Dalton Sargeant to attempt an unheard doubleheader at Virginia International Raceway and Hickory Motor Speedway, all in the same day0

Winston-Salem, N.C. (August 13, 2014) – Dalton Sargeant and the No. 45 Bassett Racing team will have a very busy raceday on August 16, and will try and accomplish something not many have ever attempted. Not only will Sargeant compete in two different events in two different states in one day, but he will do so utilizing two very different driving techniques. Sargeant and the No. 45 will compete in the Southeast Limited Late Model event as a support race to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the Biscuitville 125 at the 2.25-mile road course of Virginia International Raceway. After the event has concluded he will then make the 154-mile drive to Hickory Motor Speedway and compete in the 64th birthday celebration of the historic 0.363-mile track.

I’ve Done This Before Dalton Sargeant has competed on road courses all around the world for most of his career. 16 year old Sargeant began his racing career in 2007 at the age of nine years old competing in karting championships in the Florida area. Sargeant has competed at some of the most prestigious racing venues in the world and visited victory lane in numerous different racing disciplines. From professional karting championships, to European Formula open-wheel cars, to NASCAR Whelen All-American Stock Cars, Sargeant has a long list of accomplishments in a short amount of time.

Hickory Motor Speedway is one of stock car racing’s most storied venues, and is often referred to as “The World’s Most Famous Short Track” and the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars.” The track first opened in 1951 as a 1⁄2-mile dirt track. Drivers such as Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Ralph Earnhardt became track champions in the 1950s, Earnhardt alone winning five of them. In 1953, NASCAR’s Grand National Series (later the Sprint Cup) visited the track for the first time. The track has been re-configured three times in its history. The track became a 0.4-mile dirt track in 1955, which was paved for the first time during the 1967 season. In 1970, Hickory was shortened a second time to its present length of 0.363 miles. Virginia International Raceway The Southeast Limited Late Model Series will make their debut at the famed and beautiful facility of Virginia International Raceway. Virginia International Raceway originally opened in 1957 and was closed from 1974 to 2000 when it was reopened by Harvey Siegel. VIR offers five track configurations. The Full Course is 3.27 miles in length while the North Course, which the Southeast Limited Late Model Series will compete on, measures 2.25 miles in length.

Get Social Don’t forget to follow Bassett Racing and Dalton Sargeant on all social media platforms including twitter @DaltonSargeant and @Bassett_Racing) and Instagram (@DaltonSargeant, and @BassettRacing0444), and on facebook at facebook.com/DaltonSargeantRacing. For in-race updates follow along on the @Bassett_Racing twitter account.

Dalton Sargeant:
Sargeant is a true oval-track rookie, competing in his first year of late model racing and his first season of oval-track competition. Sargeant currently has 21 starts during the 2014 NWAAS racing season, with two top-5 finishes and 10 top-10 finishes. He is currently ranked 90th by NASCAR HomeTracks out of a possible 500 competitors nationwide.

“I’m really looking forward to returning to my road racing roots this weekend at such a beautiful and prestigious venue as Virginia International Raceway (VIR). I was able to test at the facility last week and it was actually a lot of fun taking the late model around the course, I think a fast, technical course such as VIR suits these cars extremely well. It definitely took me a little to adjust from karts and formula cars to a stock car around a road course, but my years of experience helped me to lessen that steep learning curve, and at the end of the day it was like second nature for me. It will definitely be an interesting transition from testing at VIR on Friday and competing there Saturday afternoon and then without any practice jump right back in at such a tough place like Hickory Motor Speedway. I’m really excited and I know it’s going to be a lot of fun to have both events in one day. That’s really all you could ever ask for in one day is to have two opportunities to win at two very different and historical tracks.”