Since 2012, with the exception of 2016, the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown has been contested at three different venues with a extended amount of laps with some big names and money on the line. What makes the Virginia Triple Crown different is that it doesn’t go off of points, it’s based on the highest average finish in the three special races.
This season the series returned after a year hiatus due to Langley Speedway being closed last season and the tracks that currently holds a race is South Boston, Langley and Martinsville Speedway. Any driver who competes at all three events and has highest average finish between the three races is awarded the series championship, and receives a healthy bonus of a cool $10,000 for winning the championship.
One driver that’s been overlooked this season due to his short racing schedule is Stacy Puryear.
Puryear started racing Late Model Stock Car racing in 1995 and won some big money races in the latter 1990’s with the Clarence’s Steak House Team, then he moved up to the now defunct Hooters Pro Cup Series and ran for more than half of the 2000’s. After Puryear had his shot driving in the Pro Cup, he came back to Late Models and was hired by the Wood Brothers to oversee and crew chief for Kevin Wood’s new Late Model team from 2005-2008 where they won championships and over 50 races in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“I haven’t run 25 races total since 2010, run only sparingly because I started my racing parts business Puryear Race Parts in 2007,” said Puryear.
Puryear’s business has been pretty successful and he’s even won a championship at Caraway as a sponsor and crew chief with Robert Tyler. Even though he doesn’t race as often as like Lee Pulliam, Brenden Queen, Peyton Sellers among others, Puryear is always a contender to win at every track he shows up to.
“I’ve ran more this year than the past few seasons. I’ve won at Orange County, third and a sixth at the South Boston twin 60’s about a month ago. We’re fourth in the VA Triple Crown points and we have a chance to win it this weekend at Martinsville.”
Puryear’s season normally revolves around the Virginia Triple Crown races and this season he’s put himself in a great position to potentially win it with a second place effort at South Boston in early July and a 13th place finish at Langley Speedway’s Hampton Heat in late July. That leaves him fourth in the standings and he’s expecting a good run at Martinsville.
The South Boston resident Puryear is no stranger to the historical half mile oval of Martinsville Speedway and this weekend will will be Stacy’s 15th attempt at making the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, which is among the top five active drivers! Puryear has attempted 14 previous times and he’s made the feature 12 times but the grandfather clock has eluded him.
Martinsville has been either feast or famine for Stacy, his best result is a third place finish six years ago in 2011, he’s finished in the top five four times & collected top ten finishes along the way as well. On the flip side, he’s also has eight finishes of 20th or worse, with half of them coming 30th or worse.
Puryear could win the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 this weekend and if he does he would take home a nice hefty paycheck of $35,000 for the win and potentially the VA Triple Crown championship. He’ll have some extra motivation to win both this season. As he’ll have a young fan riding with him and not just any fan but it’s his second cousin 17-year old Carolina Laughorn. Laughorn started having pains in both of her legs and after a series of test at the Duke Medical Center Emergency Room, the doctors told her and her parents Craig and Jennifer she was diagnosed with Leukemia.
“She completed treatment and was declared cancer free but you are not considered a cancer survivor until you have been cancer free for five years and just shy of five years Caroline relapsed,” said a emotional Puryear. “Her type of leukemia is very rare to relapse, there’s just a 1-3% chance the first time. Now that she has relapsed she has a 40+% chance for it to relapse again. She is undergoing treatment for Leukemia for a second time and she has high hopes to be cancer free again in October.
In honor of Caroline, Puryear and his family are doing a big promotion to raise awareness to let people know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and the color ribbon to signify the type of cancer is gold. So Stacy and his team at the track and his family in the grandstands will “Go Gold” for this weekend. Stacy’s wife found out about this non-profit organization called “G9” for combining gold and the ninth month of the year September and their campaign is appropriately named #GoGold. The Go Gold Campaign Mission is focused and dedicated on funding of the underfunded research for children who get cancer of some sorts at a young age. G9 funds what’s called Early Phase Trials, which is accelerating the newest and most promising treatments for these young children.
“Yes cancer is scary and touches and affects so many people in some way and these kids should not have to live in fear and pain and missing out on their childhoods. Caroline has been hospitalized or quarantined (because if fear of catching germs with a weakened immune system thanks to the treatments) for much of the last nine years now. She’s had to miss out on vacations, school and parties and those things most of us take for granted.”
“Many people don’t know and we didn’t either but through my wife’s research childhood cancer research is greatly underfunded and the heartbreaking stats are staggering as 36 kids are diagnosed with cancer every day. Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death in children and the incidence of invasive cancer in children has went up 29% the last 20 years. We need to start donating and pay more attention to the children as they’re the future of this world. We really don’t know how lucky we are until you see the little children like that.”
Puryear will #GoGold in honor of children’s cancer as well as going for the gold as he goes for his first win in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
