Chris Chapman is usually a threat to win at Southern National Motorsports Park and he expects to continue winning races in 2017.
Chapman, 37, from Stony Point, North Carolina won three races at the Lucama, North Carolina racetrack in 2016. This year, once again teamed up with Wendell Davis, Chapman hopes for more success at Southern National.
“As of right now, we’re going to try to run all the races,” Chapman said. “We’ll let the points fall where they fall. We aren’t going to try chasing points but we will run all the races if we can. We’re going to run some at Hickory and see how the big races are at the end of the year.”
Not much has changed at Southern National since last year. The rules package remains the same and Chapman feels his car is just as good as it was last year when he won three times.
“We’ve got everything back just like we had it last year,” Chapman remarked. “We had a pretty good car every time we showed up. I think we’re going to come back and be very competitive again to start this year off. I hope anyway.”
Along with a fast car, Chapman also has experience on his side. He is a three time champion in the Southeast Limited Late Model Series (SELLM) and a former Limited Late Model champion at Hickory Motor Speedway. However, he has not raced full-time in recent seasons and collecting points isn’t his objective – winning races is.
“We haven’t raced full-time in anything since then,” Chapman commented. “We’re going to race every week but we’re not big points chasing people. Sometimes, you get yourself in more trouble trying to chase points. We’re just going to try to run every race that we can.”
Chapman got his start in racing going to the track with his cousin, Johnny, when he was racing. Johnny Chapman went on to race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“My cousin, Johnny, he was racing when I was a kid, around four or five years old,” Chapman explained. “I was going, watching him and helped him through the years. He ran Trucks and XFINITY and that’s what got me interested in it.”
Along with racing at Southern National, Chapman also has his sights set on winning the Southeast Limited Late Model Series race at Myrtle Beach, a victory that has eluded him for several years.
“We’ve been gunning for that one for several years and just haven’t got it,” Chapman remarked. “We’ve been close, second, third, been all over just haven’t got it yet. It’s one of my favorite races because you have to manage tires so much and it puts the tire back in play a lot.”
Chapman will be in action in twin Late Model races on Sunday afternoon, part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season opener at Southern National Motorsports Park. The Chargers, Mini Stocks, U-CARs, Legends and Bandoleros will also be in action in Sunday afternoon’s race. The race will go green at 3pm.
