Trey Crews made a strong impression in the first race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown back in 2019.
Despite being new to Late Model Stock racing at the time, Crews kept his car clean for 200 laps at South Boston Speedway to finish third behind Peyton Sellers and Lee Pulliam.
With the Virginia Triple Crown back in 2021 following a year-long absence, Crews believes that he get his championship bid started on the right note by winning on Saturday evening.
“We were testing at South Boston getting ready for the first race and then it ended up getting cancelled,” Crews said. “That was a bummer but we’re super excited for the Triple Crown to come back this year, especially after our first attempt at it.”
Crews remembers how challenging his first run at the Virginia Triple Crown was in regards to the competition and how much strain the three races had on his equipment.
The third place run for Crews in the 2019 Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 occurred after overcoming a flat left rear tire in the second half of the event, which gave him confidence in his car’s performance heading into the final two Virginia Triple Crown races.
Crews’ Virginia Triple Crown hopes effectively ended with a disappointing 18th place run in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway. With a title no longer feasible, Crews shifted his attention towards winning a Martinsville Speedway grandfather clock.
While running in fifth with just ten laps to go, Crews was forced to pit when his car ran out of fuel, relegating him to 22nd.
Although he did not get the finishes he wanted at Langley or Martinsville, Crews said that he more than proved his ability to win big Late Model Stock races despite initially planning to be conservative in the Virginia Triple Crown.
“My expectations were to finish all the races and not get torn up,” Crews said. “You don’t want to miss out on those big races with so much great competition but each and every time I go to the track, I want to win.”
Entering his second year of competing in the Virginia Triple Crown, Crews said that he feels a lot more comfortable racing a Late Model Stock against drivers like Sellers, Mike Looney and others on a regular basis.
A key part of that has been Crews’ familiarity with South Boston. He previously competed in both Pure Stocks and Limited Late Models at the track prior to his full-time transition to Late Model Stocks in 2019, which Crews said was beneficial as he dealt with the learning curve.
Through patience and providing proper feedback, Crews has become one of the better drivers in South Boston’s Late Model Stock division. The first victory for Crews came in 2019 before he added another one in a 100-lap event on April 3 of this year.
Claiming a checkered flag in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 will be a more daunting task for Crews but he plans to use the same patient strategy from 2019 so he can still have a shot at the Virginia Triple Crown after South Boston.
“This race is 200 laps and you can’t win on Lap 1,” Crews said. “You have to be there on Lap 200 to even contend for the trophy and I always try to keep that in mind. I’m not going to put my car in a situation that’s going to jeopardize my odds of making it to the end.”
Now that fans and competitors know his name, Crews is determined to showcase the strength of his Late Model Stock operation by joining the exclusive list of winners in South Boston’s most prestigious race.
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