16-year-old Matt Craig is one of many drivers who will be racing in pursuit of the Championship Auto Racing Series (CARS) Super Late Model Tour championship.
Craig, who hails from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is a relative unknown in Super Late Model racing. Prior to this season, he has only run a handful of races in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) as well as a handful of races in the old X-1R Pro Cup Series which is the series that was phased out and replaced by the CARS Tour.
Craig has strong expectations for the series. He knows there will be tough competition and feels the series will be strong.
“I think it’s going to be a good series with both types of cars racing,” Craig said. “They’ll bring a good car counts and I think they’ll handle it quite well. We raced with them guys in the Pro Cup and I think they’re up to the challenge and can handle it. I think the race is going to be real good here in Kenly. I like this place. Usually gives good racing for us with the Super Late Models and I expect a good show and a good turnout for the 28th.”
For the season opening race, which is being held on March 28th at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina, Craig is hoping to get a handle on his car and score a top-five finish.
“We ran a PASS race here and had a little difficulty with the car for most of the race. After we got it all figured out, we took off running around the top-five area. We have high expectations for the race and I think we can easily get a top-five.”
Top-five finishes are Craig’s goal. He hopes to have success leading up to the Winchester 400 and the Snowball Derby later on this year.
“By the end of the year, I hope to have a few wins and maybe be in the top-five in points and good success in the bigger races in the Super Late Models. I think we’re going to try to hit the WInchester 400 and Snowball Derby and the All American 400.”
Craig’s long term goal is to break into NASCAR and “make money racing cars” for a living.
