Known as one of the fastest 3/8th mile tracks, Orange County Speedway produces some of the best racing short track fans will see in the Carolinas. With that being said it’s also one of the most physical tracks on race equipment. The multi groove racing surface often creates disagreements among drivers upon exiting the turns, which then turns into incidents and good runs gone bad. Racing at Orange County is just as much about racing the track as your fellow competitor.
Super Late Model regulars like Cole Timm, Quin Houff, and Nicole Behar will have their work cut out for them this weekend as NASCAR Truck regulars John Hunter Nemechek and Christopher Bell return to the track they both enjoy competing at. On the Late Model Stock side of things several drivers with home track advantage like Ronald Hill, Justin Johnson, and Chris Davis could all have good runs with their knowledge of racing around the lighting fast facility.
Orange Blossom 300 NOTES & QUOTES
NOTES:
Track/Location: Orange County Speedway-Rougemont, NC
Track Size: .375-mile
Event Name: Orange Blossom 300 pres. by The Grilling Store
Laps/Distance: 150/56.25 miles
Event Schedule: 12:30PM-2:45PM Practice, 4:30PM Qualifying, 6:15PM Fan Fest, 7:30PM Green: LMSC-SLM
Twitter Handle/Event Hashtag: @CARSTour / @OCS_Track/ #OrangeBlossom300
CARS SLM Tour Pre Entered Drivers: #2 Jake Crum, #5 Spencer Wauters, #6 Brandon Setzer, #8 Tate Fogleman, #8N John Hunter Nemechek, #16 Lucas Jones, #17 Quin Houff, #22 Trevor Noles, #25 Stephen Leicht, #31 Kyle Grissom, #45 Joey Mucciacciaro, #48 Preston Peltier, #49 Jeff Batten, #51 Stephen Nasse, #51B Christopher Bell, #55 Dalton Sargent, #55F Kevin Floars, #56 Gus Dean, #57 Cole Timm, #58 Tyler Ankrum, #67 Clay Jones, #77 Zane Smith, #88 Garrett Jones, #97 Nicole Behar, #99 Raphael Lessard (25 total)
CARS LMSC Tour Pre Entered Drivers: #08 Deac McCaskill, #1 Christian Eckes, #2 Myatt Snider, #2D Christopher Denny, #7 Justin Crider, #12 Ryan Wilson, #12M Austin McDaniel, #16 RD Smith, #18 Bradley McCaskill, #27 Tommy Lemons Jr, #28 Chris Hudspeth, #29 Jake Ruggles, #31 Thomas Beane, #41 Chase Purdy, #42 Craig Stallard, #44 Justin Johnson, #73 Bruce Anderson, #74 Ronald Hill, #77 Tal Davidson, #88 Chris Davis, #88B Josh Berry, #88T Robert Tyler, #98 Stefan Parsons (23 total)
Media Coverage:
-Speed51 (speed51.com) will provide Trackside Now Live Updates
-RACEFEEDX (www.racefeedx.com) – LIVE Pay per View Video Coverage
-CARS Tour Facebook (facebook.com/CARSTour) and Twitter (@CARSTour)
-RACE22 (race22.com) will provide LIVE Twitter Updates (@race22)
QUOTES:
Knowing What to Expect at Orange County:
Brandon Setzer made a name for himself in the Super Late Model world after his stellar conclusion to the 2015 season. The Newton, NC youngster got it all started when he dominated the Summertime Showdown 250 CARS Tour event last July. Setzer, along with current truck series regular Christopher Bell who is also entered, were the only multiple race winners in the Super Late Models a season ago. Obviously knowing what kind of car you need to win with at Orange County is on Setzer’s radar, however; according to Setzer its more knowing what kind of racing you can expect from the fast 3/8 mile track that will give you an advantage over the competition.
“Orange County is by far the best track we go to for side-by-side racing on the CARS Tour. The track has grip from top to bottom, room to pass, and it’s fast which is what all the drivers love. Going into a place like that you know you can race against the likes of Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, and the rest of the stacked Super Late Model field gets me excited about racing against the best. We didn’t have the best showing at Southern National but we’ve made a few changes to the car that should get us back to contending for wins this weekend at Orange County.” #6 Brandon Setzer – Romeo Guest Construction/KDDP Ford Super Late Model
A New Name at a Familiar Place:
Justin Johnson competed in just a handful of CARS Tour event in 2015, but this season the Semora, NC driver plans to compete on the tour on a regular basis. While Johnson might be a new “regular” on the CARS Tour circuit, he’s definitely no newbie when it comes getting around Orange County successfully. Johnson, along with fellow CARS Tour regular Josh Berry, put on an amazing show last July gearing up for CARS Tour competition at the track’s weekly event. Now Johnson feels like the package he enters this weekend’s Orange Blossom 300 should be better than the one he finished seventh with in the same race a season ago.
“Orange County is the track that I begin racing at so It’s a pretty special place for me. Even when we were winning championships at South Boston and a lot of races we would always make it to OCS for some races and usually get a win or two. It’s the best track that I know of in the Carolinas or Virginia to race at because you don’t have to have the best handling hard that’s glued to the bottom groove. You can bully the car through the turns some and move around a bit and not lose any ground over the next guy. We’ve done some testing there, particularly for the CARS Tour race, and I think we’ve got a better car to race with than we did a year ago. We battled with Josh (Berry) for the win in a regular show there and then he went and won the CARS Tour race the very next week, so I think we are right where we need to be to have a shot at it Saturday night.” – #44 Justin Johnson – Puryear Tank Lines Chevrolet Late Model Model Stock Car
Kicking Things off Orange County the Right Way:
No one can argue that there’s nothing better together than grilling and racing. For the second year in a row The Grilling Store, located in nearby Durham, NC, will host the 2nd Annual CARS Tour Grill & Chill on Friday April 15th at Orange County Speedway after the day’s test session. The event will take place behind the main grandstands along the midway and will feature free food, beer specials, and prizes. Teams, drivers, and fans are all encouraged to attend to kick the weekend off right for the Orange Blossome300.
“Once again we are looking forward to partnering with the CARS Tour for the Orange Blossom 300 at Orange County. It’s a great way to showcase our grills, our Yeti coolers, and a few of the other products we carry. Plus it’s nice to see the competitor and fans interact in a more relaxed environment and really get to know one another. Last season both races in both divisions were some of the best events all season in front of a huge crowd. I expect the same thing this year.” – Mike Davis – President of The Grilling Store
