VIRGINIA BEACH, VA :: One of the more distinctive Late Models you’ll ever see, with its teal type green paint scheme and the fan favorite Dunkin Donut sponsorship, will be making the return to Myrtle Beach Speedway.

After a strong performance in the season finale at Myrtle Beach Speedway, Mark Wertz looks to return to add to an already impressive resume in his long career, the Myrtle Beach 400. Wertz hails from Virginia Beach, Virginia, where which serves as his home, race shop and, just down the road, his weekly home track of Langley Speedway where Wertz is seen racing Late Models and IMCA Modifieds. After finishing third in points in his Late Model, Wertz was easily noticed to being one of the better cars by seasons end.

Collecting several top three finishes in an obvious change for the good, Wertz, who is no stranger at Myrtle Beach, wants to win its big race and believes he has what it will take to do it.

“This race is huge, yeah everybody goes to Martinsville but yet you always hear, who’s going to Myrtle Beach,” tells Wertz. “The place has got its own thing, it tends to draw a lot of teams that are further away that couldn’t make it to Martinsville. You know, the asphalt is old and it can put everyone on an even playing field as oppose to Martinsville where you got concrete corners. Yeah, I just think it’s a huge race and for me who had a slight turn around, definitely moving in the right direction. You know, looking back a couple of nights where we had DNFs that could have put us right in the hunt and those nights when we ran second where I wish I had that new motor earlier in the year. I just think if we can run up there in the top five or maybe slip up in there and win it would be like a rebirth in my early 2000 years.”

Mark Wertz then talked about how much it would mean to win the Myrtle Beach 400.

“It would be awesome. It would be indescribable to win with my car owner’s wife who passed a year and a half ago, with the time and effort they have continued to put into my racing. The amount of time my team puts into it, the dedication, even my time into it, yeah, it would rank up there as one of my all-time biggest wins and it would be unbelievable.”

No question that MBS is its own beast, possessing its own character and requiring discipline in a 200 lap feature. Mark Wertz next discussed his view on how you race at Myrtle Beach Speedway.

”You got to race the track, the track has a characteristic of it that a patient, disciplined driver, that can deal with losing a couple of spots early in the race who can keep his mind set to him by hitting his marks, try not to slip the tires and try not to over steer the car going in the corners,” Wertz suggested. “You can go fast an look like a hero early but in thirty laps you can also find yourself going a lap down. I think the smart guy has got to listen to his car, be patient, get himself in a good safe whole where he doesn’t have to run the car hard, just try to find a rhythm that’s going to be easy on the equipment. I think you have to be on the lead lap come halfway and have something to race with when there are 35 or 40 laps to go.”

Lastly, Mark Wertz shared his thoughts and got personal on who he would love to win this race for other than himself.

“My car owner, retired Colonel Raymond Robinson, and of course I would want to dedicate it to his wife who passed away a little more than a year ago. She absolutely loved racing and I’ve had a lot of help along the way, a lot of people have really bent over backwards for me. But they (Robinson’s) twenty seven years ago gave me a place to race out of and a place to keep my cars in their shop. But in 2006 when I was about to fold up Mark Wertz racing, I told him I couldn’t afford to do it anymore. So the Colonel said what if I buy up all your stuff and you just drive for me and that’s how he became my car owner. Since then, he has been the one who has always kept me going. It’s been so unreal and such a blessing that’s the only way I can describe it”.

Mark Wertz and Mark Wertz Racing are sponsored by Dunkin Donuts, Taylor Wastes Disposal, Duragloss, CMIT Solutions, Bay Port Credit Union, Tamco Automotive Paints and RaceRap.com. Wertz is easily one of the most influential and positive Late Model racers you’ll ever get to meet. A long career filled with championship success and times of near closing up the shop doors. It’s no wonder why this humble and blessed racer is so beloved to his car owner and a role model for others. True to his form, dedicated to doing his best, Mark Wertz and his team comes to Myrtle Beach Speedway as a solid pick and is as good as anyone to win this great race, the Myrtle Beach 400.