Burt Myers heads into the SMART Modified Tour’s return to South Boston Speedway on Saturday afternoon, October 14 for the Boone Tractor 199 presented by Massey Ferguson looking for both a victory and an opportunity to clinch his third career SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic championship.
“I’m excited about a second trip this year to South Boston Speedway,” Myers remarked. “One thing about the SMART Tour I really like is that it is very diverse. We go to a lot of different tracks. There’s not a lot of opportunity to go to a track more than once. There are a few (tracks) I sure would like to go to more than once and South Boston Speedway is one of them.”
The two-time SMART Modified Tour champion typically races well at South Boston Speedway and is among the contenders for the win virtually every time he competes at the .4-mile oval. He finished third behind winner Brian Loftin and runner-up Tom Buzze in the spring race at South Boston Speedway.
“We’ve been really good there,” Myers pointed out. “We usually run really strong there. I’ve yet to find Victory Lane. We’ve just always had something that kept us from getting that trophy. Hopefully we will have a second chance at it and maybe can do it this weekend.”
Myers said “it would mean a lot” to win at South Boston Speedway.
“I’ve been in Victory Lane with my dad, but I personally haven’t won there,” Myers pointed out. “As a driver I’ve been fortunate enough to win at dozens of different tracks on the east coast. It (South Boston Speedway) is just one that’s close to home that I have been going to a long time.”
Saturday afternoon’s Pace-O-Matic 99 for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic, the feature race of the four-race Boone Tractor 199 presented by Massey Ferguson racing program, is the next-to-last race of the season for the SMART Modified Tour. With a 45-point lead over Brandon Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina entering the race Myers could potentially clinch the 2023 series championship Saturday at South Boston Speedway.
Myers noted that his goal is to win Saturday’s race, but, at the same time, he and his team need to be smart about what they do.
“Our goal is to come to South Boston and see what we can do to win the race but be smart at the same time,” Myers explained.
“If we get down toward the end of the race and it doesn’t seem like we have a car that can get the job done we have to be smart and make sure we get the best finish possible. It (the series championship) is ours to lose. We’ve got about a race lead right now, but you can’t count on anything until it’s over. If we can come out of South Boston with a 45-point lead, all we have to do is show up at Orange County (on Oct. 28).”
There will be multiple strategies playing out in Saturday afternoon’s Pace-O-Matic 99 for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. In the spring race at South Boston Speedway race winner Brian Loftin pitted early in the race, setting himself up for good track position later in the race, and captured the victory.
“One of the cool things about the SMART series is that it allows for different strategies,” Myers explained. “You get only one change tire, but a lot of guys will rotate their left sides front to back. We have the 30-lap stage break, and a lot of guys will come in and short pit and rotate their left side tires early so that late in the race they can get a right rear tire only and gain track position. They give up track position early to get it back late. Some teams will ride it out and try to catch a caution around halfway and try to do it all at one time. Other guys will wait it out and get a right rear tire only.
“We kind of play it by ear,” Myers continued, “and see what everybody else does around us. We see how our car is handling. We see what kind of position we’re in, and kind of make an on-the-fly decision.”
The early entry list for Saturday’s Pace-O-Matic 99 for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic features a number of the series’ top competitors including former NASCAR stars Bobby Labonte and Ryan Newman, Brian Loftin of Clemmons, North Carolina who won the spring race at South Boston Speedway, Brandon Ward of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Jason Myers of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Caleb Heady of Mooresville, North Carolina and Joey Coulter of Concord, North Carolina.
Saturday afternoon’s Boone Tractor 199 presented by Massey Ferguson is headlined by the Pace-O-Matic 99 for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. In addition, fans will see a 50-lap race for the Carolina Crate Modified Series, and twin 25-lap races for the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club.
Advance adult general admission tickets for the Boone Tractor 199 presented by Massey Ferguson are priced at $17 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 on Saturday, October 14 will be $20 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $17 each at the gate on race day.
Saturday’s race day schedule for the Boone Tractor 199 presented by Massey Ferguson event has frontstretch spectator gates opening at 10:30 a.m. Practice will be held from 10:30 a.m. until 12:25 p.m. Qualifying starts at 1 p.m. and an autograph session is scheduled from 2 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. The first race will get the green flag at 3 p.m.
The latest news and updates about the Boone Tractor 199 presented by Massey Ferguson and other South Boston Speedway events can be found on the speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, and 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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