2012 Remembered as Year of Rebuilding for LMSC Racing

Copper Hill, VA(December 31, 2012) — 2011 had to be one of the worst racing seasons for Late Model Stock Car racing, but 2012 will be remembered for rebuilding a brand of racing that is second to none.

In 2011, car counts were hitting rock bottom.  Only a handful of drivers were winning races as nearly every track and the UARA-STARS Series was being dominated by a single driver.  Fan attendance was bottoming out.  Race tracks were folding under and fast.  Late Model Stock Car racing appeared to be dead.

Enter March 10, 2012.  It was the dawn of new season for Late Model Stock Car racing.  It featured three season opening events, the first of which was a highly publicized first leg of the Virginia Triple Crown.  It was South Boston Speedway’s season opening race and it paid $10,000 to win.  It was highly anticipated as the “Daytona 500” of Late Model Stock Car racing, with a strong car count expected for their annual 300-lap race, just with a different spring instead of fall date.

Also that weekend, Hickory Motor Speedway was kicking off their 2012 season as well as Kingsport Speedway.  Hickory was having their normal 100-lap opener while Kingsport was opening their second season under Robert Pressley’s leadership with a Saturday race rather than their normal Friday night schedule.

Hickory boasted a strong 18-car field, which was much stronger than recent season car counts at the Newton, NC track.  Kingsport boasted a 22-car field, which was the second largest car count (23 largest) at that point since Pressley had reopened the facility in the spring of 2011.    Car counts were up in those two races, but the anticipated strong car count for South Boston’s ‘big’ race disappointed greatly with just 22 cars.

While the 22-car count would have been strong for their opener in any other season, but with the opener being turned into the season’s annual big race, it didn’t hit a home run.  However, the slow car count was just a sign of things to come for the South Boston, VA track as they struggled through a tough season.

Hickory Motor Speedway kept a stout car count for much of the season, giving them their best season in recent years.  Kingsport Speedway exceeded expectations with the second highest average car count during the 2012 season.  Motor Mile Speedway was the only track with a better average car count than Kingsport, hitting highs above 30 cars and a low of just under 20.

Many other tracks improved in 2012 including Caraway Speedway (NC), Langley Speedway (VA), Anderson Motor Speedway (SC), Lonesome Pine Raceway (VA), Concord Speedway (NC), Myrtle Beach Speedway (SC) and Southern National Speedway (NC).  Myrtle Beach went from an average under 10, to averaging more than 20 cars per race.  Southern National rose from the grave to see car counts around the 20 mark for much of the season.  Lonesome Pine was on the verge of closing down in 2011 and roared back to life with car counts rising in all divisions.

South Boston, who kept car counts each week with the aid of many start and park cars there only for NASCAR Whelen All-American Series points was one of the few low spots for Late Model Stock Car racing.  Greenville Pickens was another dim area for LMSC racing as the track rarely saw double digit car count, though they had a very competitive season with the cars that did compete on a regular basis.

The UARA-STARS Series also had one of their best seasons in recent years with a stout car count for nearly all of the 2012 season.  They also had one of the most competitive seasons, despite early domination by one racer.

After the 2011 season left many, including this writer wondering if Late Model Stock Car might be on the edge of extinction.  Many weekends in 2011, like the regions fans, I wasn’t at a short track taking in a race.  Rather I found myself on High Rock Lake or one of my other favorite fishing holes.  I could predict the finish of the races.  I could have written the story before the race even played out.  Lee Pulliam was going to win at Motor Mile.  Philip Morris was going to win at South Boston.  CE Falk was going to win at Langley.  If BJ Mackey was racing at Caraway, he was going to win.

While the 2012 season still saw some domination, it was nothing like the season before it.  Who would have thought that Matt Bowling would have won the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway?  Who would have thought that Lee Pulliam would have returned in May from his suspension and took control of the NWAAS?  Who would have predicted the incredible racing at Kingsport Speedway?  Who could have known that Hickory Motor Speedway would see a see-saw battle for victories with three drivers winning more than five races?

It was a season full of surprises on and off the track with unbelievable wrecks, great rivalries, crazy finishes, strong car count, increased fan attendance and everything that you could wish for in racing.  Is Late Model Stock Car racing in a slump?  Yes, but 2012 went a long way to reviving the once promising division.  If you simply take a look at the 2013 schedules already announced, it shows that LMSC racing will be even stronger in the New Year.

Make a New Year’s Resolution tonight to attend as many Late Model Stock Car or short track races as you can in 2013.

Happy New Year from all of us at RACE22.com!