SOUTH BOSTON, VA. — The 2020 season has been a difficult one for LMSC competitor John Moore, as he has had limited opportunities to race due to restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You wait for summertime to get here to go swimming and then you wait until March and spring to come so you can go racing,” Moore said. “It’s like looking at a lake and can’t jump in it.”
Moore’s early racing background centered around dirt-track racing, where he competed for three years and won over a dozen races during that timespan. He also competed in a couple of Limited Sportsman events at South Boston before making the jump to Late Models.
Moore recently tested his car at South Boston during an open practice session held in late July and was planning to compete for the LMSC championship at the track, but restrictions mandated by Virginia governor Ralph Northam to combat the spread of COVID-19 have not allowed the facility to host any racing events so far.
Despite this, Moore has grown comfortable with South Boston and has been pleased with how everything has transpired with his tests, which has him looking forward to competing at the facility on a more regular basis the COVID-19 restrictions are rescinded.
“I don’t have an extreme number of laps under my belt here, but I have had good success in the few races that I have run here,” Moore said. “We were super-fast right off the trailer [at his first test session] and we were real excited about racing and then the [June 27] race got canceled. We’re just here trying some stuff and seeing if we can turn some good times and get comfortable with the car.”
While South Boston remains closed for competition, the track is open for testing from Monday-Thursday each week from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Teams and drivers wishing to test are asked to contact the speedway office at least a day ahead to schedule testing.
“We welcome teams that wish to use the track for testing,” said South Boston Speedway general manager Cathy Rice. “ A number of teams and drivers have come here throughout the spring and summer to test including a few that compete in the ARCA Menards Series. We look forward to hosting any teams wanting to schedule a test date.”
Moore is optimistic that the time spent testing at South Boston will pay off when he and his fellow competitors are able to return to action at the facility, which he hopes occurs sooner rather than later.
“We will definitely run here when they open the doors back up,” Moore noted.
For the latest news and information from South Boston Speedway check the speedway’s website at www.southbostonspeedway.com and the speedway’s social media outlets.
