The IceBreaker 200 at Myrtle Beach Speedway this past weekend officially kicked off the 2016 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car racing season but the weekend ahead will provide us with three more season opening events at three historic NASCAR sanctioned tracks.
On Saturday, Greenville Pickens and Hickory Motor Speedway will kick off their seasons and Sunday afternoon Caraway Speedway will also bring in the new year with the first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event of 2016.
Greenville Pickens Speedway will kick off with a set of twin 75-lap races for the Late Model Stock Cars paying $2,000 to win each race and $300 to start each race with only one set of tires for the whole night. It’s a payout that has racers and team owners excited about the season opening event and expectations are high.
“I’m excited for this weekend,” commented Trey Gibson, who won eight races at Greenville Pickens in 2015. “$2,000 to win each 75 lapper is huge for the racers. The purse hasn’t never been that big since I’ve been racing at Greenville Pickens. I’m going into this weekend just like I did last year. Focus, be smart and to try to win both of the 75 lap main events. Hopefully with paying 2,000 per 75 lap race it will bring new comers in so Greenville can have a bigger car count. I’m very excited to see what 2016 has in store.”
Around 18 Late Models showed up to an open practice session last weekend at Greenville Pickens and more than 20 Late Models are expected this weekend for the opening event which will be one of the biggest fields in years.
Hickory Motor Speedway will open the 2016 season with the first of the Paramount Kia “Big 10” Challenge races featuring a $2,000 to win payout. The 100-lap race is expected to attract many of the regions top NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car racers including part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Berry who was testing there today.
One driver who will be looking to get his season off to a fast start is Dexter Canipe, Jr. who won six times at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2015 and will be eyeing this years title. He’ll also be looking to pick up his 100th career win in racing.
“It would mean a lot to me just getting off on the right foot,” said Dexter Canipe, Jr. “$2,000 can go along way in my situation racing on a shoe string budget. I expect big things just how the season went last year winning six races and being competitive all year. I’d also like to get the win out of the way as I sit with 99 career wins now.”
Caraway Speedway will be the last of the three tracks to open up this coming weekend as they’ll wait until Sunday afternoon to wave the green flag on the 2016 season. The event marks big changes for Caraway Speedway’s Late Model Stock Car program as it’s the first of just six events on tap for this season and featuring $5,000 to win each 150-lap race. The race will also feature a mandatory pit stop, which will certainly shake things up.
A star-studded field is expected for the season opening race with recent IceBreaker 200 winner Tommy Lemons, Jr., three-time NASCAR National Champion Lee Pulliam, last years champion Nathan Buttke and former champions Travis Swaim and Ryan Wilson leading the list of drivers expected. Wilson says he’s looking forward to seeing how the race plays out this weekend especially with the mandatory pit stop.
“It’s gonna be a tough race with a lot of great competition,” said Wilson who won the final Late Model Stock Car race of the 2015 season. “The fastest car may not win the race depending on how the pit stops go. I’m really looking forward to it. We ended 2015 with a win so it would be awesome to start 2016 off right also. This has the potential to be one of the biggest races that caraway has seen in a few years so I’m excited for Sunday and would love to get a big win.”
No matter which one of the races you can make it out to this weekend, it’s clear that this year the race tracks are working harder than ever to get more cars out to the tracks and to give the fans more bang for their buck. We’ll continue to preview all the races coming up this weekend all week long here on RACE22.com.
