Purdy Proves Quick Study to Late Models

Taking into consideration that 2016 is Chase Purdy’s first year racing a late model stock car, he is off to a fantastic start.

Driving for the same Hawk-McCall Motorsports team that helped develop NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie and former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion Ben Rhodes, the 16-year-old Mississippi native has won seven times in 11 starts between South Carolina’s Greenville Pickens Speedway and Myrtle Beach Speedway.

As a result, Purdy finds himself right in the title mix in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I standings as a rookie.

Matt Bowling continues to sit atop the standings based on his results at Virginia and North Carolina. But Purdy and Connecticut’s Keith Rocco are just one point behind after the first week of June.

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“Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be in the top 10 in the points, top 15 maybe,” said Purdy. “To be where we are now and have the confidence we have and the wins we have, honestly I’m just speechless about it. My team, Hawk McCall and Lee McCall, have been so helpful to me and taught me so many things. I wouldn’t be able to get those wins without them.”

Purdy said the connection between he and the Hawk-McCall Motorsports team happened after Lee McCall spotted him racing a Legends car at South Carolina’s Anderson Motor Speedway.

“He told me he saw me at Anderson and he started watching me for a few weekends and said he liked the way I drove and that I had a bunch of talent and that I reminded him of Ben Rhodes,” Purdy said. “So he went to a few Summer Shootout races at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) to watch me and see how I performed there. As soon as my Legends car career ended we got to talking about the future in late model stuff and so we looked into it and kind of asked around and everybody said he (Lee McCall) was good.”

So the connection was made and now Purdy has embarked on his first season in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

So far it has been a successful start to the season for Purdy, who started the year with a sixth-place run at Myrtle Beach before rolling off seven wins and nine top 10s in 10 starts at Greenville.

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I drivers are ranked by their best 18 NASCAR points finishes in series-sanctioned events. Drivers receive two points for every car they finish ahead of – up to 18 cars – and three points for a win, with an additional two points available if the driver starts 10th or lower.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season runs through Sunday, Sept. 18.

“We’ve been to Myrtle and Greenville and we’re looking at a few other tracks to go to and see how we are there,” Purdy said. “If it’s got the right amount of cars and a good field, we’re going to try. You know we’re not shy to step out of our boundaries and try something new.

“To win it (the national championship) I think you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to win races. I think we’ve shown that we can win some races and I think we can continue to win races if we keep doing what we’re doing,” Purdy said.

In order to race for points towards the championship, Purdy said the team will likely enter races at a variety of tracks around the Southeast. Anderson, Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia, and Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina, are all tracks Purdy said the team is likely to race at later this year in addition to Greenville-Pickens and Myrtle Beach.

Purdy admits he still has a lot to learn, but he is confident that he and the Hawk-McCall Motorsports team will face each challenge together.

“You’ve really got to learn how to save tires,” Purdy said. “If you slide those tires during a race you’re pretty much done for. I think Greenville-Pickens is the hardest track to do that at. I think me being successful and not doing that helps me go to other tracks.”

CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE

• Rain this past weekend kept points leader Bowling and Purdy out of action, as well as fourth-place Trey Gibson and fifth-place David Roberts. Bowling has four wins racing Late Models at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway and has top five finishes at Caraway, Motor Mile and Virginia’s Dominion Raceway. Gibson and Roberts race in the Late Model divisions at Greenville and Anderson.

• Keith Rocco made a big move up the standings driving his asphalt Modified in Connecticut. The former national champion started with a win in the Sunoco Modified race at Thompson Speedway Motorsport Park last Wednesday, and then added a runner-up finish at Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday, and a win at New London-Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday.

• NASCAR Next driver Ty Majeski moved back into the top 10 with a win from ninth starting sport in the Late Model division at Wisconsin’s Lacrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Majeski won three times at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in February and is now 2-for-2 back in his home state at LaCrosse.

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