LUCAMA, NC :: A series of strong performances late in the season has given Dillon Spain reason to believe he could be a contender for the win in the Halloween Spooktacular Limited Late Model race at Southern National Motorsports Park.
The 18-year-old driver, who moved up from Legends to compete in Limited Late Models this season, clicked together a series of top-five finishes and a handful of podium finishes late in the season. He ended up finishing second in the division championship standings at Southern National – an accomplishment he is proud to have achieved in his rookie season.
“I feel honored to come home second in the points,” Spain said. “First place would have been awesome but I can’t argue with second from where we started off in the year to where we ended.”
His late season success gives him confidence entering the 75-lap Limited Late Model race in the Halloween Spooktacular at Southern National Motorsports Park next Saturday.
“I feel pretty strong,” Spain stated. “We’ve gotten consistently better throughout the year. This was just our rookie season and, going in to this race, I feel like we have room to improve but I feel like we’re going to be a contender for the win.”
Spain feels he has progressed significantly as a driver. When the season started, Spain was fighting for top-five finishes. By the end of the season, he found himself up front, leading laps and, in the final weekend of the season, he mounted a legitimate challenge to Haley Moody for the division championship.
“I feel like I’ve come a long way from the beginning,” he remarked. “I still have room for improvement as far as consistency but when we started I didn’t think we’d be as good as we are right now, not saying we’re great but we’ve come a long way. I can’t thank Brad Brinkley and everyone who helped enough. As for the championship, I thought I was going to win it for a while. Just to lead laps and be up front was amazing.”
If Spain were to score the victory in the race on November 1st, it would be his first career win in a Limited Late Model, something he says would be “amazing” and “a dream come true”.
Prior to competing in a Late Model, Spain raced in Legends at Southern National, Coastal Plains Raceway and Wake County Speedway. Throughout the 2014 season, Spain continued to race in Legends cars occasionally, making appearances at Caraway Speedway, Southern National and Wake County. He also helped set up Will Bristle’s Legends car. Bristle went on to win the Legends championship at Southern National.
Spain will once again compete in the Limited Late Model in the Thanksgiving Classic on November 30th and will also run in a Legends car at Southern National during the Autumn Classic on November 9th. He will continue to compete in the Limited Late Model division at Southern National Motorsports Park next season.
