Jason Myers is hoping his third season of racing in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway will be the charm.
The Hurt, Virginia resident finished a close second in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division point standings at South Boston Speedway in both 2021 and 2022, losing the title to Daniel Moss by two points in 2021 and trailing champion Kyle Barnes by 29 points in 2022.
He is in the thick of the division championship chase again this season, standing only four points out of the lead entering the 50-lap Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division race that will be part of the six-race Viny’s Italian Restaurant Race Night event on Saturday night, April 22, at South Boston Speedway.
“Hopefully we can have a little better luck this year,” Myers said. “We fell out of a couple of races at the beginning of last year and got behind, but we finished the season real strong. I feel we got the car a lot better as the season went on. Hopefully we can carry some of that momentum into this season.”
Winning a division championship at South Boston Speedway is special to every driver that has earned that accomplishment. For Myers, winning at South Boston Speedway would be special because it would add to his family’s racing legacy.
“It (winning the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division title) would mean the world to me,” Myers remarked. “My whole family is a racing family. My grandpa (James Myers) raced at South Boston Speedway and at Orange County Speedway. My dad (Billy Myers) has raced at South Boston Speedway since the mid-1980s and won three Limited Sportsman Division championships. Racing runs deep in my family. I would like to continue it and be able to win a championship.”
Myers has a lot to be proud of when it comes to competing in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway. Over the course of the 2021 and 2022 seasons Myers compiled five wins, 17 Top-Five finishes, and 23 Top-10 finishes in a total of 26 starts. He also won 10 poles in a total of 19 race qualifying sessions.
“The car is always fast,” Myers pointed out. “I thank everyone that works on our team and helps make this possible. I’ve run well enough to be up there, be up front and be in contention for wins, but you put a lot of time and effort into this, and you hope to do better.
“Last year, Kyle Barnes always had a better car on the longer runs,” Myers continued. “We worked on that aspect a lot last year at the end of the year. That’s the key to winning these races. Anybody can be fast for a few laps, but you need to keep the car consistent the whole race.”
There is a certain amount of pressure involved when you’re chasing a championship, but Myers said he is not going to let the pressure set in on him.
“We put enough pressure on ourselves the last couple of years,” he explained. “This year we want to have fun, and for us, having fun is winning. We’re coming out with the same focus. We dedicate a lot of time to our cars, and we’ve learned a lot the last couple of seasons to help us late in the season.
“There are a lot of cars and drivers that fire off well at the beginning of the season, and then as the weather and track changes you have to follow the track,” he added. We’ve been through a bunch of seasons here at South Boston Speedway and we know what the track’s going to do. That experience will help us as the season goes on.”
Myers has a full plate this season. In addition to working on his own car and helping his father with his father’s Limited Sportsman car, Myers plans to compete in a small number of Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division races at South Boston Speedway this season. He competed in the April 1 twin-race event at South Boston Speedway.
“The past couple of years I only ran the big Fourth of July weekend race,” Myers noted. “We want to build up to that this year so we will be better prepared by the time that race comes up. Our main focus is still the Limited Sportsman championship, but we’re putting in a little extra on the Late Model side too. Hopefully it all pays off. At the worst, it will give me more track time in a different car with a different engine package. Hopefully, we will learn something new.”
The Saturday, April 22 Viny’s Italian Restaurant Race Night event at South Boston Speedway includes six races with a 100-lap race for the Sentara Healthcare Late Model Stock Car Division as the feature race of the night. Fans will also see a 50-lap race 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. A 25-lap race for the East Coast Flathead Ford Racing Association and a 20-lap race for the Mills Family Practice Champ Karts are also included as part of the night’s racing action.
Registration and pit gates will open at 12:30 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:20 p.m. Practice will begin at 3:30 p.m. Backstretch spectator and tailgate section gates will open at 5:30 P.M., and qualifying starts at 6 p.m. The first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Advance adult general admission tickets for the Saturday April 22 Viny’s Italian Restaurant Race Night event 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.
Fans and competitors can find the latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway 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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