CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series Event Preview: Dillon

MOORESVILLE, NC :: The X-1R Pro Cup Series will kick off its 17^th year of racing in 2013 with this weekend’s PEE DEE 250 presented by X-1R at the Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, South Carolina. Over the previous sixteen years the series has hosted of the most competitive short track racing in the country producing both former and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers along the way. Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, and Regan Smith are just a few of the current NASCAR stars the series has produced over the years.

The 2013 season appears to be no different as an influx of rookie drivers such as Eric Gerchek, Brady Boswell, and Reid Wilson will do battle with current series veterans JP Morgan and Bill Plemons Jr over the course of the year just to name a few. The addition of two time series champion Clay Rogers making his return to the series to compete for the first of fourteen $10,000 winner checks at Dillon this weekend has many race fans in the Pee Dee region excited. Not only will Rogers and the rest of the field have the quest of beating one another to the checkered flag, but the toughest test at Dillon for competitors, as always, is getting your car to handle at both ends of the egg shaped race track for 250 laps.

PEE DEE 250 presented by X-1R Notes and Quotes

NOTES:

Pre Entered Drivers: #1 Dalton Hopkins, #2 Brady Boswell, #13 John Gibson, #15 Bill Plemons Jr., #16 Clay Rogers, #18 Trey Mitchell, #21 Eric Gerchak #23 JP Morgan, #41 Rusty Skewes, #56 Gus Dean, #62 Andrew Smith, #66 Reid Wilson

Media Coverage:

-Speed51 (www.speed51.com) will provide Trackside Now Live Updates
-CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series Facebook (www.facebook.com/CARSProCup) and Twitter (@X1RProCup)
-The Dillon Herald (www.dillonheraldonline.com)
-Florence News (www.scnow.com)
-Eagle 92.9 (www.eagle929online.com)

QUOTES:

Looking Back a Season Ago:

The 2013 X-1R Pro Cup Series event at Dillon Motor Speedway this weekend that will kick off the 2013 season will be a far cry from the 2012 edition of the race a season ago. The race last season was the series sixth event of the 2012 season and took place in mid July featuring eventual series champion JP Morgan taking the win over South Carolina native and then rookie driver Gus Dean. According to seventeen year old Dean he’s just ready to get the 2013 season rolling and glad it’s kicking off in his home state of South Carolina.

“My crew chief AJ Frank (former Pro Cup winner) and the rest of the guys in the shop have worked hard this off season to give me the best possible racecar we can have when we unload at Dillon this weekend. Even though we’re about three hours away in Blufton (SC), I consider Dillon to be my home track because of the amount of laps I’ve got around the place. And anytime you get to race at your home track you can’t help to be excited, especially when it’s the season opening race.”

What to Expect When the Green Flag Falls:

The PEE DEE 250 presented by X-1R will mark the third time in history that the X-1R Pro Cup Series has competed at the 4/10^thmile South Carolina facility. Its egged shaped layout makes it a tough track to get around, even for the most seasoned veteran driver. Sixty-five year old driver and former series winner Bill Plemons Jr. has a pretty good indication of what it takes to get around Dillon Motor Speedway.  

“The real key to racing at Dillon is racing the race track. It’s an egg shaped track, kind of like a little Darlington, so turns one and two are totally different than three and four. You can jump in the gas hard in one and two, but you really have to wait on the car to turn when you come off four. If you don’t the turn four wall will jump out and get you. I like the place that’s for sure, but I can tell you first hand it’s not the easiest place to get around.”

On the Defense:

JP Morgan, the 2012 X-1R Pro Cup Series champion, will begin his title defense as soon as the field takes the green flag on this weekend’s PEE DEE 250 presented by X-1R. In 2012 Morgan dominated in route to his series championship winning seven of fourteen races. One of those wins came at Dillon last July.

“We’ve worked hard this off season there’s no doubt about it. Plus we have already done some testing this season to do all we can to repeat as champion. Last year’s performance was pretty special but as a team we are confident that we can do it again in 2013. With the way the championship is set up you just have to approach the first ten races as a way of putting yourself in position for the final four championship races. Kicking the season off at Dillon couldn’t be a better way to start the year off for me because it’s one of my favorite tracks we race at, and any racer will tell you, it’s always easier to get around a track that you love.”