Client PR Report
Winston-Salem, NC(April 16, 2012) — Known as one of the smartest young drivers on the track, Ronnie Bassett, Jr. provided NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams a glimpse of what he can do behind the wheel in a performance that took him from a 27th place start to a second place finish.
He might be just 16 years old, but Ronnie, Jr. showed the skills of a much older, much more mature racer on Saturday afternoon at Rockingham Speedway. His car got loose in qualifying and spun off of turn four, leading many to speculate that his day on the one-mile track was all, but done, but the youngster didn’t let the turn of events ruin his day. Rather, the Winston-Salem, NC native put on a clinic in the 75-lap race, taking his car from the proverbial outhouse to the penthouse.
Starting shotgun on the field, Ronnie, Jr. patiently and slowly worked his way past several cars at the back of the pack as he raced inside the top 20 by lap 22 to the 18th position. From there with the aid of a few yellow flags, the young driver put his car inside the top ten by lap 42 and found himself challenging for a top five spot just inside the lap 60 mark. From there, he dodged a couple of cars ahead of him missing shifts on late restarts and managed to grab a second place finish at the drop of the checkered flag.
It was a performance that didn’t go unnoticed by the fans, teams and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams, who qualified after the UARA-STARS Series race finished. The drive would have earned him the Holley Performer of the Race, an award given to the driver, who gains the most positions in the race, but the UARA-STARS Series rulebook states that passing points and awards aren’t eligible to drivers starting lower than 26th. Ronnie, Jr. had passed 25 cars on his way to the second place finish, with his closest pursuer having passed only 13-cars.
The weekend’s events certainly brought a mixed bag of emotions for the young driver.
“After we spun in qualifying, I had to think positive,” said Ronnie, Jr. “I couldn’t get down on this team, I couldn’t show them that I was worried, but I was worried about starting all the way in the back. These UARA races are so competitive, I just couldn’t imagine starting that deep in the field.”
“I knew before I spun that we had a good car and when the race started it was obvious that if I could stay out of trouble, we could get to the front of the field. The race just kinda came to us, the cautions all seemed to fall at the right time and when we got up front, some of the guys in front of us had trouble and we grabbed spots on nearly every restart. Everything worked out for us to finish second.”
With the eyes of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage upon him, Ronnie, Jr. was impressive, but being impressive wasn’t enough for him not to be disappointed.
“You always think about what could of been or what should of been,” continued Ronnie, Jr. “People come up to me all excited and talking about how great of a run it was and I can’t help, but tell them how disappointed I am with finishing second. I guess I should be happy, it was a great run, but I want to win every race, it’s just what I expect.”
Despite being disappointed in not winning the North Carolina Education Lottery 75, Ronnie, Jr. was quick to acknowledge how great of a day it was from a points standpoint.
“Finishing second isn’t what we came here to do, but considering we finished ahead of all the UARA regulars and came from 27th, I can’t be too upset. We should have a pretty decent points lead with two wins and a second place finish so far this season, that’s something to be excited about.”
Ronnie, Jr. and the rest of the UARA-STARS Series drivers have the next two weekends off from the track before heading to Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, TN on Friday, May 4th. However, Ronnie, Jr. won’t get much of a break from the race track as he has been invited as a Wild Card into the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, a charity event hosted by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star at his home track, Richmond International Raceway.
The Bassett Racing team will be making another quick turn around this week as they’ll head to Richmond International Raceway on Wednesday, April 18th for an open test for the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown before returning there to race next Thursday, April 26th. He’ll also squeeze in a test at Kingsport Speedway before the Denny Hamlin race to make sure he’s prepared to head to the concrete 3/8 mile track for round four of the UARA-STARS Series 16 race tour.
“We’re going to have a busy time for sure,” continued Ronnie, Jr. “We had a short week last week going from Dillon Motor Speedway on Saturday to being back at the track at Rockingham Speedway on Thursday evening. Now we’ve got just a couple of days to get this car back ready to go to Richmond for the test on Wednesday. Then we’ve still got to run the Denny Hamlin race and get a test in at Kingsport, so we’ve got our hands full.”
The young driver however has full faith in his team, led by crew chief, Chris Lawson and is looking forward to a couple of busy weeks before nearly a month break in May.
“We’ll get through this. I know Chris(Lawson), Seth(Smith) and all the guys will be in the shop on Monday morning thrashing to get the cars ready to take to Richmond. We’re all excited about going up there and getting ready for that prestigious race.”
Ronnie Bassett, Jr. 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 …
Website: http://www.BassettRacers.com/
FaceBook: “Bassett Racing”
Twitter: @BassettRacers
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BassettRacers
Want more information on Ronnie Bassett, Jr.? Check out these links …
Website: http://www.ronniebassettjr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RonnieBassettJr
Twitter: @Bulldog_04
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/RonnieBassettJr
