ES: South Boston Speedway pre-race notes

Veteran driver Steve Park seeking victory in Camping World Series event at SoBo

SOUTH BOSTON, VA. -- Veteran NASCAR performer Steve Park of Islip, N.Y. will be among the stars who will bid for a victory Saturday night at South Boston Speedway when America's Hometown Track hosts the NASCAR Camping World Series for the running of the Strutmasters.com 150.

A full slate of racing action Saturday will also feature a 150-lap race for the Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car Division and an event for the MACKA Champ Karts Series. The first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Park is currently fourth in the Camping World Series standings and is coming off a seventh place run in the series' second race of the season, which took place earlier this month at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Park motors the No. 35 NDS Motorsports Waste Management's Recycle America Chevrolet Monte Carlo. In the season-opening race for the series at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C., Park claimed a ninth-place finish.

Park said his car "was strong" in Iowa and he is hoping for big things Saturday when the green flag falls for the start of the Strutmasters.com 150 at South Boston Speedway.

"We just got beat by a fuel mileage strategy," Park said of the race in Iowa. "I was extremely proud of the team. We really had a great car. It was just a shame we didn't get a victory, however, I'm pleased that we were able to bring home a top-10 finish.

"We are getting stronger each race, so I'm ready to get to South Boston," Park added.

Park, who has competed in events on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Busch Series during his career, plans on competing in all 13 NASCAR Camping World East Series events in 2008.

Other top competitors expected to be in the field for the Strutmasters.com 150 Saturday night include current series points leader and one-time winner Austin Dillon, and Trevor Bayne, who drives for the Dale Earnhardt Foundation and is just three points out of second place in the standings. Other drivers slated to be in the field for the Strutmasters.com 150 include Danville, Va. driver Peyton Sellers, the 2005 NASCAR Weekly Series national champion, Jeffrey Earnhardt and many other top NASCAR Camping World Series performers.

Following the Strutmasters.com 150 action for the Camping World Series competitors, the Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car Division drivers will hit the four-tenths mile asphalt oval for their 150-lap shootout.

Wayne Ramsey, who became the first two-time Late Model Stock Car Division winner at South Boston Speedway this season with a victory last weekend, will be bidding for his third consecutive triumph.

Ramsey sits atop the division's point standings. He owns a 13-point edge over one-time winner Justin Johnson. C.E. Falk is third in the 2008 title chase, just five points behind Johnson and 20 ahead of fourth-place Jonathan Bailey. Dude Gibbs, a one-time winner this season, is fifth in the point standings. He trails Bailey by a mere five points.

Qualifying for the Late Model Stock Car Division will begin at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and will be followed at 4:45 p.m. by qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Series competitors. A Fan Appreciation Session will be held trackside from 5:45 p.m. until 6:45 p.m.

Advance general admission tickets are priced at $15 each and will be available until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 30 at the speedway office. General admission tickets on race day will be priced at $20 for adults. Youth, ages 7-12 will be admitted for $10. Children, ages six and under, will be admitted for free. Youth must be accompanied by a paying adult in order to receive the discount admission price.

For more information visit the track's Web site or phone the track at (434) 572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540.

-credit: sobo