South Boston, Va…..Over the past 15 years Jason DeCarlo has developed a love for racing. He worked with Limited Sportsman Division and Late Model Stock Car Division driver Charles Barnes while Barnes was racing at South Boston Speedway. More recently he has worked with South Boston Speedway Hornets Division champion Kevin Currin.
“It (working with Barnes) got me down here in the pits with him, and I learned a lot helping him,” DeCarlo explained.
“I got to spotting for him and spotting for Kevin Currin in the Hornets Division. I had wanted to drive, but I just haven’t had the time, the opportunity or the money to build a car. I finally had a chance to build a car and come out racing. Of course, we haven’t been able to race here at South Boston this season, but I’ve been here at South Boston Speedway practicing.”
It took the Chase City, Virginia resident some time to build his Hornets Division car and reach the point where he could take his car to the track for the first time.
“I started on the car in September last year and got it buttoned up to where we were planning to come to Open Practice in March,” he explained.
“I think we practiced once at the end of February to check over the car.”
When asked about being behind the wheel he said “it’s an absolute blast” while acknowledging the car is somewhat hard to drive.
“Considering this is the only racecar I have ever driven, it’s a handful,” he remarked.
“They are not made to do what we do with them.”
The opportunities to test his car at South Boston Speedway this season will pay dividends for DeCarlo in 2021.
“Seat time is the biggest thing,” DeCarlo pointed out, “getting into a routine, learning the lines, feeling what changes we can make to the car. It helps a lot.”
DeCarlo has found a couple of opportunities to race this season as he continues his learning process.
“I have plans to maybe race another time or two before the year ends,” he noted.
“With the circumstances the way they are this year I’m trying to find something to do a little racing.”
For DeCarlo, racing is all about having fun.
“I come up here (to South Boston Speedway) to have a good time,” DeCarlo explained.
“What I really enjoy about the Hornets Division is the people we are racing with. You don’t win anything racing in the Hornets Division. It’s about the good time, having fun racing, and having fun racing with the people you race with.”
DeCarlo says South Boston Speedway will be his home track in 2021. His goals for next season are modest.
“My main goal is to just finish some races,” he said.
“I want to try to stay out of trouble and do the best we can. I want to win some races, but we will see how things go.”
South Boston Speedway is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. for teams wishing to schedule testing sessions. The track is available for testing from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day. Teams wishing to schedule testing sessions should contact the speedway office at 434-572-4947 at least a day ahead to schedule a testing date.
