way.”
South Boston Speedway is honoring the region’s first responders at Saturday night’s God’s Pit Crew Presents First Responders Night event. There will be free admission for first responders with ID.
Saturday night’s five-race card will feature a 100-lap race for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division. 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 are also included on Saturday night’s slate of races.
The event schedule for Saturday night’s God’s Pit Crew Presents First Responders Night event has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. 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.
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.
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