Empire Racing Group (ERG) will have two chances to reach Victory Lane during the ARCA Racing Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, as veteran drivers Sean Corr and Dylan Lupton will be competing for the team. Both Corr and Lupton participated in the ARCA test for ERG at the superspeedway back in January.
“The test in January went really well for us, one of the smoothest I’ve ever been a part of,” said Mike “Grumpy” Cheek, team crew chief. “Dylan Lupton was a last minute add-on to the test for us. We connected with him through Win–Tron Racing, and he went out there and ran some fast laps and was really impressive. We put the deal together to have him join Sean for the race after that. They’re both great drivers and I’m very excited for the race. I’d love to see the two of them finish in the Top-5, and I feel if they work together out on the track there’s no reason we won’t be up front like that.”
Sean Corr, a 31-year-old Goshen, N.Y. native, knows his way to Daytona’s Victory Lane, as the driver has competed in six ARCA races at the track. During those events he secured one win, one Top-5 and two Top-10 finishes. After competing in the test earlier this year, he feels confident in his chances to find success at the notoriously challenging track again.
“The test went well until we blew a tire at the end of the final session,” said Corr. “The car got some damage to it, but the team has fixed it up and we’ll come back stronger than ever! I can’t wait for the race. At Daytona you have to be really smooth on the wheel and can’t be as aggressive as you can be at other places. I find that watching videos of the greats, like Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon, have really helped me be successful there. They have driving styles that I feel like I can really pick up on and emulate.”
Corr will be piloting the No. 48 car for ERG, with NESCO, Transgroup, Grumpy’s Performance and Support Our Troops on the car and along for the ride. His car will also be running in honor of racing veteran James Hylton, a two-time winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and a long-time ARCA Racing Series competitor. During his career, Hylton collected 140 Top-5 and 301 Top-10 finishes in 601 races, and also finished second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in 1966, 1967, and 1971. As a longtime fan and friend of Hylton, running a car in his honor is an extremely meaningful moment for Corr.
“I’m so honored to be running the No. 48 in honor of James Hylton!” Corr stated. “The first ARCA race I ever went to I had no idea where to go and I was so worried about missing meetings and getting in trouble for it. I walked up to the first person I saw, who happened to be James Hylton, and asked him if he would mind helping me just figure out where to go. He was so nice and told me we’d figure it out together – he really watched out for me at that race! I can’t thank him enough for that. We ended up building him his last racecar for his last race, and he asked me if I wanted to run his No. 48 after he retired. It’s really such an honor to have been asked that. It’s huge.”
Joining Corr will be Dylan Lupton, a familiar face to the racing scene. The 22-year-old Wilton, Calif. native has competed in everything from karting and Late Model series to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West and XFINITY Series. The Lucas Oil 200 will be Lupton’s first race in the ARCA Racing Series. He made his first laps in the car during the test back in January after connecting with ERG with assistance from Win-Tron Racing.
“The test with Empire Racing Group went really well,” explained Lupton. “I mainly went down there to get experience on the track. The biggest track I had been on before this was a 1.5-mile in the XFINITY Series last year, so this was a step up for me. I really wanted get some experience with the draft. We were fourth fastest pretty much all weekend, so I’m very pleased with how all that went.”
Lupton’s first ARCA Racing Series event will also be his first race at Daytona International Speedway. The superspeedway is unlike any track he’s raced at before, but Lupton is confident he will be able to succeed in the race.
“I’ve never ran a race at Daytona before, but I feel prepared for it and think we could win it,” continued Lupton. “Having run in all these different racing series, especially the NASCAR XFINITY Series, I have a lot of experience to rely on versus someone who’s a little bit more of a rookie. Talking with Sean Corr will also be useful in preparing for it, and I think we’ll work well together on the track. Other than that, just watching old races and how drivers can get a pack to work the top line and make pass to get the win will be immensely helpful.”
ERG PR
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