Huntersville,N.C.(11-20-11) — Having a well know name among the UARA-STARS, Kaleb Pressley held his own and finished ninth in the championship points after competing in 11 of the 15 events. The Pressley name and racing just go hand in hand. His father Ken, along with uncles Mike, Charlie and Robert were drivers with much success in their own rights. Grandmother Sadie was known to tear up the track a time or two in the powder puff races at the localAshevilletrack back in the day. Cousin Coleman Pressley was the 2010 UARA Champion, but it is on the wings of his legendary late grandfather Bob Pressley that he gets his true racing spirit. Young Pressley is a quiet young man with conviction and determination to keep that 54 machine running with the front pact.
“Our year turned out pretty good, better than our previous runs with the UARA,” says the Ashville native. “We certainly learned and gained a lot of knowledge that will pay off next year when we run for the championship.”
During the tour’s season opener at Hickory Pressley had his strongest run at the track, finishing seventh. As the next few races went by, the team decided to experiment with different things that took some getting used to.
“After Hickory, we struggled for the next couple weeks. We realized that what we were doing was good, but not good enough,” said the 08’ Newport track Champion. “We decided to start meshing some old school stuff with new school stuff. Once all five guys were on the same page, we started producing better results.”
Throughout the year, Pressley and the J &W Tires team brought home numerous awards including G-Force Shift of the race at Pressley’s beloved Newport. They were also successful at Lonesome Pine Raceway, claiming the Holley Performer Award for gaining the most positions during the fourth of July Weekend. The second go-round to The Pine, the team won Racing Electronics’ 2nd place award during the Memorial Day Weekend.
Out of the two visits to Kingsport, Pressley won WP Racing Shocks 11th place award and his second AR Bodies Hard Luck Award. The other AR Bodies award was awarded to him at Anderson.
Turning the page to the 2011 chapter, Pressley humbly wanted to give credit, where credit was due.
“I just wanted to thank J & W Tires, my dad (Ken), Sam, and all the guys on my team that helped me this year. If it wasn’t for them, I couldn’t do what I love to do.”
For more information on Pressley and the rest of the UARA-STARS visit them online at UARA-STARS.com or call (828)692-3833. Fans can also follow the series on Twitter (@UARASTARS) or on Facebook (United Auto Racing Association).
Press release by Ms Kassie Hughes
