Story by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected]

Williamston, SC(May 30, 2012) — The UARA-STARS Series rolls into Anderson Motor Speedway on Friday, June 1st for the fifth of sixteen races on the tour schedule.

The UARA-STARS Series schedule is typically packed full of ups and downs for it’s racers young and old and this season has certainly been no different. From the thrill of the opening race that saw last years second winningest driver, Ronnie Bassett, Jr. pick up the win to he and his brother finishing one-two in the seasons second race. Then there was Rockingham where Corey LaJoie won his third straight UARA race on the one-mile oval and Kingsport where it got interesting with Ronnie Bassett, Jr. starting dead last and winning the race only to get axed in post race inspection.

With controversy abounding, no one hardly even remembers who actually got the race win, except maybe Coleman Pressley himself. Anyways, by now you already know what all has gone on in the past four races, so let me catch you up on the things that you might not know.

BIG CHANGES AT MAM SINCE KINGSPORT
When the Marcos Ambrose Motorsports(MAM) team rolls into Anderson Motor Speedway on Thursday for practice, the scene will look quite different than it has for the first three races of this season. Following a second on-track altercation between the teams two drivers, Ben Rhodes and Clayton Pyne, Pyne was released from the team.

The first altercation between the two drivers took place at Dillon Motor Speedway, where Pyne got into Rhodes and spun him, ruining a top ten run and again at Kingsport the same thing happened, but this time it ended Rhodes’ night. At Dillon, the teams reportedly scuffled following the checkered flag and while none of that happened at Kingsport following the race, the decision came a few days later to let Pyne go. Rhodes is expected to be the only MAM entry at Anderson, but another team car will see Dave Garbo, Jr. make his Late Model debut at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 2nd.

Rhodes will also experience a little change starting at Anderson as he will have another crew chief leading his #9 Ford Fusion as Billy Smith takes the reigns in place of Lee McCall. McCall, who had been Rhodes’ crew chief since joining MAM was also dismissed from the team during the long break from the May 4th Kingsport race. McCall nor MAM team manager, Jamie Yelton would comment on the departure, but both will be at Anderson this weekend. McCall will be turning wrenches on Randy Hawkins’ #03 car.

LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION
The Kingsport UARA race left a bitter and no so much sweet taste in Ronnie Bassett, Jr.’s mouth. The young driver first got a penalty in qualifying for hitting a cone entering turn one, forcing him to start last on the 3/8 mile concrete oval. Then after driving the wheels off of his Bassett Racing entry, he was subjected to a long tech process, as is standard in the UARA after a drivers third win of the season, but when it was all said and done, he was disqualified out of the win for a modification to the cylinder head on his Ford crate engine.

The team appealed the decision made at the track, but Ford Motor Company’s inspection of the part left the disqualification in place and the point leader going into the race without points for the Kingsport race. The disqualification wasn’t a first for Bassett, who was disqualified for an illegal cam in a Chevrolet crate engine a year ago at Anderson. He came back last fall and redeemed himself for the earlier disqualification and will look to Anderson Motor Speedway to do the same this year.

JASPER COMING TO THE FRONT
If Sammy Jasper had set out to run the entire UARA-STARS Series schedule, he would likely be the driver to beat for the championship. With a top five run at Rockingham, that was ruined by a broken hub and a second place effort at Kingsport Speedway, he could have easily found himself in the mix for the title. Jasper is running the majority of the rest of the schedule and should be one of the top contenders even on tracks where he hasn’t been before, especially if his inaugural trip to Kingsport is any indication.

CONSISTENCY AND FAST CARS PAYING DIVIDENDS
Travis Swaim had been one of the best drivers over the years at Caraway Speedway and while he didn’t win a ton of races, he won his fair share and brought home the championship on four occasions. He’s looking to do the same thing in the UARA and while he hasn’t won a race, Bassett’s disqualification at Kingsport put him in the drivers seat. Swaim came away from Kingsport with a fifth place finish officially and he did that while struggling on the tough track, but at all the other races he’s been among the fastest and just hasn’t been able to finish first yet, but he will soon.

NOT SUPER LATE MODELS, BUT RUNNING STRONG
Devin Jones proved to be a pretty good little Super Late Model racer over a couple of strong seasons in the PASS South Series, but since moving to Late Model Stock Cars he hasn’t had quite the success. However, as the young driver continues to mature and continues to get better behind the wheel of a Late Model Stock Car, he’s proving that he can get the job done in anything. Look for the young driver to continue to find his groove and once he does he’s certain to be a top contender.

WITH A LITTLE LUCK ….
Look up bad luck … go ahead, Google it. You’ll probably find a photo of Scott Turlington or at least his race car on there. Over the years he’s had terrible luck on the UARA-STARS Series tour and through a myriad of crew chief changes, other changes and even a number change, he can’t seem to shake it. If he ever manages to shake his bad luck, the rest of the tour drivers had better look out, because this season teammed with former championship winning crew chief, Nick Hutchins, Turlington is running better than ever. Maybe, Anderson will be the site of his first win ….

LOCAL FLAVOR
Trips to South Carolina for the UARA typically bring out the best of the local racers and Anderson Motor Speedway is no exception. Winner of this race last spring, Jeremy Burns returns to the track to test his skills once again against the UARA regulars as does his little brother, Will Burns. Ralph Carnes and RA Brown will also join the list of local racers who will compete in this event. As always, one or more of these guys could well play into the finish of the race and one might just upset the UARA regulars and take home the trophy.

IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT
If you’re not in the Williamston, SC area on Friday or can’t make it out to the track, be sure to check out the live pay-per-view of the event on MotorsportsBroadcasting.com. For a low fee you can watch every lap of the race, right from the comfort of your own home via a computer, laptop or flash enabled mobile device.