— courtesy South Boston Speedway, by Mike Smith
Second Generation Drivers With South Boston Speedway Ties Gunning For CARS Tour Championships Saturday Night
SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (October 10, 2017) – Two second generation drivers with deep roots at South Boston Speedway will be gunning for championships when the CARS Tour makes its first visit to the historic Virginia track Saturday night.
Layne Riggs comes into the AutosbyNelson.com CARS Tour 250 with a four-point lead over Josh Berry in the CARS Late Model division while Brandon Setzer trails Cole Rouse by eight points in the CARS Super Late Model division. It is the final race of the season for both divisions.
Riggs is the son Scott Riggs while Setzer is the son of Dennis Setzer. Scott Riggs campaigned for more than a decade in NASCAR’s top three touring division, while Setzer spent almost 20 years in the top three series.
The older Setzer has both an Xfinity Series and a Camping World Truck Series win at South Boston, while Riggs scored a Late Model Stock win at South Boston and competed in the trucks series here, finishing third in the 2001 truck race.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. Saturday with Late Model qualifying at 5 and Super Late Model qualifying at 5:30. An on-track fan fest is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the 125-lap Late Model race starting at 7 p.m. followed by the 125-lap Super Late Model race.
Riggs has two wins, five top-five finishes and 10 top 10s in 12 starts in 2017 to lead Berry, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Late Model team, by four points headed into Saturday’s season finale.
“Whoever finishes in front of the other one is going to win the championship,” the 15-year-old Riggs said of his battle with Berry.
While his father had many starts at South Boston, Layne Riggs has just one: the most recent Late Model race held September 16. He finished second to Philip Morris in the 100-lapper. That appearance wasn’t a coincidence.
“We ran the last race at South Boston. That was part of the strategy, to go and test and get some laps on a track we hadn’t raced on,” said Riggs. “We’ve definitely been testing more and we’ve gone over the car with a pretty fine-tooth comb to make sure it is perfect.”
Setzer faces a more difficult task than Riggs. Rouse’s eight-point lead isn’t insurmountable, but it is formidable.
“We’re still in the game,” said Setzer, who has two wins and three poles this season. “It’s gonna be tough, but we can catch him. We have to have a really good weekend and him not so good.”
Unlike Riggs, Setzer has South Boston experience. He’s competed in three Pro All-Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model races on the 4/10ths-mile oval including one earlier this season. His best finish is third.
Riggs will be racing against more drivers than usual with a home-track advantage. At least five South Boston Speedway regulars … Bobby McCarty, Philip Morris, Brandon Pierce, Timothy Peters and Mike Jones … have entered the 125-lap CARS Tour Late Model event.
“There are definitely going to be more regulars than ever at South Boston. Normally only two or three show up and sometimes none,” said Riggs. “And normally the CARS guys run up front, but I expect them (South Boston drivers) to be running up front. The South Boston competition is the best I’ve ever seen. When they go to big races, they are the ones running strong.”
Advance adult general admission tickets to the AutosbyNelson.com 250 are on sale in advance for $10 each. Adult general admission tickets on race day will be $15. Youth ages 7-12 will be admitted for $5 with children six and under admitted free.
Advance tickets can be purchased daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by calling 877.440.1540.
(South Boston Speedway is an advertising client of WIZS.)