With the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Richmond Raceway and the SMART Modified Tour at South Boston Speedway, race teams had a chance to run two Modified races in two days in the state of Virginia. But with the rain postponing Friday’s race at Richmond, now some teams have a chance at doing an even more unique double-header. Two races, nearly two hours apart, in less than six hours.

Currently, Bobby Labonte and Matt Hirschman are hoping to go from Richmond to South Boston, as is the Tommy Baldwin Racing team. The TBR team is running Richmond with Doug Coby behind the wheel, and at South Boston with Caleb Heady as the driver.

“We’ve got a whole other set of guys right now at South Boston trying to get us to the point of starting the race and doing what we need to do there,” explained Baldwin, who won the SMART Modified Tour championship with Heady in 2022. “We’ve got another set of tools, a truck, and everything we need there, so I think we’re pretty set right now. It’s just trying to get from here to South Boston for the pit stops is going to be the key.”

Setting The Stage: Modified Teams Take On Abrasive Richmond Raceway

Baldwin said he’s expecting to arrive at South Boston Speedway at 9 p.m. ET, which he said he’s hoping is in time for the start of the race as South Boston Speedway does not have a tunnel or crossover bridge that would allow them to access the infield while cars are on track.

For Labonte, who starts today’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race from the eighth position, the South Boston race is of utmost importance. He is trying to contend for the SMART Modified Tour championship with his Sadler Stanley Racing team, so he cannot afford to miss that race.

“If we can get this race (at Richmond) started by 4:30, then we haul the mail down there after this race and run that race,” said Labonte.

Fortunately, his team has a second car on site at South Boston Speedway already, with plans to shake it down in practice. Labonte would have to start at the rear of the field, as would Hirschman, for missing qualifying.

SMART Modified Tour officials told FloRacing that they have worked with South Boston Speedway management to move their 99-lap race to be the last event on the program in an effort to allow these teams as much time as possible to make the two-hour, 114-mile drive south down US-360.

Hirschman’s Friday in Richmond was a struggle. His team, which is a combination of his normal Pee Dee Motorsports crew members and the Baker Racing team, dealt with mechanical issues all afternoon. He made no laps in practice, and qualified 28th of the 29 cars to take time on Friday.

But even with those issues, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Richmond is taking precedent for Hirschman on Saturday afternoon.

“We’re already here (at Richmond) and invested, but we’re still trying to do both,” Hirschman said. “It also depends on how their schedule is running there. It’s nearly a two-hour commute, so you still have a good amount of travel in between.”

Labonte’s teammate, Ryan Newman, was scheduled to start today’s race from the 11th position, but he has withdrawn from today’s Virginia Is for Racing Lovers 150 due to prior commitments. 

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Virginia Is for Racing Lovers 150 is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET live on FloRacing, following the conclusion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway. 

The SMART Modified Tour Flying VA Classic 99 is running at the conclusion of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series program from South Boston Speedway, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. Both the NAAPWS and SMART programs will be broadcast live on FloRacing.

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