Off Weekend Not So Off for Sawyer

HAMPTON, Va. (Oct. 11) – NASCAR Busch Series veteran Elton Sawyer is heading back to his roots this Saturday to compete in a Late Model Stock car race at Langley Speedway.

Sawyer, who is currently a top contender in the NASCAR Busch Series for Akins Motorsports with support from the Lysol brand, will head to Langley this weekend for the I/Car 100.

This will be Sawyer’s first race in a Late Model stock car since 1993.

Sawyer is returning to help Langley celebrate its 50th anniversary. This weekend’s events are the grand finale of a year-long celebration.

Sawyer will be running a second car owned by Lamb & Robinson. Sawyer’s “teammate” for the evening will be five-time track champion Phil Warren and Sawyer’s sponsor will be Kim Nach Ford.

“I usually look forward to the few weekends we have off in the Busch Series but I am really looking forward to heading back to Langley this weekend,” Sawyer said. “I have a lot of great memories at that track. I have not been in a Late Model for some years now but this weekend should be a lot of fun.”

Sawyer has not run competitively in a Late Model Series for about 15 years so his jump from Busch cars to Late Model will be unique.

“Late Models don’t have much horsepower, you have more car then motor,” Sawyer said. “You almost have to get them sideways loose to go fast. I am going to get some practice in on Friday so that I can be prepared for the race Saturday.”

Sawyer began his racing career at Langley Speedway where he accumulated three consecutive track championships and consecutive NASCAR Winston Racing Series Regional Championships in the Mid-Atlantic Region in 1984 and 1985. He is also one of the most successful drivers at the speedway with 82 feature wins.

Langley Speedway General Manager Wayne Wyatt is looking forward to Sawyer’s return and also has fond memories of him racing at the facility.

“Celebrating 50 years of racing at Langley this season has been extremely successful for us,” Wyatt said. “We have been able to bring back many of our past promoters and drivers for weekend events. This weekend is our grand finale and we are very excited to have Elton join us.

“Langley was Elton’s home track and he is also our biggest star who came out of here. I think he was really one of the first guys to come in and treat this as a profession, not just as a weekend hobby. He was always one leg ahead of everyone and had good equipment. He also had a good grasp of the business side of racing and is very professional. That has obviously continued throughout his career.

“One of my vivid memories of Elton at Langley was years ago when I was working the score board in turn three. Each week Elton had a rivalry with Bubba Adams. The two of them raced hard and fierce. One week, when I was up on the scoreboard, about 10 feet from me, Bubba and Elton wrecked and went over the wall together into the woods.”

Sawyer is still a fierce competitor, now as a top driver in the NASCAR Busch Series. As Sawyer competes at Langley this weekend, his Lysol Racing team is preparing for their next race at North Carolina Speedway. Sawyer and his team are feverishly trying to gain positions in the point standings with only four races left. Sawyer currently sits sixth, 88 points behind Ron Hornaday (fifth).