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Carter Langley is in the best position he has enjoyed this season entering the twin 75-lap races this weekend. Langley will race for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division, headlining the Davenport Energy Night Race event on Saturday, August 5 at South Boston Speedway.

With three nights of racing and a total of four races remaining in South Boston Speedway’s 2023 NASCAR points season the young Zebulon, North Carolina resident holds an 11-point lead over two-time NASCAR national champion Peyton Sellers of Danville entering Saturday night’s twin-race event.

Langley has surged to the top of the division after trailing Sellers by four points entering the 200-lap race on July 1. He finished eighth in the race and Sellers finished 17th after his car was damaged in one of the race’s mishaps. That turned the tables for Langley, giving him a four-point edge heading into the track’s July 15 twinbill.

He strengthened his points lead in the twin-race event on July 15, an event in which he earned a runner-up finish in the opening race and was awarded the win in the nightcap as a result of the disqualification of the apparent race winner.

Sellers, on the other hand, had another tough night. He finished fifth after his car was heavily damaged in a multi-car mishap on the fourth lap of the opening race that also involved Langley. Sellers finished fourth in the second race driving his back-up car. At the end of the event, Langley’s lead swelled to 11 points.

“It was definitely a good points night,” Langley said with a smile. “I take wins as they come. Wins are not easy to get, so you take as many as you can when you can.”

Momentum appears to be in Langley’s favor heading into Saturday’s Davenport Energy Night Race event at South Boston Speedway. He has won seven of his 15 starts and has either won or finished second in four of his last five starts. Sellers, who has five wins in 15 starts, has not had a Top-3 finish in his last three races at the .4-mile oval.

While momentum appears to be in his favor and he holds the largest points lead he has held this season, Langley does not plan to change the approach that has led to his success.

“I’m still going to go out here and try to win races every weekend and have fun,” he pointed out. “The points will take care of themselves after that.”

Jacob Borst of Elon, North Carolina, who picked up his first win of the season on July 15, is in third place in the division point standings, 34 points behind Langley. Camden Gullie of Durham, North Carolina is in fourth place in the standings, 89 points behind Langley.

Six races are scheduled for the August 5 Davenport Energy Night Race event with the twin 75-lap races for the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division highlighting the night’s racing action. A 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, twin 15-lap races for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division will round out the night’s racing action.

Miss Virginia Katie Rose will be a special guest of race sponsor Davenport Energy at Saturday night’s event. Rose became the 70th Miss Virginia on July 1 in a pageant held in Roanoke. Competing as Miss Loudon County, she won a $20,000 scholarship and a spot in the Miss America pageant to be held later this year. She graduated from George Mason University with a degree in government and international politics before attending law school at the University of Richmond.

Saturday’s Davenport Energy Night Race event schedule has registration and pit gates opening at 2 p.m. Frontstretch spectator gates will open at 3:20 p.m. and practice will start at 3:30 p.m. Backstretch spectator and tailgate section gates will open at 5:30 P.M. Qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 7 p.m.

Advance adult general admission tickets for the Davenport Energy Night Race are priced at $12 each and may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.

Tickets at the gate on race day will be $15 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $12 each at the gate on race day.

Editor’s note: Joe Chandler wrote this piece for the Farmville Herald.