Peyton Sellers will be looking to pick up where he left off at the end of last season when South Boston Speedway kicks off its 2023 racing season on Saturday, March 18 with the Danville Toyota ’23 Opener, launching the 40th year of Late Model Stock Car Division racing at the historic track.
The two-time NASCAR national champion won three of his last four starts at South Boston Speedway last season and finished second in the one race in that span he did not win. Sellers said the focus heading into the 2023 season “is about having built a new car this winter and picking up where we left off last season. We had an amazing end of the season last year with a good run after the big July Fourth weekend race. We’re just trying to keep that momentum going this year.”
The new car is part of the Sellers Racing effort to improve performance and continue the momentum the team had at the end of the 2022 season.
“You can’t win today’s game with yesterday’s home run,” Sellers pointed out.
“We’ve got to keep our nose down, focus on getting our cars better and try to build off of what we learned last year.”
The team’s new Toyota Camry is similar to the one he raced at South Boston Speedway last season.
“We went with the same chassis builder,” Sellers explained, “and we kind of replicated everything we had on our old cars with this car. We’re looking at some different things on (chassis) setups this year and are taking a different approach to it. As we move forward it (the car) will have some different characteristics, but H.C. and our guys will figure out where we need to be.”
A big factor in Sellers’ effort is all that of his sponsor partners from last year are returning for the 2023 season.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Sellers remarked.
“We’ve been able to have a good year last year to roll into this year. All of our partners are back this year. I feel like we have been able to take things and grow stronger. It’s not like we’re having to grow from the ground up. We’re just growing stronger right now.”
Sellers plans to make a run at the South Boston Speedway Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division title and attempt to win a record-tying seventh career South Boston Speedway championship.
“South Boston Speedway is in our back yard,” Sellers pointed out.
“It’s hard to pass by this place and not race here with the quality of the facility and the level of the competition here. The national champion has come from here the past two years. That tells you the car count is here, and the competition is here.
“I enjoy racing at home,” added Sellers.
“The home crowd, people from home, come out here every Saturday night and watch it. I tell everybody South Boston Speedway has built an environment to where I think if they just open the gates on Saturday night and sold bologna burgers they would have a party whether there was a race or not. That’s the environment this track has created the last 50 years.”
Twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division competitors will headline the Saturday, March 18 Danville Toyota ’23 Opener at South Boston Speedway. Sellers is looking to get his season started on a high note with a strong showing in the season-opening twinbill.
“You like to be the first to strike,” Sellers pointed out.
“We’re going to try to be there and have a good run, get the first one under our belt. When the track starts laying rubber down it will throw a different curve at us. We’ve just got to be able to adapt quickly to that.”
Along with the pair of 75-lap races for the Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division competitors the six-race program will include 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 Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $12 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or 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 day will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.
The March 18 Danville Toyota ’23 Opener event schedule has competitor registration and the infield opening at 9 a.m. Spectator gates will open at 12:30 p.m., qualifying begins at 1 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 2 p.m.
The latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway can be found on the speedway’s website and through the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway during regular business hours.
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