To win his first championship at South Boston Speedway, Carter Langley would need to withstand a last-ditch effort from the winningest modern driver in the history of the Virginia bullring in Peyton Sellers but also a variety of other challengers too.
The 18-year-old rose to the occasion whilst Sellers rose to the challenge.
Sellers entered the night with a three-point deficit to Langley but opted to start at the rear of the field in order to earn a three-point bonus. Sellers would need to win the feature to break a tie with Langley but it ultimately didn’t matter.
Langley scored the pole, fell to second behind Bobby McCarty at the start but retook the lead on Lap 25 and led the remaining 125 laps of the season finale to claim his first Late Model Stock Car track championship.
https://t.co/DfxqMIpYGG pic.twitter.com/ynE4eVWcfJ
— South Boston Speedway (@SoBoSpeedway57) September 3, 2023
“This thing was a hot rod,” Langley said in Victory Lane. “This is by far the best car I’ve ever had here. It was on rails tonight. I can’t thank everyone enough.
“I got behind Bobby and was getting some dirty air. I was confused before the break because I didn’t know if the car was tight or if it was dirty air. I had to make sure to get out front to know which it was. That’s all it was and it was on rails after that.”
THE EMOTION.
YOU ARE THE CHAMPION @5carterlangley. pic.twitter.com/aLE5SP7R1D
— South Boston Speedway (@SoBoSpeedway57) September 3, 2023
Sellers, a six-time champion at SoBo, was the first to congratulate his season-long points rival both on the track and in Victory Lane.
“It’s been a pleasure racing with Peyton all year and racing clean and I can’t thank him enough too,” Langley said.
There was some drama behind Langley on the final restart, which came after the scheduled final competition caution with 35 laps remaining, as McCarty bobbled off the bottom with Kyle Dudley quickly filling the hole.
Dudley hit McCarty, washing both up the track two corners in a row, and that left the three-time CARS Tour champion agitated.
“We had a really good car man,” McCarty said. “That last restart, man, I guess some people’s steering wheel fell off and didn’t know where the grip was one the race track.
“We got used up pretty bad and by time I got down, these F50s get so hot that it takes a couple of laps to cool down. Proud of Carter. He’s a good kid who’s been doing this not that long but to win a championship here, that’s something to be proud of.”
But he also couldn’t let go of how he was raced.
“I’m just frustrated,” McCarty said. “I’m all for racing but when you door a man up to the fourth groove, you’re not racing anymore. That’s something else but we’ll move onto the next one. We have other fish to fry next weekend and see if we can get a win.”
He’s referring to the CARS Tour race at Coastal Plains.
As for Sellers, he was gracious in defeat, even as he pondered over why his car got so loose at the end.
“That’s just racing and I wanted to congratulate these guys,” Sellers said of Langley. “They’re good. They were good tonight and when the money was on the line, they were just good. We made the only play we could going to the back to try to get points and knocked the right front fender in a little bit, got tight, and might have helped it at the end a little bit.
“We were just a little off tonight. Bobby got loose on the restart and opened the door for Kyle. It’s just racing and fans got their money’s worth, the fans won, and Carter will be a good champion and we’ll come back next year to try to do it again.”
Langley was quick to thank crew chief Joshua Yeoman and his family.
“Josh, his mind never stops,” Langley said. “We tried some things we didn’t know if it would work or not this week and his brain is just amazing — the things he does I wouldn’t think of trying.”
He couldn’t believe he closed out on a championship because his ambitions were far more humble.
“I just dreamt of winning one race this year, that’s all and having fun with my friends and family and everyone who supports me,” Langley said. “I love them so much and want them to know that.”
South Boston Championship 150
South Boston Speedway
September 2 2023
- Carter Langley
- Kyle Dudley
- Peyton Sellers
- Bobby McCarty
- Aaron Donnely
- Davey Callihan
- Blake Stallings
- Logan Clark
- Andrew Patterson
- Michael Rogers
- Jessica Cann
- Jason Turner
- Josh Oakley
- Justin Hicks
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