KINGSPORT, TN :: Lance Gatlin of Jefferson City, with 40 career Late Model victories, and Kingsport-based J&J Racing will join forces for the season-ending, $2,000-to-win Friends of Coal – We Support Coal Miners 125 on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Kingsport Speedway, with the race winner also taking home a grandfather clock valued at over $3,000.
The 2012 racing season was a dream campaign for the 28-year-old Gatlin, who’s married to wife Kerry, and they have an infant daughter. On the strength of capturing 10 feature wins and recording a total of 14 top-five finishes, along with earning five pole awards, Gatlin, driving the Nolan Nance, Harold Nance and Jeff Douglas-owned Holston River Machine No. 97 Ford Fusion won the Lonesome Pine (Coeburn, Va.) Raceway Late Model championship. But on a much grander scale, he finished second nationally in American Speed Association points and won the ASA East Regional championship.
“Most definitely last year was a phenomenal racing season for us,” said Gatlin while reflecting back on his accomplishments. “As a racer, we had the kind of year you just dream about. You begin to feed off your success with great confidence, and every Saturday when we arrived at the track, you just had that good feeling you were going to win.
“We began the season by reeling off nine consecutive wins to put us leading the Lonsome Pine Raceway point standings, and for a while we stood atop the American Speed Association national points leaderboard. It was disappointing to not be able and seal the deal to win the national championship, but we did win the ASA East Regional title and that in itself was a big deal for myself and our racing team.”
Like a lot of racers, Gatlin started out in go-karts from age 10-14 and by the time he stepped aside he’d recorded over 50 karting victories. As a teenager in 2000, he began racing in the Limited Sportsman division at 411 Motor Speedway just outside of Knoxville, where he claimed Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
He first strapped in behind the wheel of a Late Model Stock for the 2002 racing season at Newport Motor Speedway, where he had several good runs and wound up being named the division’s Rookie-of-the-Year. During his senior year of high school in 2003, Gatlin began racing with the Hendersonville, N.C.-based United Auto Racing Association-Southern Touring Asphalt Racing Series.
Wanting to get back racing on a local level, tired of traveling with the UARA-STARS around the Southeast, Gatlin teamed-up with car owner Ron Jenkins to make a run for the Newport Motor Speedway Late Model Stock title in 2004. A stellar season with eight victories catapulted Gatlin to the track championship.
“We had a really good season at Newport when we won the championship,” Gatlin said. “We earned the pole (position) several times and won races, and ultimately we captured the title. Let me tell you, just like you’ll never forget your first win in racing, once you achieve a goal of winning a track championship – that’s a huge milestone for any racer.”
After his championship-winning 2012 season at Lonesome Pine Raceway, Gatlin was faced with a tough decision. It was all but a definite that he would be taking a different job, which wouldn’t allow him to race full time. However, after having already informed his team own and with a new driver for the car lined up, the job didn’t materialize and Gatlin was left sitting on the sidelines during the 2013 racing season. He did make a couple of starts, which only whetted his appetite for racing even more.
Gatlin will be chauffeuring the No. 47 Ford Fusion for J&J Racing co-owners Jeff Herron and his son Jason on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Kingsport Speedway. The car is normally wheeled by 25-year racing veteran Lee Tissot, from Asheville, N.C., for the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series events at “The Concrete Jungle.”
“I’m thankful to have the opportunity to drive the Herron’s car at Kingsport Speedway,” said Gatlin, with a smile on his face this past weekend while hanging out in the pits with the J&J Racing team for the UARA-STARS show at Kingsport. “I’ve won races and have two track championships under my belt since I started racing, and to know I’ll be driving such good equipment for J&J Racing, you’d better believe I’m excited. They’re a championship-caliber team.
“Lee Tissot won a couple of races this year at Kingsport, and really, if they hadn’t gotten collected in some early season wrecks – they would have been right in the thick of the battle to the end to win the championship. Racing is a competitive sport, and from a driver’s perspective you want to feel like you’ve got a chance to win each race you start. I really believe we’ll be in contention to win this big race at Kingsport. I know the Herron’s and the J&J Racing crew will put a good car underneath me, and then the rest is up to me to get the job done behind the wheel.”
J&J Racing’s Jason Herron is looking forward to the team working with Gatlin for the Friends of Coal – We Support Coal Miners 125.
“We know Lance (Gatlin) is a good race car driver, he’s got many wins and a couple of track championships to his credit,” said Herron from the team’s race shop. “With Lee (Tissot) not eligible to run the event, since he’s won a NASCAR sanctioned race within the past five years, the opportunity to work with a talented young racer like Gatlin was appealing. We know he will get up on the wheel and give the car a good run, plus he’ll also take care of the equipment. This will be the last race of the season at Kingsport, and with our race shop located near the track, it sure would be great to end the year on a winning note.”
J&J Racing is owned by father and son, Jeff and Jason Herron. Dave Ball serves as crew chief, Mark Williams is car chief, Kenny Hunley handles shocks and setup, Kevin Morgan and Richard Hicks are tire specialists (with Morgan also spotting for Tissot), along with crew member Mike Gratton.
Supporters of J&J Racing include Meadowview Family Dentistry, First Kingsport Credit Union, Anytime Fitness, Jeff’s Auto Sales, Warren Stenson DDS of Jefferson City, Hunley Built Shocks, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Pro Image Graphics, 84EXPO, Hess Race Cars, Inc., J&J Racing, No. 47 Ford Fusion.
