PELETIER, NC – Lexi Gay is looking forward to making her first appearance at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway on Saturday afternoon in the $5,000-to-win Limited Late Model race that headlines Opening Day 2019 presented by Solid Rock Carriers.
Gay, 18, from Canton, Georgia, recently teamed up with Empire Racing Group where she will race in Late Models throughout the season as well as in the ARCA Menards Series later this year. This weekend’s race will be her first race with her new team. She is hoping for a solid run on Saturday as she learns the car, the track and gets acclimated with the team.
“This weekend, being my first race at Carteret, I’m really looking forward to getting to know a new race track,” Gay said. “This is my first race as well with Empire Racing. My expectations are to have a clean race, finish all the laps, get to now the car, the track, and the setup.”
Last year, Gay raced for Hawk McCall Motorsports and Toyota Racing Development, scoring several top-five finishes at the historic Greenville-Pickens Speedway, while also making starts in races in California. Her experience at the flat track in South Carolina, and at flat tracks on the west coast, could be a key to success at Carteret County Speedway, which has only eight degrees (8°) of banking in the corners.
“With Greenville being a flat track, I do think it will help me a little bit more,” Gay stated. “I also raced at Madera Speedway out in California last year and it’s a small, flat track as well. With experience at two tracks that seem similar to Carteret, I’m excited to see what this weekend holds.”
Gay got her start racing in Bandoleros when she was 12-year-old after spending weekends at the track watching her older brother, Dawson, race quarter midgets. She began racing in the Winter Flurry Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway before eventually stepping up and running Late Models.
“I spent years at the Quarter Midget track watching my older brother, Dawson, race,” Gay explained. “When I was about 12, we were at Atlanta Motor Speedway and saw the Bandoleros racing. I loved them. We did a test drive one Saturday and I was hooked. My dad bought me a car and we started racing that winter series at Atlanta Motor Speedway and have never stopped.”
While Lexi Gay’s 2019 schedule has not been completed yet, she hopes Saturday’s race will not be her only start at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway. Gay will race alongside teammate Thad Moffitt, grandson of seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty.
The 100-lap, $5,000-to-win Late Model race is the headline feature of Saturday’s season opening event at Carteret County Speedway. The race will also feature Legends, Mini-Stocks, Street Stocks, U-CARs, Mini Cups and Winged Champ Karts. Tickets are $15 for adults while kids 10 and under are admitted free. Grandstands open at 12pm, qualifying gets underway at 12:30pm and racing gets underway at 2pm on Saturday afternoon, March 30th.
