COPPER HILL, VA :: Drivers and industry experts reacted to the news that the United Auto Racing Association (UARA) was suspending the 2014 racing season with surprise and disappointment but also with an outpouring of prayer and support for the Bodenhamer family.
“The Bodenhamers have worked really hard to get that going and they’ve tried a lot of things with tracks and rules,” 2009 UARA-STARS Champion Matt McCall said. “For it to go away, hopefully they’ll come back in 2015. That’s not good any time any series shuts down especially when it’s basically by a family. They put a lot of time and effort in to it. Hopefully they can take care of their stuff and come back.”
Defending series champion Dillon Bassett stated that he was not planning on running in the UARA tour in 2014 but offered his support to Kerry Bodenhamer.
“It sucks, it was a good series,” Bassett remarked. “From what it sounds like, they have more personal matters to worry about so I don’t blame them.”
Jake Crum won the UARA championship in 2008. He took to Twitter to express his sentiments.
“I hate seeing the UARA-STARS Series is being forced to suspend their 2014 season,” Crum said in a tweet. “A lot of good memories with Bubba Wallace and Clay Greenfield… That’s a shame. Kerry and Wink are good people. Loved my time in the UARA-STARS Series.”
“I think it caught us all off guard,” 2010 UARA-STARS Champion Coleman Pressley stated. “I’m glad that their priorities are that their family comes first. It shows they’ve always been a family organization. It’s good to see that comes before business. It’s a fun series to be involved in and learn but there’s no need for them to run it if it takes away from family time and there are a lot of tracks here to race on.”
“UARA suspending operations. If it’s a precursor to lengthy hiatus, it’s a blow to development of NC/SC prospects,” Talent scout David Smith, founder of Motorsports Analytics, said on Twitter. “Late Model Stocks a traditional/natural jumping-on point for kids graduating from Legend cars. UARA offered genre’s only touring division.”
While many of the drivers seemed shocked about the decision, FatHead Racing owner Jamie Yelton was not.
“I really foresaw this coming in the last year which is why I pulled out with (David) Garbo,” Yelton explained. “Last year’s the only year I didn’t run the whole season or at least 90% of the season. I didn’t think it was in my best interest with my clients to race against 8-10 cars. That’s why I went to the NASCAR side with the way I felt UARA was being run. I felt it was a good time to make that move. I hate it for the guys who would run UARA. I wasn’t going to run either way this year. The way I felt must have been pretty accurate.”
Yelton said he would continue to field cars in the NASCAR Late Model side in 2014 and said he was fortunate to have drivers that let him decide where to race and what the best way to help drivers with their careers are.
The news of the UARA suspension spread quickly through social media and was picked up by The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Utter, Sporting News’ Bob Pockrass and through other outlets. The decision to suspend the season came on Tuesday night in a statement written by Kerry Bodenhamer, citing family health issues. Bodenhamer’s statement said they plan to return in 2015.
The UARA-STARS tour has bred drivers such as Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Darrell Wallace, Jr., Steven Wallace, Corey LaJoie, Brandon McReynolds and several others.
