Winston-Salem, NC(May 8, 2012) — When you’re a rookie in one of the toughest Late Model Stock Car touring series in the country, you’re not always going to be able to celebrate a top five, a win or even have a great weekend at the track.

14 year-old, Dillon Bassett learned that lesson the hard way at Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, TN. After posting great qualifying efforts in the first three races of the season and finishing among the top 10 in each race including a second place finish at Dillon Motor Speedway, the wheels seemed to come off his program. Kingsport Speedway is known to be one of the toughest short tracks in the country with it’s concrete layout of tight turns and straightaways that make the track nearly a paperclip.

In his first trip to the track to race, Dillon found that the 3/8 mile concrete track was just as tough as it looked. Following a successful test on the track a week earlier, Dillon and his Bassett Racing team led by crew chief, Kenyon Davidson returned to the track for a full evening of practice on Thursday. Right out of the trailer, Dillon and his team were struggling to find the right feel, though the speed seemed to be there in the Roof Shampoo Ford Fusion.

Returning on Friday afternoon and with only two practice sessions to get the car right in, the team still wasn’t able to get young Dillon where he needed to be for qualifying and the youngster posted the 18th fastest lap among just 21 cars. It was a disappointing lap for the young driver, but even through all the struggles, the 14 year-old seemed to be showing some maturity as he got ready for the race.

“It just hasn’t been our weekend so far,” said Dillon before the race. “The car has been fast, but I just haven’t been able to lay down the kind of lap times that I know we’re capable of. I’ve got my brother starting behind me due to his qualifying penalty, so I’ll just try and latch myself to his bumper and follow him to the front. Just staying out of trouble here will be huge, this place is tight.”

Dillon’s words turned out to be prophetic following the drop of the green flag as he was able to tuck in behind his brother, Ronnie Bassett, Jr., who had to start last after clipping a cone during qualifying and started to follow him through the field. Soon though, Ronnie, Jr. was slipping away from him and Dillon found himself tangled in a battle with several cars. That’s where the process of staying out of trouble came unraveled and Dillon ended up crashed with another car damaging his radiator and ending his night.

“We knew all day that if we didn’t qualify good, we were going to be mixed up with cars all night,” said Dillon after his night came to an end. “The wreck was my fault, I lost my composure and got into with the car ahead of me. I was looking for a lane to pass and couldn’t find one and just got into him.”

Young Dillon’s night might have been done, but the young driver learned a lot from having to sit on the sidelines while watching his brother go from last to win the 150-lap race on one of the toughest tracks on the UARA-STARS Series schedule.

“It’s not much fun standing here watching the race and looking over and seeing my car all tore up,” continued Dillon. “But, watching my brother move up through the field like he is, shows me what I have to learn to get better and to be at that level.”

With round four of the 16-race UARA-STARS Series schedule in the books, Dillon and the rest of the series regulars will have the next three weekends off from racing before heading to Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, SC. Anderson will be another track that Dillon hasn’t raced on, but he and the team will go there to test before heading there for another Friday night race on June 1st.

“I hate that we have three weeks off before the next one,” concluded Dillon. “Though we probably need that time to get the car fixed and test and to really be ready for Anderson. I’ve never been to Anderson, so it’ll be fun to get to race on another new track, I just hope we can put Kingsport behind us and have a strong run at Anderson.”

Dillon Bassett and Bassett Racing are supported by Bassett Gutters & More, Roof Shampoo, Rex Younger Galleries, G-Force South, WP Racing Shocks, Performancenter Racing Warehouse, Ford Racing, Kerry Lawrence Exhaust, Bulldog Rearends, Hank Thomas Performance and RACE22.com.

Want to keep up with Bassett Racing? Check out these links …
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Want more information on Dillon Bassett? Check out these links …
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