CHARLOTTE, NC :: Cole Timm burst on the scene this season when he picked up his first career Super Late Model victory in a Pro All Stars Series (PASS) race at South Boston Speedway back on June 7th. Now, Timm’s heading to Super Late Model racing’s biggest and most prestigious event for the first time.
Despite struggling at times during the season, performances at Dillon Motor Speedway in South Carolina and South Boston Speedway gave the 16-year-old a boost in confidence. That confidence was all Timm needed as he went on to score five top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes in the PASS South season, finishing second in the final championship standings.
“It was a big boost for confidence,” Timm said. “Anytime you can get out there and race with those guys, it boosts confidence no matter what happens, like, it’s hard to describe, you think maybe you’re not good enough and when that happens, and you run with them every weekend, it’s a big boost in confidence.”
While the win was a big boost for confidence, the biggest boost may have come at Dillon Motor Speedway in the second race of the season. Timm was leading the race in the final laps and appeared to be on his way to his first career Super Late Model victory until Daniel Hemric came roaring by him with two laps to go. Hemric would go on to win, but Timm’s second place finish gave him newfound confidence in himself and his team.
“After Dillon, I thought we’d be able to compete more than we did after,” Timm explained. “Once that happened, I thought maybe it would happen a lot more and we had a lot of top-five finishes but we never got to race for a win until South Boston.”
Timm says he’s a little bit nervous but also excited about heading to Five Flags Speedway for the Snowball Derby – his first ever attempt to make the field in Super Late Model racing’s most prestigious event.
“I’d say I’m more excited than nervous. As we get closer and closer and get on the racetrack, it will equal out where I’m more nervous than I am excited.”
Prior to this, the biggest races Timm had competed in were the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory Motor Speedway and the Mason-Dixon Meltdown at Southern National Motorsports Park.
Timm hopes his first Snowball Derby results in a strong top-10 finish, a strong expectation for a Snowball Derby rookie. Timm knows the level of competition he will be racing against though as he prepares to go to battle against Super Late Model racing’s heavy hitters, including two-time defending Snowball Derby winner Erik Jones, Chase Elliott, Bubba Pollard, Augie Grill, Daniel Hemric and a host of Southern Super Series, PASS South, ARCA/CRA and even NASCAR stars.
“I think it’s going to be exciting since it’s my first time racing those guys. Next year, we’ll branch out and run more. It’ll be nice to race against different people. Those guys have raced longer than I have so I won’t have to worry about them driving up in to me and I know they’ll race clean.”
Timm says he has interest in running in the CARS Tour in 2015 as well as in the Southern Super Series and ARCA/CRA Super Series. He also wants to run other big races, including the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway, the Winchester 400 at the high banks of Winchester Speedway and the World Crown 300.
