The Thug Life

Former Drug Dealing Gang Member Talks About Gang Life From The Inside

BY keith Strange
strange@gazettevirginian.com

(Editor’s Note: This is the last in a three-part series on gangs and gang-related activity. In this story, the name of the individual being interviewed has been changed to protect their identity.)
“The life isn’t pretty and glamorous,” Tony said. “It’s hard to explain it because you have to live it to understand it. It’s not a life I would think anyone would want to be involved in. I don’t recommend it, even for an experience.”
And he should know.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Tony was a “runner” for a Washington, D.C.-based gang.
His job was to deliver the drugs and pick up the profits from lower-level dealers.
“You did what you had to to earn,” he said during an interview earlier this week. “Drugs were the main thing. I had an area I dealt with. We were dealing cocaine, heroin, marijuana, PCP (also known by the street name Angel Dust), etc. Basically anything to make a dollar.
“It was survival,” he said.
Tony described the gang the way it was seen from the inside: “It wasn’t like gangs are now,” he said. “We dealt with folks who sold drugs and it was like a corporation. They would call them families.
“There were things being done that wasn’t cool,” he added. “Now, to join a gang they have an initiation where you would have to do something. That was true then, also. If you didn’t have to take a life, you would have to do something to be accepted.”
Most of the time that initiation involved fighting one or more members of the gang, he said.
“Our initiation was to fight anyone in there,” he said. “If you could stand up to it, you were accepted.”
But that wasn’t all that went on.
“Now, killing went on,” he said. “But we were people who did things together, sold dope, fixed it up (packaged and diluted the drugs for sale on the street), distributed it. Whatever.
“Each person had an assignment,” Tony added. “I handled a certain part of town, then you had the ones who handled the murders. You had a lieutenant, captains and the ones who handled the assignments.
“I was a runner,” he said. “I handled the dope. I went and picked it up, brought it back and collected the money.”
Much of the gang’s supply of drugs came from places like New York and even Amsterdam.
“We had a pretty big network,” Tony said. “A pretty strong network. We were putting heroin on the street and making double what cocaine was making.”
When asked how much money the illicit operation was generating, he stopped to think for a minute. This was in the mid-to-late 1970s.
“I’ve seen $5 million in cash up-front money before,” he said. “I’ve helped count it.”
But he also said gang members are expected to do what is necessary to collect the money if it wasn’t readily handed over.
“If someone owes you money, you had to go and collect it,” he said. “I’ve had incidents where I had to go and smack someone around about my money. It wasn’t a pretty scene. I’ve had them attack me. I’ve been shot and cut with a machete. It took 32 stitches to sew me up (after one attack).”
Fear of retaliation, while it may fade, never entirely goes away, Tony said.
“Even now, years later, I’m careful of what I say about things that happened because there are things that are still unresolved,” he said.
Only one question remained: Have you ever seen a killing?
“I won’t answer that,” Tony said. “I did a lot of fighting, though. But I’ve known people who have committed murder and paid for hits and sometimes carried them out themselves.”
Tony Was One Of The Lucky Ones
A stint in prison turned Tony’s life around. Curiously, it wasn’t the violence or drugs that put him in jail, rather forgery charges resulting from robberies.
“I never was caught for selling drugs,” he said. “I was able to escape that, but it was other things we did like breaking into people’s houses and taking checkbooks and credit cards and things like that that got me in trouble.”
While in prison, Tony said he decided to end his two-decade association with the thug life.
“I wasn’t getting anywhere,” he said. “It was getting me deeper and deeper in trouble. My life wasn’t amounting to anything. I had done nothing productive that I could be proud of. I wasn’t even happy with myself.
“You were never in control,” he added. “Someone was always in control of you that was telling you what to do. If you didn’t do it, you suffered the consequences.”
Those consequences were sometimes not pretty, he added.
“The more I got in it, the more I disliked it,” Tony said. “I don’t like to bring harm to people. (We) were hurting people for stupid reasons. Rather than kick someone out, you’d kill him because he may have messed with $2,000 worth of dope when you’d gamble that amount away at a craps table in less than an hour. If someone messed up, they’d be used as an example.”
But that was his past, he emphasized.
“It’s not who I am now,” Tony said. “I walked away from that lifestyle over 15 years ago. I’ve gone to college and have another life now. That shows I’m not a weak person. I can stand on my own and make it. I survived. I know others who didn’t. Others who died at age 13 or age 15.”
Tony called the gang life “awful.”
“It’s not what these kids think it is,” he said. “It’s serious business on one hand. But it’s not what they think it’s cracked up to be. The citizens, if they don’t stand up, they don’t have a clue of what will happen to them and their community.
“If gang violence starts happening here, this community doesn’t know what it’s getting into,” he said.
This Is For The Young People
As the interview concluded, Tony was asked if he wanted to talk directly to the county’s youth.
This is what he had to say:
“I would tell them to take a careful look and ask themselves if it’s worth it,” he said. “How many times can you break a mother’s heart? How many times will you break the hearts of your brothers and sisters?
“A life of what you may think is luxury – is it worth taking a person’s life?
“If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t do it.
“Take the opportunity to educate your mind and learn to be a respected citizen and be respected as a person. Learn to respect yourself.
“There are much better things than being a thug,” he said. “I know from personal experience.
“It’s nothing but peer pressure. If you’re involved in it, you are a weak person who can’t stand on your own. Why would you want someone else in control of your life?
“When people’s minds are changed, we’ll put thugs out of business.”-30-
pull quote:
“If gang violence starts happening here, this community doesn’t know what it’s getting into.”
Former Gang Member

 

SVBA Has New Marketing Stratagey
County Beef Producers Will Benefit

The Southern Virginia Beef Alliance is making an impact on the way Halifax County cattle are sold, and producers are seeing the benefits, according to Halifax County Agricultural Development Director Linda Wallace.
Wallace said that during Monday’s sale at the Agricultural Marketing Center, $175,000 dollars worth of livestock was sold via telephone to buyers in North Carolina, Lexington, Ky., and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“That was pretty good,” she said. “We sold three loads to three states.”
Saying the sale “rocked,” Wallace said that heifers were selling for more than county producers agreed they were willing to take.
“The producers had agreed on $1.10 per pound, but they sold for $1.15,” Wallace said. “They (the heifers) averaged 570 pounds and that means it was around $655.50 per heifer. That’s not bad.
“I’m going to guess that was several dollars more than (the livestock sale) in Lynchburg, which we look at for comparison purposes,” she added. “We want to compare graded cattle to graded cattle on the same date.”
Wallace said the results are not uncommon for the new method of marketing.
The group, although relatively new, is already reaping the benefits of the process, Wallace said.
“The cool thing about this process is these guys (buyers) are buying cows sight-unseen,” she added. “They’re buying by our grading system and a written description.”
And the buyers are a part of a nationwide network, she added.
“There’s a group of registered buyers from all over the country. They call into the Virginia Cattleman’s Association and get on the telephone as a buyer.
“A buyer can be sitting in another state and bid on Halifax County cows,” she added. “This method of sales allows us to sell to buyers who would otherwise not be available to Halifax County producers.”
A group of progressive cattlemen representing three counties in Southside Virginia met in the winter of 2002 to discuss the rapidly changing cattle industry, specifically the need to “add value” to feeder calves and seek alternative marketing avenues like the online telephone marketing.
Although local cattlemen associations existed within the three counties, little was being done to address changes in the industry, changes that would affect not only how cattle are managed but also the methods used to market feeder calves.
“Historically, in a predominantly tobacco-dependent region, cattle were viewed as secondary income, with tobacco being the mainstay of farm income,” Wallace said.
But she said the founders of SVBA acknowledged the decline of tobacco production and recognized the potential of beef cattle as one possible alternative to tobacco production, if producers were willing to accept changes in management and marketing techniques.
“As a result of numerous discussions and extensive review of other marketing alliances across the Commonwealth, eighteen cattlemen formed the Southern Virginia Beef Alliance, a limited liability company dedicated to value-added marketing of feeder calves produced in the region,” the agricultural director said.
The LLC was incorporated in September 2002, with funding provided by the core group of producers and administrative assistance from the agricultural development in the county.
Wallace said members include cattlemen from Pittsylvania, Charlotte, and Halifax counties.
“Although actual membership of the LLC remains at 18, the organization provides information and marketing services to over 250 ‘subscribers’, who pay a $10 annual fee to sell their livestock at the center,” Wallace said.
To date, SVBA has coordinated and managed the sale of numerous loads of Virginia Quality Assured feeder calves.
“All calves currently marketed through SVBA meet the health requirements of the Virginia Quality Assured program, a certification program administered by the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association where feeder cattle with graduated levels of vaccination and genetic backgrounds are identified as they enter the marketing process,” Wallace said. Wallace said the process has provided a more streamlined marketing process.
“Marketing methods that recognize and segregate VQA certified cattle have proven to be more efficient for both seller and buyer,” she said.
“Some of the most effective sale situations have resulted from neighbors building truckload lots of similar VQA cattle and offering them through tele-auctions or board sales,” she said.
During 2004, producers who marketed with SVBA realized a “premium” of $6.10/cwt, or roughly $36.00 per head for calves weighing 600 pounds, over what the same cattle would have brought if sold at a livestock market.
Some of the bigger sales to date?
“We’ve sold over a quarter of a million dollars worth on at least three occasions,” Wallace said.

 

YMCA Getting Facelift

When the South Boston/Halifax County YMCA reopens Thursday morning TVs will add entertainment to workouts and there will be fresh paint on the walls.
Staff members and volunteers were busy painting Tuesday afternoon.
Improvements are more than skin deep, according to YMCA executive director Marcus Hargrave.
In the weight room, 27-inch televisions are being hung from the ceiling for exercisers’ entertainment and some of the equipment is being repositioned to better utilize space, he said.
To enjoy the new televisions, members will be able to bring in headphones and listen to the programs, Hargrave said.
The 155,000-gallon Olympic pool is also being drained and refilled, a process that takes four days, according to Hargrave.
The goal of the upgrades is to put the Y on par with other top fitness facilities in Southside Virginia, Hargrave said.
Several rooms will be renovated with the building’s space being better utilized, Hargrave said. The men’s locker room has also undergone a recent renovation.
Community support for the Y and its renovation has been very strong, Hargrave noted.
Volunteers are doing much of the work, especially painting and the equipment being used to drain and refill the pool were loaned to the Y by two area businesses, according to the Y director.
“We’re fortunate the community continues to support us,” he added.

 

Obituaries

Nell Hill Lumsden

A graveside service for Nell Hill Lumsden was held August 27 at Halifax Memorial Gardens, with the Rev. Gene Clodfelter conducting the service.
Nell Hill Lumsden died August 25 at the age of 97.
She was a resident of the Masonic Home of Virginia, and was preceded in death by her husband, Ernest A. Lumsden Sr., a grandson and two sons-in-law.
Nell Lumsden is survived by three daughters; Mildred Ammons of the Masonic Home, Sylvia Lacks and Roy of Halifax, and Carolyn Allen of Greensboro, N.C.; one son, Dr. Ernest Lumsden and Jean of Greensboro, N.C.; six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Gladys Dunkley Francis

Gladys Dunkley Francis, 72, of 3045 Acorn Road, Nathalie died August 29, at Lynchburg Health & Rehabilitation Center. She was the wife of Roy Monroe Francis.
Mrs. Francis was born in Halifax County on January 31, 1933, the daughter of the late Frank Merritt Dunkley and Ida DeJarnette Dunkley. She was member of First Baptist Church of Republican Grove.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by three sons, Ronnie Lee Francis and wife, Charlotte, of Brookneal, David Wayne Francis and wife, Donna, and Steve Allen Francis, all of Nathalie; two daughters, Sharon F. East and husband, Acie, of Brookneal, and Karen F. East of Nathalie; five grandchildren, Jason, Nick, and Daniel Francis, Brandi Francis Scott, and Sarah Nichols; three brothers, Berkley Dunkley, Duvall Edward Dunkley, and Danny Ray Dunkley, all of Lynchburg; four sisters, Cecil Raye Mathias of Norfolk, Jennie Booker of Baltimore, Md., Annie Dunkley and Patty Jennings of Lynchburg; and two great-grandchildren.
A funeral service for Mrs. Francis will be held today, August 31, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Republican Grove with the Rev. Shelton Miles officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Mildred Anderson Logan

Mildred Anderson Logan, 63, of Yonkers, N.Y., formerly of Halifax County, died August 25, at St. John’s Riverside Hospital.
Mrs. Logan was born in Prince Edward County on November 14, 1941, the daughter of Claude Anderson and Elnora Traynham Anderson, and was married to Freddie Logan. She was a member of New Zion Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband; three daughters, Darline West of South Boston, Shari Byrd of Boston, Mass., and Tonya Logan of Yonkers; one son, Larry Logan of Yonkers; two sisters, Minnie Harper of Yonkers, and Lillian Johnson of Meherrin; one brother, Jeff Anderson of New York; eight grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and her Godmother, Lucille Johnson.
Funeral services for Mrs. Logan will be held tomorrow, September 1, at noon at New Zion Baptist Church with the Rev. Willie M. Yancey officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Everett West, 2002 Ridge Street, South Boston.

Ruby Clark Weatherford

Ruby Clark Weatherford, 88, of 1502 Moore Street, South Boston died August 28, at Henrico Doctors Hospital.
Mrs. Weatherford was born in Charlotte County on April 12, 1917, the daughter of the late Robert Alfred Clark and Rosa Shorter Clark and was married to the late Henry Norman ‘Skip’ Weatherford. She was a member of Main Street United Methodist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Shirley Weatherford Gathright of Richmond; one son, Marshall Norman ‘Skip’ Weatherford of Hampton; four grandchildren, Heath Gathright of Mechanicsville, James Gathright of Richm,ond, Sandra Ann Weatherford of Hampton, and Amy Weatherford Brown of Amissville; one great-grandchild, Emily Lauren Brown of Amissville; and one brother, Elbert Clark of Richmond.
Funeral services for Mrs. Weatherford will be held at 11 a.m. September 2, at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Bob Johnston officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family will receive friends tomorrow evening, September 1, from 7:00 until 8:30, at Powell Funeral Home, and other times at the home.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Halifax County Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 183, South Boston, 24592.

John H. Woodward

John H. Woodward died on April 9, 2005.
A memorial service will be held on September 2, at 5:30 p.m. in Saltville.

 

Success Not Defined Entirely By Numbers

Effort, Production And Progress Will Be Cornerstones Of How The HCHS Football Team Will Be Measured

BY Joe Chandler
G-V Staff Writer

New Halifax County High School varsity football coach John Lacy Harris does not measure success by the numbers in the win and loss columns.
Defining what is a successful season, he says, goes deeper than viewing raw numbers.
“As far as the season goes, it is how much do you progress from Day One to the end of the season,” the veteran coach pointed out.
“ I’ve had teams where 6-4 was a successful season and where 8-2 was not a successful season. If our kids go out there and give us their best and give us a great effort, it will be a successful season.
“Our goal,” he continued, “ is to maximize our talent level and effort. If our kids play up to their ability and play as hard as they can, that’s all you can ask.”
The Comets football team has worked very hard thus far in preparation for Friday’s season opener here against Group AA Rustburg and for the opponents that will follow. Progress, so far, has been good.
“ I think our players have made good progress,” Harris said.
“ I also think they have a ways to go. They’ve done everything we’ve asked up to this point. They’re going to continue to practice hard. They need to become students of the game in film sessions. They need to not repeatedly make the same mistakes. We need to improve every day.”
Harris said he is not going to make any predictions on what kind of record his team will compile this season. Nor, is he willing to go out on a limb and predict how the Comets will fare against their opponents.
The first year Comets coach knows only about two teams his team will face, one of those being the neighboring Person High Rockets team he formerly coached and the other being GW, a team his former Rockets team played quite often over the years.
“I don’t know how our talent level stacks up against the people we’re going to play against because I haven’t played against them, with the exception of GW,” he pointed out.
One of the things that will be measured, Harris points out, is the production of the individual players – particularly in practice. The effort and the production that players show in practice will translate into how much playing time they will receive.
“I think they now know how we expect them to practice and focus,” Harris pointed out.
“Those that haven’t learned that are not going to get as much playing time as they want. They have to learn that playing time directly related to production in practice.
“I think the assistant coaches have done a good job of pointing out deficiencies with their particular groups and now it’s on the players’ shoulders,” Harris continued.
“ If they want to play, they have to produce and execute in practice.”

 

Halifax Duo Stage Unbelievable Comeback

By Bob Howerton
The News-Progress

CLARKSVILLE – Jimmy Clay and Ronnie Moore staged an unbelievable comeback in the Two-Ball Scramble format on Sunday to overcome a five stroke opening round deficit to win the 21st Annual Marvin L. Crowder Two-Ball Golf Tournament at Kinderton Country Club last weekend.
Clay and Moore were tied with the team of Bob and Brad Adams and trailed the team of Mike Gill and Steve Ralls of Greensboro by five strokes 61-66 after Saturday’s Best Ball format. But, on Sunday they came out sizzling and had a run of nine birdies, one eagle and eight pars to card an 11 under par 60 for a two day score of 126 and a one stroke win.
As an added note, Gill shot 29 on the par 36 back nine on Saturday on his own ball.
Gill and Ralls birdied the first hole on Sunday, but ran into a little trouble with bogeys on holes two, five, six and eight while picking up a birdie on the seventh hole to turn the front nine with a one over par 36 to fall two strokes back of Clay/Moore at the turn.
But on the back nine Gill/Ralls got things going again and rolled in six birds and three pars for a six under par 30 and a two day score of 127, while Clay/Moore were registering an eagle on number 10, three birds and five pars for a 31 on the incoming nine to get the one stroke win.
Clay and Moore have won the tournament on one other occasion, while Clay and Eddie Rinker have won the tournament on two occasions.
Adams/Adams duplicated their first round score with another six under par 65 to finish third in the tournament.
Ray Dingledine and partner Rob Heuay, who shot 68 in the opening round, had the second best round in the flight on Sunday as they shot eight under 63 to finish fourth with a score of 131. They won the position with a match of cards over Glen Bugg and Bryant Reese of South Hill.
Randy Clayton and Martin Whitt of Roxboro won a three player tie at the top of the First Flight with a match of cards over Charlie Baskervill and Paul Malgee of Petersburg and Don Thompson and Don Thompson of Halifax County. All three teams had two day scores of 134. Jacky Thomasson and son Brad Thomasson of South Boston finished fourth with a two day score of 135.
Four teams entered the second day tied for the lead for the top in the Second Flight with opening rounds 72, but a seven under par 64 on Sunday gave Phil Rinker and Woody Clay of Halifax County first place with a two day score of 136.
A match of cards gave Rives Eggleston and Raymond Anderson of Boydton second place over native son, Bill Thompson, Jr. and Scott Kilby as both teams finished with a two day score of 138. Chip Karpus and R.G. Saylers of Chester finished fourth with a two day score of 139.
The team of Koy Griffin and Richard Miller took top honors in the Third Flight with a 139. Steve Crute and Ray Brooks of Cary, NC gained second place with a match of cards win over the team of Chad Evans and Marshall Wood of Richmond. Both teams had two day scores of 142. Leroy Bradshaw of Clarksville and son Lee Bradshaw took fourth place with a 143.
Robert Mullins of Clarksville and Tim Salley of South Hill tied for Sunday’s low score of 63 as they took top honors in the Fourth Flight with a two day score of 141. The teams of Toby Newcomb and Stan Torrence and Mark Bullock and Harrel Parker of Clarksville tied for second place in the flight with two day scores of 143. A match of cards gave second place to the Newcomb/Torrence team. Bruce Crawford and Scott Kritzer took fourth place with a score of 146.
Vin Montgomery and Greg Harper of South Hill needed a match of Cards to take the Fifth Flight over the team of Nathan Wedlock and T.J. Evans of Richmond. Both teams shot 149 for the 36 hole event. Jason Bratton and Chris Giacci finished third with a score of 151.
Dr. Bill Owen and Wendell Hite of Halifax County finished fourth with a two day score of 152.
Tournament Chairman Ricky Bugg said a full field of 80 teams, 160 players, participated in the very popular event that always fills up within a few days after invitations go out. Saturday’s play was under almost ideal weather conditions with skies overcast for most of the day, but Sunday the sun shown brightly with very hot and humid conditions.
Flight Scores:
Championship Flight
Clay/Moore 66 60 126
Gill/Ralls 61 66 127
Adams/Adams 65 65 130
Dingledine/Heuay 68 63 131*
Bugg/Reese 65 66 131
Bailey/Shipman 67 65 132
Gregory/Burke 67 67 134
Judy/Ayers 68 66 134
Thews/Harris 68 66 134
Hutcheson/Boley 68 66 134
Snell/French 68 66 134
Frazier/Bowers 67 67 134
Payne/Guill 67 69 136

First Flight
Clayton/Whitt 70 64 134*
Baskervill/Malgee 69 65 134*
Thompson/Repokis 69 65 134
Thomasson/Thomasson 70 65 135
Second Flight
Rinker/Clay 72 64 136
Eggleston/Anderson 72 66 138*
Thompson/Kilby 72 66 138
Karpus/Salyers 72 67 139
Third Flight
Griffin/Miller 74 65 139
Crute/Brooks 74 68 142*
Evans/Wood 73 69 142
Bradshaw/Bradshaw 73 70 143
Fourth Flight
Mullins/Salley 78 63 141
Newcomb/Torrence 77 66 143*
Bullock/Parker 77 66 141
Crawford/Kaitzer 77 69 146
Fifth Flight
Montgomery/Harper 82 67 149*
Wedlock/Evans 81 68 149
Bratton/Giacchi 81 70 151
Owen/Hite 81 71 152
* - Won on match of cards

 

ARCA Trucks Return To VIR Stock Car Spectacular This Weekend

By John Gardner
VIR Public Relations

For the second time ever, drivers in the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series will be faced with the dilemma of turning both left and right this weekend, as the diverse touring series visits VIRginia International Raceway as part of the second annual Stock Car Spectacular.
Since its inception in 1999, the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series has become one of the most diverse regional touring series in the country. Series competitors are regularly challenged on racing surfaces ranging from asphalt to dirt and track configurations that vary from .25 mile to more than one mile in length.
The 50-lap contest around VIR’s 1.1-mile Patriot Course will be especially challenging since it marks the longest-distance race in which the truckers will compete in 2005. Because most of the series regulars are used to turning left, some new challenges are in store—VIR’s Patriot Course offers some significant elevation changes and twists and turns in each direction with the gorgeous Southside Virginia landscape serving as a perfect backdrop.
Last year, Chad Guinn won the event on the way to scoring his third consecutive series championship, with Mark Otting and Rick Knowles finishing second and third. Guinn was challenged throughout the race by championship protagonist Brett Rowe, but two flat left-rear tires, the last one on the penultimate lap, relegated him to fourth at the finish despite the help of guest jackman Ernie Irvan, the retired NASCAR ace.
Guinn, obviously a quick study when it came to road racing, was all smiles as he emerged from his truck in victory lane. “I loved it,” he said. “I had a real good time. I love this place!
With just two races remaining on the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series schedule after the VIR event, the race could play an important role in determining the 2005 ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series champion. Up to this point, Rowe and Paul Hahn have led a heated battle for the 2005 crown, with both drivers posting multiple victories.
The versatile series competes everywhere from Canada to Tennessee, with the season-opening event occurring at Kentucky Speedway in May. From there, the truckers went to Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pennsylvania for a thrilling .4-mile contest. Other venues on the schedule include the Tyler County Speedway dirt in West Virginia, the fast paved half-mile of Winchester Speedway in Indiana, the DuQuoin dirt mile in Illinois and the paved quarter-mile Flat Rock Speedway in Southeastern Michigan.
None of those venues, however, have very much in common with VIR’s Patriot Course, and the teams will be challenged to come up with a set-up for their trucks to suit the circuit just as the drivers will be hard-pressed to master the unique rigors of road-course racing.
Joining the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series this weekend will be the Stock Car Road Racing Championship, the HSR Historic Stock Car Series, Factory Five Racing, the American Iron Series and the Woodbridge Kart Club, all of whom will be racing on the traditional 3.27-mile VIR circuit.
Advance three-day Super Tickets for the Stock Car Spectacular will be priced at $30. At the gate, three-day Super Tickets will be priced at $40. Also, single-day tickets will be available for Friday ($10, gate only), Saturday ($15 advance/$20 gate) and Sunday ($15 advance/$20 gate). Advance tickets will be available only at the Trackside Market in Milton, NC. VIR is a family-friendly facility, where children 12 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Spectator camping is available.