South Boston Speedway drivers prepping for Martinsville weekend

MARTINSVILLE — The tracks are different and the competition more ferocious, but for the drivers from South Boston Speedway, the season-long race for a championship makes running at Martinsville Speedway seem like it’s another day at the office.

“Anytime you race against Deac (McCaskill) and Justin (Johnson) and Philip Morris — all those guys, to me, are the cream of the crop, the best in the nation — it’s going to make us stronger,” Lee Pulliam said. “We’ve already raced against the best, we know what the they’ve got, we know what we’ve got to do to beat them and it just prepares you mentally.”

Many of the top drivers at South Boston Speedway are in Martinsville preparing for this Sunday’s Bailey’s 300 at the historic 0.526-mile oval. The premier race of the Late Model drivers’ season has brought more than 100 cars from the Southeast for the 42-car race.

Five of the top 11 drivers in the Virginia state Late Model points standings called SoBo their home track, including track champion Justin Johnson, who won the championship in the final race of the season.

Morris, who won his second consecutive Whelen All-American Series national championship and third overall, won three races and six poles at SoBo.

“South Boston usually has the best of the best competition-wise,” said Johnson, who recorded two wins at the 0.4-mile oval. “Here, your top five at South Boston week-in and week-out are going to make the show at Martinsville and probably your top 10.”

David Quackenbush, Nick Smith, McCaskill and Eddie Johnson — the rest of the top five in points at SoBo — are entered for the race and have had success at the track. Eddie Johnson is a former Martinsville winner and still seeks his first Bailey’s 300 victory. McCaskill has had solid runs at Martinsville and two consecutive podium finishes to end the season at SoBo has him thinking he may challenge on Sunday.

“I think it’s pretty big. Anytime you can get the momentum on your side, it helps out in your next race,” said McCaskill, who also had two wins at SoBo. “The competition we compete against every week makes you a better team, makes you a better driver. You’re not going out and having a somewhat good handling car and finishing third. You got to really get after it if you want a top car at South Boston Speedway.”

It’s pretty much the same at Martinsville, where longer straightaways and tighter corners will be different for the SoBo drivers who are accustomed to the wider, banked turns and short straightaways. Though, that hasn’t seemed to matter in the past.

“Everyone that runs good at South Boston usually runs good here,” said Quackenbush, who won his first career Late Model race this season. “You’ve got the cream of the crop either there or Motor Mile (Speedway), as far as I’m concerned. It’s a confidence booster to say you can run well up (at SoBo).”