Story by: Adam Fenwick
Photos by: Adam Fenwick/AKFPhotos.com
Charlotte, NC(January 16, 2013)– J.P. Morgan was clearly the king of the Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series in 2013, a year that saw many ups and downs for the once thriving stock-car tour.
The ups throughout the year included the signing of series title sponsor Revolution Oil, great competition at nearly every venue the tour visited and seven different race winners in 14 events. The downs, however, included depressingly low car counts and poor ticket sales.
The year started off in controversial fashion on March 24 at Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, S.C. Defending series champion Jeff Agnew looked to have the race well in hand, but contact with the lapped machine of local favorite Allen Purkhiser sent Agnew spinning late in the race and allowed J.P. Morgan to take the lead.
Agnew was able to recover from the spin to finish third, but his tires were not nearly good enough to allow him to chase down Morgan for the victory. Rookie Nathan Russell finished second, a finish that turned out to be his best of the year.
Next up the series traveled to Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway on April 21, a popular venue for the series. Texan Tyler Young started from the pole and found himself in a battle with Purkhiser late in the race for the top spot on the grid. When it was all said and down, Young survived a green-white-checkered finish to score his first series victory in his 41st career start.
Following Hickory Series President Jack McNelly made several race procedural changes, including the elimination of live pit stops and the institution of a mid-race intermission. This change was met with mixed reviews, but the goal was to help save the series and teams money in the long run.
After a rain out at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C., on May 5, the series returned to action at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C., on May 26. This time it was Purkhiser who made his inaugural visit to victory lane as the South Carolina native outraced Morgan and Russell in the late stages of the race.
Next on the schedule was a trip to Virginia’s Motor Mile Speedway. Fourteen cars showed up for the event, but the race came down to a battle between Purkhiser and returning driver Lucas Ransone. Ransone held the advantage during a late-race restart, but Purkhiser used an impressive drive around the high side to snatch the lead away.
Not wanting to give up, Ransone followed in Purkhiser’s tire tracks. With only a few laps left Ransone made his move to the high side, fighting his way around Purkhiser to take the lead away as they raced to the white flag. Ransone held on to win the race, his second career victory and first since 2009.
After Ransone’s victory at Motor Mile, things suddenly began to go the way of J.P. Morgan. The veteran racer clicked off four-straight victories, scoring wins at Caraway, Dillon, Tri-County and Myrtle Beach. Most of those victories came in dominating fashion.
During Morgan’s winning streak the biggest news of the season came as it was announced Revolution Oil had joined the series as its new title sponsor. The two-year agreement rebranded the series, once known as the CARS Pro Cup Series, as the Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series.
Morgan’s winning streak came to an end at Tennessee’s Kingsport Speedway on Aug. 26. Local favorite Wade Day, making his first Pro Cup start since 2008, overcame a penalty for jumping an early restart to score the victory. Morgan, meanwhile, finished second to extend his championship lead even further.
The final race of the regular season saw another triumph for Morgan, who dominated the second half of the 250-lap event. The victory easily cemented Morgan as the top contender to claim the series championship during the four-race Championship Series.
The series saw its largest turnout of the year during the first race of the Championship Series at Motor Mile on Sept. 22 as 16 cars filed entries. The race was action packed as Jeb Burton, making his series debut, held off Morgan to score his first Pro Cup triumph.
However, the victory was tainted as Burton’s car failed post-race inspection and the resulting penalties saw the team stripped of all points and a large portion of the winning payout. Most in the garage felt Burton should have been stripped of the victory, but in the end he was allowed to keep the trophy.
The series then traveled to Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, N.C., on Oct. 6. This time it was Burton’s teammate, Stacy Puryear, finding victory lane for the first time in Pro Cup competition since 2001. Morgan finished second again, extending his championship lead to a very comfortable margin.
The series returned to Hickory on Oct. 20 and this time it was Purkhiser making his second trip to victory lane despite having to pull out his backup car prior to the start of the 250-lap event. Morgan finished third, all but locking up his first series championship in the process.
Despite this, Morgan was determined to make one more visit to victory lane. He accomplished that in the season finale at Orange County Speedway on Nov. 3, besting Puryear during a late-race restart to claim his seventh victory of the year and his first series championship.
With seven victories, two poles and an average finish of 1.8, Morgan simply outclasses the rest of the Pro Cup field in 2012. Young and Purkhiser ended the season tied for second, with Rookie of the Year Dalton Hopkins and Russell completing the top five in the standings.
A tough season behind them, the series will begin 2013 at Dillon Motor Speedway on April 6. The series has already announced plans to pay race winners $10,000 in 2013 and several teams and drivers have expressed an interest in racing in the series, so 2013 should see a huge improvement in car counts and crowds for the series.
At least, that is what everyone thinks will happen.
