Steve Zacharias looking forward to Martinsville return

Florence Motor Speedway owner Steve Zacharias will be shifting gears, figuratively and literally, this weekend as he makes a second attempt to compete in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Zacharias, 41, owns and operates Florence Motor Speedway after spending several years as the general manager of Myrtle Beach Speedway, which closed permanently in 2020.  Prior to that, Zacharias was a frequent competitor in Modified racing, and he continues to race whenever he has the opportunity.

“It’s my favorite time.  This is the only time I get to go to the racetrack and do what I enjoy without having any ties to it,” Zacharias told Short Track Scene.  “Nobody asks questions, nobody asks about tires or where this is or that is.  I get to go drive a racecar and have fun with it.  This is why I go to Martinsville, there’s no ‘Steve’s involved in this.’  If it goes well or bad, it doesn’t come back to me involved in the speedway.”

Zacharias attempted to make the field for the 2019 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 but came up one spot short of transferring into the main event in his heat race.  Since then, he says he’s “thought about it every day” and is excited to make the trip back to get some redemption.

“Missing it by 30 spots is one thing, missing it by one spot is another,” Zacharias said.  “It’s going to be interesting with 93 cars signed up.  It’s going to be wild for sure just try to do the best I can to stay up front, stay in the top-10, and make the show.  Making the show is my main goal.  I missed by one spot last time, so I’m committed to making the show and looking forward to it.”

Zacharias will be driving a car prepared by Kendall Sellers and AK Performance in the same car Stefan Parsons drove to a ninth-place finish at North Wilkesboro last month.

“I drove for them in 2019, last time I went to Martinsville,” Zacharias stated.  “There was a gap for COVID and the one before COVID, I ran for him.  He used to come to Myrtle Beach with Trevor Rizzo and Matthew Linker.”

In order to win the race, you have to make it into the main event, and Zacharias will be one of over 90 drivers vying for 40 spots during what is destined to be a very intense series of heat races on Saturday afternoon.  If he were to win, however, he would certainly take time to celebrate it.

“I can tell you right now, I would tell everyone to take stock in Anheuser-Busch.  It’s going to be wild in Martinsville that night, I promise.  I get chills thinking about it, picturing the clock in the house.  We’d all love to be there in the end.   Have to have good practice and qualifying, get in the show, then once we’re in the show, start making moves to try to get to the front.”

Zacharias considers this weekend vacation before he returns to South Carolina to prepare the Florence Motor Speedway facility for the South Carolina 400 in November.

“This is my last hurrah before it’s go-time when it comes to getting ready and painting and cleaning.  We joked that this is our version of a vacation.  We get to stay with friends, go racing, and go home.  This is our version of a vacation.”

The South Carolina 400 takes place during the weekend of November 19-20 and is considered one of Late Model Stock Car racing’s crown jewel races.

AK Performance’s no. 21 car, driven by Stefan Parsons, on track at North Wilkesboro Speedway in August 2022. (Andy Marquis photo)