The first leg of the 2019 Virginia Late Model Triple Crown will take place this weekend at South Boston Speedway, where over 30 of the best short track competitors on the East Coast will battle it out for a victory in the Thunder Road-Harley Davidson 200.
One of the many drivers looking to best the South Boston regulars for the $10,000 race-winning paycheck is Statesville, North Carolina native Ryan Millington, who looks to keep building off a solid 2019 season by establishing himself as a legitimate threat for the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown.
“Winning the Triple Crown would be absolutely incredible,” Millington said. “We’ve worked really hard this year to go to these big races and compete, but if we’re able to just pull off a win in the first of these three races, then that would also be amazing.”
Millington got his season started the way he wanted to in the Icebreaker at Myrtle Beach Speedway on Feb. 2, as he stayed in contention all afternoon before bringing his #15 Tao Tao Late Model home in second behind race winner Ty Gibbs.
Following Myrtle Beach, Millington elected to compete for a Late Model track championship at Ace Speedway, where he currently holds a 20-point lead over RD Smith in the standings after winning three races and registering two second-place finishes.
Millington is confident that he can add a championship at Ace Speedway to his ever-growing Late Model resume by the end of the year, but he stated that he would not be where he is at this point in his career without the hard work that everyone on his team puts in each week.
“We’re just working together really well,” Millington said. “We’ve been really focused on the long-run setups of our cars. We haven’t really lit the world on fire in qualifying, but we always seem to be right there at the end of the race, and that’s always important.”
Millington hopes that the momentum he has established at Ace this year will carry over into the Thunder Road-Harley Davidson 200, but he only has limited experience at South Boston that includes a sixth-place showing in his Late Model debut on June 15.
Several familiar faces from Millington’s first Late Model race at South Boston have already filed entries for the Thunder Road-Harley Davidson 200, which include four-time Whelen All-American Series Champion Lee Pulliam and defending race-winner Peyton Sellers.
Five-time Whelen All-American Series champion Philip Morris is another name that Millington will have to contest with on Saturday for him to have a shot at a victory, along with former CARS LMSC Tour champions Josh Berry and Bobby McCarty.
While Millington expects the field at South Boston to be one of the toughest he has competed against in his career, he feels comfortable racing against so many talented drivers after previously competing in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, Myrtle Beach 400 and four CARS LMSC Tour events.
Although he has that valuable experience, Millington knows that any prestigious Late Model event is prone to unpredictability, as the 2018 edition of the Thunder Road-Harley Davidson 200 featured an accident on the backstretch that eliminated several strong cars before one lap had been completed.
Millington does not plan on taking any unnecessary risks during the opening laps on Saturday evening, but he is anticipating an extremely competitive event where every position will be up for grabs, which will put emphasis on him qualifying and staying up front.
“Everything will be in the driver’s hands once you get to the race,” Millington said. “People will be searching around on the track and you will have some guys that will take the bottom while others go to the top. You can go just about anywhere, which makes for some really good racing.”
Millington and all other eligible entrants in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown will have their progress determined by their average finishing position across South Boston, Langley, and Martinsville, with the championship being awarded to the driver who obtains the best average finish.
The 2019 Thunder Road-Harley Davidson 200 will feature Hornets, Pure Stocks, and Limited Late Models to go along with the Late Model feature, with the green flag for the first race expected to fly at approximately 7 p.m.
Cover photo by Jaden Austin.
