Grayson Cullather has spent the 2017 season improving on his successful first season of Late Model racing, which included winning Rookie of the Year in Southside Speedway’s Late Model division, as well as expanding his schedule to include more prestigious Late Model events. Cullather won his first Late Model event in the season finale at Southside, and made his CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour debut in the QMDA Duels at Dominion Raceway, where he finished in the Top 10 in both races.
The Chester, Virginia native also made his first start in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown Series, when he competed in the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway, but ended up finishing 24th after encountering issues late in the evening. Cullather quickly shrugged off the poor finish at Langley, and turned his attention to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway, where over 80 drivers entered for a chance to win the event’s first race under the lights.
Cullather’s Late Model immediately showed speed when it was unloaded from the trailer, as he managed to earn a 7th place starting position for the third heat race, and secured the final transfer spot for the feature by spinning across the finish line in 10th place. When the green flag dropped on the main event, Cullather methodically made his way through the carnage, and although he was not able to chase Timothy Peters down for the victory, he managed to finish 12th in his first career Martinsville start.
“We had a really good car on the long run,” Cullather said. “I honestly wish that we didn’t have the caution with 25 laps to go, because our car was not that good during the first 10 to 15 laps on a new set of tires. It just took too long for our car to come in, and the damage we got at the end of the race hurt us too because of the downforce issues. We definitely had a better car than 12th.”
With a successful run at Martinsville, Cullather and his family-owned team have now turned their attention to the Myrtle Beach 400, which is another prestigious event in Late Model racing along the east coast. Since the event’s inception in 1993, several famous names in auto racing have taken the checkered flag in the 225-lap Late Model feature, including Frank Deiny Jr., who was won the race four times, former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, and four-time Whelen All-American Series champion Lee Pulliam.
The 2017 Myrtle Beach 400 will be the first time that Cullather has taken laps at the half-mile tri-oval, but Cullather has been gaining knowledge about the track by watching videos of Lee Pulliam taking laps, and by running in simulation races on iRacing.com, which recently added Myrtle Beach Speedway to its catalog of tracks earlier this year. Cullather added that he learned a lot from racing his way up through the field at Martinsville, and plans to implement a similar strategy for the Myrtle Beach 400, despite the differences between the two tracks.
“You just have to be patient, and you don’t have to go right away,” Cullather said. “If the cars get away from you, they will eventually come back to you, and I feel like that will be a more common occurrence at Myrtle Beach than it was at Martinsville.. I’ve heard that one of the best strategies is to save your tires for the first 175 laps, and then go at it for the last 50.”
Cullather is looking forward to another opportunity to race against some of the best Late Model drivers, and believes that he will have a car strong enough to contend for the win. The Myrtle Beach 400 will also be Cullather’s last race in 2017, but he is equally optimistic about the direction his team is heading in for the 2018 season, and is actively considering all of his available options.
“We’ve had some discussions involving 2018, but nothing is set in stone,” Cullather said. “There are a lot of exciting things that could happen to play out for next year, but nothing has been finalized yet.”
As with the 2017 ValleyStar Credit Union 300, there will be a strong field of drivers that Cullather will have to contest with if he wants to join the list of lucrative Myrtle Beach 400 winners. Lee Pulliam, who won the Myrtle Beach Late Model track championship this season, is expected to be one of the favorites when the green flag drops on November 18th. Josh Berry and Sam Yarbrough are also expected to file entries for the race, and both are former winners at Myrtle Beach Speedway in the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour.
