STATESVILLE, NC :: Justin Crider has been racing in Late Model Stock Cars for two years. Now, he’s making the move to the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Late Model Stock Tour.
Crider, 18, has been seeking a victory in the Late Model Stock Car ranks. He won the Challenger division championship in the Southeast Limited Late Model Series (SELLM) in 2011. In the Late Model Stock Cars, Crider says it’s been luck that’s held him back and kept him out of victory lane.
“We can’t get any luck,” Crider said. “The first year we went to Myrtle Beach Speedway, we qualified 14th and were running up in the top-five at one point in time. After halfway, we got caught up in a wreck and ended up a few laps down. Two years ago, we qualified third and had a clutch go out at the end of the race. Last year, we had a track bar break and it made the car drive like crap. We had a fast car, just haven’t had any luck.”
Crider’s Late Model Stock Car experiences consists of races at Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina, Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach Speedway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Given the amount he already travels, he says he’s looking forward to traveling even more as he competes in the CARS Tour which consists of 10 races at seven different venues.
“My team has always been good when we go to different places,” Crider remarked. “I’ve been to a majority of the tracks at some point in time, just not in a Late Model. I think Motor Mile is the only ones I haven’t run at. I’m excited to get touring around. It’s a nice thing to do.”
Crider has ambitious hopes for the 2015 season. Like all of the more than 30 drivers who will compete in the CARS Tour, Crider expects to win, win early and win often.
“We’re definitely looking at starting off the season with some wins and if we can string it together, we’re looking at a championship. We’ve put a lot into this. We’ve put a lot of effort and we’re looking to start off the season with a few wins and see where we end up in the championship.”
Along with the CARS Tour, Crider plans to run select races at Myrtle Beach Speedway as well as the Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia and the Myrtle Beach 400 at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Crider, who drives car no. 7, is also a semifinalist in the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program, a program named after the late Alan Kulwicki (1954-1993) who drove car no. 7 to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 1992.
“They announced the driver selections late last year. They’re choosing seven finalists for this season. They narrowed it down to 15 and we are one of the 15 they’ve selected and they’ll choose seven. If we’re one of the seven, we’ll receive for $7,777 and we’ll be receiving public relations help from them and some off track promotions so that would be a cool deal. We’ve got our fingers crossed.”
Being a finalist in the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program could be just the change of luck Crider needs before heading to the season opening race for the CARS Tour which will take place on March 28th at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina.
