Huge Entry List, New Format, Dazzling Fireworks, Free Fan Fest Bring Excitement to Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway
The largest entry list in years, a new format, a dazzling post-race Fourth of July fireworks display and a free Friday night Fan Fest are all part of South Boston Speedway’s premier showcase NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division event, the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort, set for 7 p.m. Saturday night, July 2.
A total of 48 cars are entered in Saturday’s 200-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division race that pays $10,000 to win. That race is the opening race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown series which includes events at Langley Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.
The entry list includes last year’s winner, Bobby McCarty, two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion and six-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers of Danville, Virginia, and South Boston Speedway points leader Layne Riggs of Bahama, North Carolina, who has won seven of 10 races at the .4-mile oval this season, and multi-time South Boston Speedway race winner Mike Looney of Catawba, Virginia.
Also on the entry list is Corey Heim who will compete in a Lee Pulliam Motorsports entry. Heim competes part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He also competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports.
Heim has two Truck Series wins this season. His first win came in at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he scored his second win in June at World Wide Technology Raceway. He won six races last year in the ARCA Menards Series.
Tate Fogleman, who drives the No. 30 Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for On Point Motorsports, is also among the entries. Fogleman scored his first career win in the series last season at Talladega.
West coast Super Late Model standout Derek Thorn who competes on the SRL Southwest Tour, will be competing in his first Late Model race on the east coast in the event. Thorn won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2015 and in 2018 and is an accomplished Late Model driver.
Five of the top 11 drivers in the CARS Tour point standings are among the entries for the event. That group includes series points leader Carson Kvapil who drives an entry out of the JR Motorsports stable and has two wins on the tour this season, and Connor Hall, a one-time winner this season who sits fourth in the CARS Tour standings. Brandon Pierce of Kernersville, North Carolina who stands fifth in the standings with a trio of Top-10 finishes, and Mason Diaz, who stands eighth in that series, have also filed an entry for the race. McCarty, currently sits 11th in the series standings.
Saturday night’s 200-lap Late Model Stock Car Division race will have an exciting new format that will have the race being run in four stages. Stage One will end at lap 50 with a caution and Stage 2 will conclude at lap 100 with caution to be followed by a halfway break. The third stage will end at lap 150 with a caution and the final stage ends at lap 200 with the end of the race.
Along with the 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race, fans will see a 50-lap race for the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division, a 25-lap race for the Southside Disposal Pure Stock Division and a 20-lap race for the Virginia State Police HEAT Hornets Division.
South Boston Speedway will host a free Fan Fest on Friday night, July 1, at 7:30 p.m. featuring a concert by popular country music performer Matt Boswell and the Hillbilly Blues Band. The free Fan Fest will follow a day of practice for drivers and teams that will be competing in Saturday night’s event.
A Fan Appreciation event will be held on Saturday from 5:15 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. during which fans will be able to go onto the track to meet the drivers, get autographs and get an up-close look at the cars.
“The largest entry list in years featuring an all-star lineup of top drivers and the new race format will make this year’s 200-lap race one of the most exciting Late Model races ever to be held here,” remarked South Boston Speedway General Manager Chase Brashears. “Fans will truly enjoy this event because not only will they get to see great racing, they can attend the free Fan Fest on Friday night and enjoy an hour-long Fan Appreciation autograph session prior to the race on Saturday.”
Advance tickets for the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 presented by Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort on Saturday night, July 2 are available for $15 each plus a $1.50 processing fee. The advance tickets may be purchased online on the South Boston Speedway website or by calling the speedway office. Tickets at the gate on race day will be $20 each.
Practice will start at 1:30 p.m., qualifying starts at 4:30 p.m., the autograph session will be held at 5:15 p.m. and the first race of the night will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
The latest updates and news for both fans and competitors can be found on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, and the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
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Kyle Busch Hitting the ‘Road’ For Fourth of July Weekend
With Independence Day coming up on Monday, many Americans will be celebrating by hitting the road to spend outdoor time with family and friends over the holiday weekend.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Skittles America Mix Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), will also be hitting the road, but one of a different sort this Fourth of July weekend, The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion heads to Wisconsin as the series returns to the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake for Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250.
Not long ago, road-course racing in NASCAR’s top series consisted of just two stops of the 36-race schedule with its yearly visits to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. An annual trip to the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval was added to the schedule in 2018. Now, road-course racing has taken on even more importance in the Cup Series with the recent additions of Road America, Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course joining the traditional stops at Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval. With those additions, it’s more important than ever to have a strong driver and team that can turn left and right.
As the Cup Series heads to Wisconsin for just the second time in the modern era, many of the younger Cup Series competitors have raced several times at Road America with NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, which has competed there each year since 2010. While the 2021 Cup Series race at Road America was the first time Busch had raced there, he took to the historic road course very quickly, bringing home the win in last year’s Xfinity Series race before notching a solid third-place finish in Sunday’s Cup Series race.
Busch has long shown a propensity for road-course racing during his Cup Series career, well before road course occupied a larger chunk of the schedule. The Skittles America Mix driver’s four road-course wins tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson and Mark Martin on the all-time Cup Series road-course wins list. That’s some pretty elite company, already. A fifth road-course win would tie Busch with Darrell Waltrip, Tim Richmond and Dan Gurney on the list. There is a bit of distance from there to the top three spots on the all-time road-course wins list, however, as Chase Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who have seven, eight and nine career road-course wins, respectively.
To help mark America’s Independence Day celebration this weekend, Busch’s No. 18 Toyota will feature the Skittles America Mix scheme. Each bag of Skittles America Mix contains a fun, fruit-flavored and patriotic mix of red, white and blue candies. The patriotic-themed Skittles are a must-have for celebrating this weekend – and of course, a great snack while watching a Cup Series race. They’re available at retailers nationwide through the summer.
So as Busch heads to Road America this holiday weekend, he’ll get right to work in hopes of adding to his impressive road-course statistics by taking a special road trip, so to speak, straight to victory lane.
| KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Skittles America Mix Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing: |
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What are you expecting at Road America as the Cup Series races there for only the second time?
“I’ve never raced there before last year, but we had a really good weekend. We were able to win the Xfinity race with our M&M’S Ice Cream Supra, and then we had a really solid race with our Skittles America Mix Camry. We had to come from the back last year, but we had a really good racecar, just not good enough to keep up with Chase (Elliott). We struggled at Sonoma (earlier this month), so hoping we learned some things not to do from Sonoma and we can have a better run there. Looking forward to getting to Road America this weekend and learning as much as we can and have a good run with our Skittles America Mix Camry and get us a win on Fourth of July weekend. That would be pretty cool.”
Is road-course racing something that comes naturally to you, or is it something you had to work on?
“It’s definitely something you have to work on. With rule changes and tire changes, it’s something you work on every year. There’s always change that you have to work on to be competitive. When I was a kid back in Las Vegas in Legends cars, that’s where I was able to learn about shifting and turning left and turning right. I had the natural instincts for it and won a couple of championships in the winter series we had out there. We actually went out to Sonoma back then and ran the national championship races two years in a row and finished third both times, so I had a little bit of experience on road courses as I came up through the ranks.”
How hard is it to recover at Road America if you miss a corner?
“With those big straightaway, the corners are important, like missing turn three, I think it’s called, and then going down along back there. That’s important. That’s a big deal. Obviously, the last corner, I think it’s 13 or 14, coming up along from straightaway. So those can be detrimental to lap time, for sure, because you’re just losing time by the distance in which it takes to get up to speed, so you really want to be strong on those turns.”
How has your view on road-course racing changed with the addition of more of those races the last couple of years?
“I’ve always enjoyed the road racing. Back years ago, when we had two on the schedule – Sonoma and Watkins Glen – it was kind of fun because it was like an off-week. You would go and enjoy the experience and try to learn and get better at it each time that you would do it, but now that there are five of them on the schedule, it’s definitely more loaded towards needing to be good at it – not wanting to but needing to with the amount of road course races we have. I feel like I’m a decent road racer and would love to have a chance to showcase that on Sunday.”
Why do you say Joe Gibbs Racing struggled at Sonoma after being decent at COTA?
“Yeah, I mean, we struggled at COTA as well, to be honest, with raw speed and being able to be good there. You know, in the early stage of the race, I think we were running eighth, we were fading, I got spun out by Chase Elliott running 12th, you know what I mean? So we weren’t great at COTA, either, but we were able to get through some of the restarts and get positions on guys to get ourselves up front. Christopher (Bell), I think was third or fourth. I was right with him on the last lap there. And so you know, felt like with everything that kind of ensued on the last lap, we would have had a shot to run in the top two or three, for sure. But I would say both road-course events so far this year were not our strong suit. Why we missed it? I don’t know. If I could answer that, we wouldn’t struggle, we wouldn’t have been bad.”
TSC PR |
Michael McDowell and the Love's Travel Stops team have proved they are a winning threat at road course events. McDowell finished 13th at the event at the Circuit of the Americas and came back to qualify fourth and finish third at the most recent road course race at the Sonoma Raceway.
They have now raised the bar to getting to Victory Lane this weekend in Road America.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t know what to expect with this new car,” said McDowell. “At COTA, when we went into practice and qualifying, I was disappointed. We had missed it. But we can back in the race and learned a ton and finished OK. It gave us that base that really propelled us at Sonoma where we had an awesome weekend. We know the next two months are important and an opportunity to capitalize on these road courses. We do have an expectation to compete for wins, especially at a place like Road America.”
McDowell, coming off a thirteenth place finish in Nashville, is ready to return to a track where he has won before in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. With only six races left in the regular season, the team knows the time to capitalize is now.
"I don’t think we can pinpoint any specific race where we can for sure say that it is our race to win or lose, but we all know the time to make it happen is now,” commented McDowell. “We expect to run well and be in contention at all the remaining races. But based on history and performance, and my personal history, this weekend is our weekend to show off again.”
McDowell and his Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang will race at Road America this Sunday, July 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
FRM PR
Marc-Antoine Camirand offered team Paillé Course//Racing its second straight victory, on Sunday, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series was at Eastbound International Speedway for its inaugural race in Newfoundland. Camirand dominated most of the Pro-Line 225, while his teammate Andrew Ranger showed great speed early in the race but suffered engine failure.
Both Paillé Course//Racing cars were very fast this weekend on the banked oval track in Avondale, NL. Although it was a new track for everybody, both cars were very fast from the beginning of the weekend. Due to inclement weather forecast, qualifying was canceled, and practice times were used to set the starting line-up for the Pro-Line 225. Andrew Ranger was third on the grid as Marc-Antoine Camirand scored the fifth place. The race was postponed to Sunday morning because of the rain.
Early in the race, both Paillé Course//Racing cars showed great speed, with both GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 and n°27 Camaros running in the top three. Marc-Antoine Camirand took the lead at lap 87 and never looked back afterwards.
“We have shown that we can run up front since the beginning of the season, we came close a couple of times, but this time was our turn. I’m so happy for my team at Camirand Performance that has been working so hard. I couldn’t be prouder of them. I also couldn’t be thankful enough of GM Paillé who made that all possible,” said the driver of the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n° 96 Camaro.
Camirand led 138 laps in the race, held off pressure from behind and finally won his first victory in 2022, his third in the NASCAR Pinty’s series. “I was careful at the beginning of the race, and I was saving my mechanic. I knew that my car was very fast on the long run, and it paid off,” explained Camirand, who sits at the top of the NASCAR Pinty’s point standings after four races.
His Paillé Course//Racing teammate Andrew Ranger was also very fast early in the race, battling for the lead after taking the start from third place. Unfortunately, he suffered an engine failure after 42 laps.
“I’m disappointed that we traveled from so far and that we were not able to show what the car was capable of, but it’s also part of racing. I’m primed to return strong to the Toronto Indy. I’m sure that we can come back really strong with my GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n° 27 Camaro.
Paillé Course//Racing, Marc-Antoine Camirand and Andrew Ranger will be back in action on July 15th, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series returns to the streets of Toronto as part of the Honda Indy event, after a 2-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Marc-Antoine Camirand PR
Through a hot afternoon and a cool night, sunshine and starry skies, as well as intense action and long idle periods, one element remained constant on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway: Chase Elliott is NASCAR's concrete-track master in 2022.
NASCAR's most popular driver survived a late restart to win the Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race, bringing a close to a thrilling weekend at Middle Tennessee's home for racing and entertainment.
Elliott, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, led 42 of the race's 300 laps, stayed on the track with nine other drivers during the final caution period with less than 10 laps left, and remained on top during the final four green-flag laps.
"So proud of our team," Elliott said. "It was a long, fun day. It's nice to get going in the right direction. I'm looking forward to that guitar [trophy]."
It is Elliott's second victory of the season, with the first coming at Dover Motor Speedway, another concrete track, in May.
Elliott, 26, who has 15 career Cup Series victories, topped Kurt Busch to the checkered flag by 0.551 seconds. Ryan Blaney placed third, defending race champion Kyle Larson was fourth and Ross Chastain was fifth.
Busch, Blaney and Larson were three of the nine drivers aside from Elliott to stay on the track after a late caution flag on Lap 293 led to a decision for every team on whether to maintain track position or come in for fresh tires and adjustments.
"We were going to stay out no matter what, and I needed to start throwing fenders to move people around," Busch said. "I didn’t get after it, and I made too many mistakes."
Elliott's crew chief, Alan Gustafson, credited the buffer those nine cars built between his driver and those with new tires as a key for Elliott's win.
Elliott was eighth after the first stage and fourth after the second but didn't come close to the lead until the latter laps of the final segment.
Martin Truex Jr. nabbed the two early stage wins and his five stage victories top the Cup Series but he was one of several drivers to visit pit road in the final caution period and ended up 22nd after leading 82 laps.
Kyle Busch, who was running second to Elliott when the final caution waved also came in but finished 21st after leading 54 laps.
Both early segments included lengthy red-flag conditions for lightning (Stage 1 and 2) and heavy rain (Stage 2) which totaled more than three hours of delays. The first red flag came after 41 laps were registered and the second came after 139 circuits were in the books.
Denny Hamlin, the pole winner, was second in both stages, led a race-high 114 laps and finished sixth.
"We didn't want to see that late caution come out," Elliott said. "We were able to hold them off. This is big to win here at Nashville. It's pretty special. I always try to enjoy these moments because you never know when you're going to get another one."
In other notable finishes, Cup Series rookie Austin Cindric was seventh, Joey Logano led four laps and finished ninth and Cole Custer was the final driver on the lead lap in 26th.
Elliott, who leads the series standings by 30 points over Chastain, averaged 111.22 mph in completing the 400-mile event in 3 hours, 35 minutes and 15 seconds (not counting red-flag time). Seven leaders exchanged the lead 18 times and 10 caution periods took up 57 laps.
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Fr8Auctions partners with AMS for inaugural Revs & Riffs NASCAR Weekend Music Festival
Fr8Auctions is expanding its partnership with Atlanta Motor Speedway to sponsor the inaugural Revs & Riffs Music Festival Presented by Fr8Auctions.com July 8-10.
The music festival will run concurrently with the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart NASCAR weekend and include concerts by Flo Rida, Candlebox, and Georgia’s own Blackberry Smoke along with a variety of supporting acts around the speedway.
Fr8Auctions has been a partner of Atlanta Motor Speedway since 2021 when it became the entitlement partner of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at the speedway. Its sponsorship of Revs & Riffs comes as part of an expanded presence for Fr8Auctions during Atlanta’s summer NASCAR weekend, including sponsorship of Friday night’s Laps for Charity benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities Atlanta and a robust presence in the AMS Fan Zone.
“Marcus Barela and the Fr8Auctions team are incredible partners and stewards of the race weekend experience at Atlanta Motor Speedway,” said AMS Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “They continue to up the ante helping us maximize the entertainment value for race fans. We can’t wait to get our summer NASCAR weekend started so our fans can enjoy everything we have in store.”
“Fr8Auctions is thrilled to be part of the second action-packed weekend of racing and entertainment at the newly revamped Atlanta Motor Speedway,” said Fr8Auctions founder Marcus Barela. “Whether you’re driving your own car on the track during Laps For Charity, checking out the attractions in the Fan Zone, or singing along to the concerts around the track, there’s a ton of fun to be had for the whole family and Fr8Auctions will be there to enhance the experience!”
The Atlanta-based firm helps sell excess, discontinued, or damaged inventory outside traditional distribution channels. During the race weekend Fr8Auctions will be educating guests who visit its display in the Fan Zone on how they can get involved and gain independence by starting their own business.
“Our incredible merchandise and selection is the standard of the asset recovery industry,” said Barela. “Our new buyer orientation and buyer mentorship process will give interested individuals the tools they need to get started or take their business to the next level.”
To get more information on Revs & Riffs or purchase tickets and camping accommodations for the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart NASCAR weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway July 8-10, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com or call 877-9-AMS-TIX.
AMS PR
Another six-race-week is on the docket for the third week of competition in the 37th DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour.
Loaded with annual staple venues and the return of some old favorites, the Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals competitors will be tested with a variety of track sizes and rigorous travel schedule over the next six days.
Multi-State Week schedule
Tuesday, June 28 – Red Hill Raceway (Sumner, IL)
Wednesday, June 29 – Benton Speedway (Benton, MO)
Thursday, June 30 – Fayette County Speedway (Brownstown, IL)
Friday, July 1 – Paducah International Raceway (Paducah, KY)
Saturday, July 2 – Clarksville Speedway (Clarksville, TN)
Sunday, July 3 – Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, IL)
Tickets for each event will be available at the gates on race day. If you can’t make it to your favorite track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – online at DIRTVision.com or with the DIRTVision mobile app.
Here are the drivers to watch for and the storylines to follow this week:
POINTS TAKE SHAPE – After eleven-straight races through the first two weeks, four-time and reigning Summer Nationals Late Model champion Bobby Pierce maintains a 90-point lead in the standings over Jason Feger. Pierce, of Oakwood, IL, skipped the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series’ appearance Sunday night at Jacksonville Speedway to prepare for the upcoming Multi-Sate Week, indicating a potential run for his fifth tour championship.
Jason Feger, of Bloomington, IL, has taken over second in points after posting one of his best finishes of the season Saturday against the Outlaws at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, chasing winner Dennis Erb Jr. for most of the 55-lap finale before Pierce passed him late. Ryan Unzicker, of El Paso, IL, has dropped to third in points, most recently passing 14 cars in his drive from 23rd to ninth against the World of Outlaws Saturday night in Pevely. Both drivers are projected to be on the roster during Multi-State Week.
Fellow four-time Summer Nationals champion Brian Shirley boosted himself to fourth in points after notching back-to-back victories, starting with the Illinois-Iowa Week closer at Sycamore Speedway on June 19 and winning again two nights later at Missouri’s Springfield Raceway. Shirley, of Chatham, IL, and the Bob Cullen Racing team are expected to be in attendance throughout Multi-State Week.
COOLING OFF – For the first time since September 2020, Nick Hoffman has finished second or worse in two consecutive Summit Modified Features.
The four-time and defending champion from Mooresville, NC, was bested by winner Rick Conoyer and runner-up Will Krup in Friday’s portion of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff at I-55 and broke a camshaft in the engine while coming to the checkered on Saturday, leaving him with a DNF in 16th-place.
However, he still holds a giant lead in the standings, 131 points ahead of second-place Kyle Steffens. With seven wins in nine starts, he’s now only five wins away from maxing-out his win total for the fourth-straight year, as only a driver’s best 12 finishes are taken into account in championship points.
GUESS WHO’S BACK – He’s been out of action for the past three seasons, but this week, National Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famer Terry English returns to the seat of a DIRTcar Late Model this Friday and Saturday night.
Terry, the 2002 DIRTcar Late Model national champion and father to 2021 Hell Tour regular Tanner English, will pilot a 2016 Rocket XR1 Chassis in the Summer Nationals shows at the newly reopened Paducah International Raceway (July 1) and Clarksville Speedway (July 2). The car has sat in their Benton, KY, shop since Tanner competed with it in the 2019 Gateway Dirt Nationals but has since been revitalized and adorned with Terry’s famed No. 96 decal on the door panels.
Terry has five Summer Nationals victories to his credit – his most recent coming at Illinois’ Highland Speedway on June 17, 2008.
OLD FRIEND – This week, the Summer Nationals will see a familiar face return to the Late Model roster.
2021 DIRTcar Late Model Rookie of the Year Ashton Winger, of Hampton, GA, is expected to start his week with the Summer Nationals Tuesday at Red Hill Raceway and follow it up with a visit to Benton Speedway in Missouri on Wednesday.
Winger completed the entire 2021 Hell Tour schedule with his own equipment but will bring the G.R. Smith-owned Gambler Transport Motorsports Rocket XR1 #89 to the track this week – a car he’s been at the controls of since the racing season began in January.
WHAT’S OLD IS NEW – Three of the six tracks on the docket this week have not hosted a Summer Nationals race in at least nine years.
Red Hill Raceway’s grand re-opening takes place this Tuesday, June 28, with the Summer Nationals and Summit Modified stars in attendance at the revived facility in Sumner, IL. No race car of any type has graced the dirt of the 3/8-mile oval since the last time it hosted competition in 2004 (officially closed in 2005), but Midwest racing promoter Jeremy Sneed has since purchased the property and put life back in it, now ready for its first Summer Nationals show since 2000.
Benton Speedway in Benton, MO, sat dormant from 2014 until last fall, when owner Rob Russell reopened the property for racing once again. The Late Models are scheduled to make their first appearance at 3/8-mile oval for the first time since 1997 on Wednesday, June 29, while the Modifieds will make their debut.
Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY, hosted a Summer Nationals event every year from 1996-2013. The half-mile oval was later closed in 2016 and again in 2018 but has since reopened under new owners Adam and Brittany Elliot, who have breathed new life and a weekly racing program back into the track. The track is set to host its 19th Summer Nationals event and fourth Summit Modified event this Friday, July 1.
DIRTcar Series PR
Californian Justice Calabro Moves Cross Country to Race Against the Best at Cook Out Summer Shootout
Each summer, the quarter-mile of Charlotte Motor Speedway is flooded with the very best Legend Cars and Bandolero for the Cook Out Summer Shootout, where drivers from all over the country and around the world test their mettle against the toughest grassroots racing competition. One of those drivers, 18-year-old Boston Reid & Co. Legends Pro division’s Justice Calabro, is a shootout regular, but the California native’s path to America’s Home for Racing has been anything but normal.
His route to the track began with the movie, Herbie Fully Loaded. Calabro quickly fell in love with the idea of driving and being behind the wheel of a car.
He first got a taste of racing at an indoor go-kart track. At the age of 14, Calabro got behind the wheel of his first Legend Car when he participated in a driving school near the speedway. Like something out of the movies, his raw, unpolished skill impressed the Stillwell Racing team, earning him a spot to race against some of the sport’s best drivers. But in order to chase racing glory, he first had to make the move to North Carolina.
Calabro and his family made the decision to pursue his dream of racing and moved from California to Charlotte.
“My mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and myself all packed up and moved away from California,” Calabro said. “My parents left their jobs and their whole lives behind so that I could come out here and pursue racing.”
Calabro got his first victory in the Legend’s Young Lions division of the 2019 Winter Heat at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
So far this Cook Out Summer Shootout season, the No. 25 Legends car for the Boston Reid & Company Pro division has seen success in each round, improving his finishing position each round, including a sixth-place finish last week.
“I would say it has been a fruitful journey so far,” said Calabro.
This is Calabro’s fourth summer racing the Cook Out Summer Shootout. The excitement continues this Tuesday, with “Awful Night.” It will be a night of great racing, a “celebrity” autograph session, silly shenanigans, a forgettable t-shirt toss making it an all-around “awful” night.
TICKETS:
Cook Out Summer Shootout continues Tuesday, June 28. Entry is $10 for adults; $5 entry for anyone named Karen; kids 12 and under are FREE. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.
KEEP TRACK:
Follow all the thrilling CookOut Summer Shootout action using the hashtag #WeCreateLegends. Connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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Post-Race Report | Nashville Superspeedway
| Ally 400 |
| AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Gold Fish Casino Slots Camaro ZL1 Start: 14th Stage 1 Finish: 15th Stage 2 Finish: 12th Finish: 19th |
| “Nashville was a challenge. Our No. 16 Gold Fish Casino Slots Camaro showed some good speed, and we drove up to the top 10. Unfortunately, we struggled with some of the same issues we had all weekend. We had a list of things to try on pit road to make it better, but we couldn’t quite get a grasp on it. We will take everything we learned and build on our notebook for next time. Road America should hopefully be a good place for our team to keep moving in a positive direction.”
- AJ Allmendinger |
| Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 Start: 21st Stage 1 Finish: 26th Stage 2 Finish: 15th Finish: 23rd
"We fought a tight car all day. We made some gains on pit road, but it was not the best day for us collectively. We have some work to do as a team, but we will move on to Road America."
- Justin Haley |
| Tennessee Lottery 250 |
| AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Start: 2nd Stage 1 finish: 4th Stage 2 finish: 11th Finish: 16th |
| “We had a promising day with a fast No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy. We overcame a speeding penalty, made gains on pit road and were on track for a solid finish. Unfortunately our tire strategy just didn’t work out in our favor. We took a gamble but didn’t get the finish we were hoping for.”
- AJ Allmendinger |
| Daniel Hemric, No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Start: 10th Stage 1 finish: 12th Stage 2 finish: 16th Finish: 17th
"Kaulig Racing has been working hard trying to find the right direction to advance our program forward, and we took some pretty big swings this weekend. We fought the same subtle things we’ve fought all year. Obviously, we still have some work to do. Our strategy didn’t pan out, and we didn’t get the finish we deserve. We will carry on to next week.”
- Daniel Hemric |
| Landon Cassill, No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Start: 12th Stage 1 finish: 13th Stage 2 finish: 18th Finish: 18th |
| "I really liked our strategy, but it just didn’t work out. I felt like the way last run was going, there was potential for cautions with 15 or 20 laps to go. With new tires we would have had a really good advantage, and undoubtedly, would have had a top-five finish. It just didn’t work out our favor.”
- Landon Cassill |
Kaulig Racing PR
The long-awaited revival of North Wilkesboro Speedway later this year will include the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour.
Wrapping up a busy August at the historic track will be a Late Model Stock Car race sanctioned by the CARS Tour, in which the series regulars and a few other notable names will battle it out for the opportunity to add a North Wilkesboro victory to their resume.
Planning out a race at North Wilkesboro has been a long, meticulous process for CARS Tour owner Jack McNelly and director of operations Keeley Dubensky. Now that all the details have been sorted with XR Events CEO Barry Braun, Dubensky is eager to see drivers on track for what she believes will be one of the most storied events in the history of Late Model Stock Car competition.
“We are overwhelmed with the amount of support from our competitors and fans,” Dubensky said. “The nostalgia and excitement surrounding this event speaks for itself. I’m excited to introduce Barry and his team to our Late Model Stock program and put our heads together to create something special for everyone to enjoy and remember for years to come.”
The inaugural visit to North Wilkesboro for the CARS LMSC Tour will count towards the championship.
A full entry list of 30 cars has already been established for the feature, but the actual race structure has yet to be determined. Dubensky added that the starting grid could be expanded to include 38 cars but doing so would reduce the number of laps from 125 to 75 to conserve tires.
The CARS LMSC Tour drivers automatically locked into North Wilkesboro include every Touring 12 member as well as those who have competed in all six races so far. Positions in the field have also been secured by a handful of outsiders, whose inclusion will be announced within the next couple of months.
On-track activities for the CARS LMSC Tour are going to take place over the course of two days. Details on the schedule are still being finalized, but Dubensky would prefer to have practice and qualifying during the day on Aug. 30 prior to holding the feature on Aug. 31.
Simply making plans for a race at North Wilkesboro was something that McNelly thought to be impossible just a couple of years ago. He is grateful for all the strenuous effort put in by XR Events to make the event happen and is ready to see how the track races after a decade of being dormant.
“We’re looking forward to being an integral part of this event,” McNelly said. “We’re eager to work with XR Events and all of us are excited to showcase our series and its competitors on a big stage.”
Dubensky and McNelly intend to iron out a full plan for the CARS LMSC Tour race with Braun, who is excited to have the series on an itinerary that includes races for Touring Modifieds, the CRA Super Series and the Super Cup Stock Car Series.
With the old pavement at North Wilkesboro set to be removed in September, Braun said that ending the month with a CARS LMSC Tour race is an appropriate way to honor the history of the facility while simultaneously ushering in a new era for racing.
“The CARS Tour at North Wilkesboro will be the perfect fit to wrap up the pavement racing month,” Braun said. “It is a perfect mix of grassroots racing and legends to cap the revitalization of this historic track.”
Anticipation will only build for the CARS LMSC Tour’s first visit to North Wilkesboro ahead of the green flag, which will fly on a talented field of drivers on Aug. 31 at approximately 7 p.m..
For more information on the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and the CARS Pro Late Model Tour, visit www.carsracingtour.com. Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by liking “CARS Tour” on Facebook, following @CARSTour on Twitter and scrolling through photos on Instagram cars_tour.
Additional series information can be obtained by calling the CARS Tour series office, located in Mooresville, NC, at 704.662.9212.
CARS Tour PR