With two weeks remaining until its first of many opening nights, racers took on the newly paved and newly constructed 4/10 of a mile Dominion Raceway. With 10 Late Models in attendance, Dominion is ready for a season of healthy car counts.
“We have 140 Late Models that have registered with the track for this season,” said JD Wright, the track’s Communications Director.
“Dominion is different because we are running a new tire,” Wright added. “American Racer’s new McCreary tire is being run only at Dominion and will be run across the country this time next year.”
In the Late Model Stock Car division, Cordova, Maryland’s Tyler Hughes will be the man to beat this season. After snatching a win at Langley last year, Hughes is ready for the challenges the new track presents.
“We had a good year last year with one win at Langley and we learned a lot as a team,” Hughes said about his team’s performance. “The track is unbelievably smooth and incredibly fast. Dominion did a awesome job making sure they did it right and getting as many bumps out of the racetrack as possible. I think there will be very good racing there with the banking of the track.”
Hughes expects there to be competition, but he’s not letting that phase him. “I think some fast and competitive guys will show up for the track, but my personal expectations are to win races.”
Hughes also began his journey in the K&N Pro Series East last year, making starts at Langley, Motordrome, Dover and Richmond. This year, it just so happens that the tour will be visiting Dominion on May 30th for the ComServe Memorial Day Classic. Given the fresh track and limited practice time, Hughes still believes his team has a good shot at the checkers.
“The advantage for us is going to be knowing how the track conditions change throughout the day and night,” Hughes added. “Just racing the track from week in and week out and being used to it as a driver will also be important.”
In summary for is his season, Hughes commented, “We’re excited and ready to kick this season off.”
Originally planned as a Late Model only practice, the track opened up to all divisions Saturday, with an impressive showing in the legends division. Cody Scott of White Plains, Maryland, is anticipating a good count in this division and is preparing mentally for the challenges of a large field.
“I’m thinking the first couple of nights there will a great field,” Scott commented. “I’m also expecting the first race to be hectic because you know everyone wants to be named the first winner of the new track.”
Tommy Jackson, Jr. of Poquoson, Virginia, has proved himself to be one of the toughest legends racers in the Southeast, with a large amount of his success coming from Virginia’s Langley and Southside Speedways. Jackson is also very happy about the new surface.
“The track definitely has a lot of grip and right now it’s really keeping the cars stuck to the race track,” Jackson explained. “The sticky pavement has made the cars fun to drive but hard to pass just because even an ill-handling car can get off the corner well.”
Jackson is also very optimistic about the car count that Dominion will provide.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there are 30 cars starting in the legend division on April 9th but realistically based on what I’ve seen it won’t be lower than 20 which I’d be happy with because to my knowledge there hasn’t been a 20 car field in Virginia on a regular Saturday night race since 2014,” Jackson added.
In regards to his chances of winning the first race, Jackson is pretty optimistic.
“My expectations for this track are hopefully we’re in contention for the win come Saturday night April 9th. I’m definitely excited for the first race.”
While the Late Models highlight most NASCAR-Sanctioned short tracks, the support divisions like the legends will keep the fans entertained every Saturday night.
“Across our 6 divisions, we have over 300 drivers registered for this season,” JD Wright added.
Although still early in its development, the Dominion Raceway and Entertainment facility will be the most beautiful short track the country has seen. The oval track opens its inaugural season on April 9th, highlighted with a 100 lap Late Model feature. There will also be a 35 lap Dominion Stock race, a 25 lap UCAR race, a 25 lap Legends race, and a 15 lap Bandolero race.
You won’t want to miss it, because at Dominion Raceway, “the fun starts here.”
