South Boston.

First, let me say my GPS hates me. It picked what may have been the straightest course but it was also littered with old tobacco barns, tractors, and State Troopers apparently tired of Interstate travel.

I’ve been to the South Boston Speedway before but have not come in this way. On the plus side, I did see parts of the town I had not been through previously. Quaint little shops and a downtown with some art and coulture scattered about.

Pretty.

Racing, of course, is what brought me back to South Boston. Every visit brings to mind the thought of “why do I not visit more often?”. Well, there is a distance issue. Even so, all things considered, it isn’t that far…


The South Boston Speedway is short. The infield is grass, gravel and pavement with a little diner hut serving “famous” bologna slab burgers. The track itself shows the imperfections that comes with age. The racing is tight, fast and fan inspiring.

This particular visit came on the eve of NASCAR weekend up the road at Richmond International Raceway. It seems Denny Hamlin has a Foundation and the race was a fundraiser for research and assistance for fighting cystic fibrosis. The “Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown” brought Hamlin and a few of his Sprint Cup pals to race against the local late model weekend warriors that race at tracks like South Boston.

The good: Great crowd. Race fans, South Boston fans, local race driver fans and those “fans” that only come out for NASCAR filled the stands, the back stretch, and the grass which helped raise a fair chunk of change for the Denny Hamlin Foundation and the work being done and funded.

The good: Hamlin brough Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan along to line up with the locals. A few drivers now in the NASCAR Camping World Series who have a history of racing at South Boston, including Timothy Peters and Jeb Burton, also signed on. Hermie Sadler put his mic down long enough to drive.

The good: A varied field of late model favorites and veterans showed to race alongside the NASCAR guys.

The good: Once again meeting the nice folks from Danville Toyota – Scion. The long standing dealership from Danville, VA (just 30 or so minutes away) have supplied pace cars and support vehicles to South Boston Speedway, Virginia International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. They also give sponsor support to local racing. Toyota has embraced NASCAR and Danville Toyota – Scion seems to have gone “all in” for racing.

The bad: There really wasn’t any. Some of the drivers and teams made the trip and wound up in the wall, stacked up or otherwise parked for some kind of mechanical issue. There really is no way to tap the feelings of putting your team, car, money and effort out there only to be crashed out. It falls under the general term “That’s racin’…” but it is still a kick in the seat. Fix it and come back another day…

The guy that was leading for 98% of the race did not win. Matt Waltz in the 0 car seemed to have it in the bag but was taken over in the final turns by Matt Bowling in the 83.

The NASCAR stars gave everybody a run but also did not dominate the field. Kyle Busch was closest and challenged the lead once or twice but finished 4th. Matt Kenseth was 5th. Hamlin himself finished 8th.

The real winners were the fans that saw a great event and the Denny Hamlin Foundation for raising some good funds and awareness for the cause of beating cystic fibrosis.

South Boston Speedway and their staff and sponsors were showcased on a national level and did not disappoint. They highlighted the best of racing that comes to small tracks all over the country. So many “race” fans only go out when the big tracks and big stars are running. They miss a lot of exciting racing by not checking the weekend events just down the road.

Check the schedule for some local action and go racing!

PHOTOS: Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston Speedway