Excitement is building in anticipation of this weekend’s debut of the South’s newest touring series aimed at weekly racers. The Mid-Atlantic Limited Late Model Series (MALLS) debuts this Saturday afternoon at Concord Speedway as part of the inaugural Southern Sizzler, along with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, PASS South Super Late Models, and Mini Stocks.
The MALLS will give competitors the opportunity to travel to different tracks in the region on a reasonable budget. The new series will be made up of a 10-race schedule, and will compete at six different race tracks with the addition of two dates at the legendary Hickory Motor Speedway. Each MALLS event will pay $1,200 to win, while scuffed Hoosier F45s will be the official tire for the new series.
The MALLS is attracting drivers from across the Southeast, rookies and veterans alike, including 2003 Concord Speedway Late Model Stock champion, Shaun Mangum. While he has not competed much over the last number of years, Mangum says the time was right to get back behind the wheel with the creation of the MALLS. And he could not be more excited that the inaugural event will be this weekend at Concord Speedway.
“It’s a dream for me to be able to go back to Concord Speedway because it’s my home track and we’ve had a lot of success there,” says Mangum. “I think this series is a really good thing because it eliminates a lot of the costs and I believe the scuff tire deal will be great. I’m pretty excited and stoked to be back with a good group of new guys at some really neat race tracks.”
The series conforms to similar packages being utilized at Hickory, Motor Mile, South Boston, Dillon, Orange County and Southern National. In addition to the inaugural event being held at Concord Speedway this weekend, other tracks hosting the MALLS in 2016 include, Caraway Speedway, Ace Motor Speedway, Wake County Speedway, and Tri-County Motor Speedway. Additionally, the series will be highlighted by two events at the legendary Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 18 and Saturday, September 24.
Another veteran of short track racing in the Carolinas looking forward to racing for the MALLS championship is Kernersville, NC’s Mack Little. Little has won track championships throughout the Tarheel State, including Hickory Motor Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Bowman Gray Stadium. He believes that it was time for a series like the MALLS and is especially looking forward to returning to Hickory, where he won Late Model Truck titles in 2003 and 2004.
“I love going back to Hickory,” says Little. “ I ran there for a long time and I’m really looking forward to returning with the Limiteds, they put on a great show there. I’m also excited to tour around. It’s not too many races and you get to run at different places. But with the scuff tires and the cost saving measures, if you have a bad night, you’re not so far down in the hole and you can come back and get them in the next race.”
All the action gets under way on Friday, March 18 at Concord Speedway with open practice for all competing divisions from 2 – 6 PM. On Saturday, March 19, practice will begin at 12:30 PM with qualifying starting at 3:15 PM for the PASS South Super Late Models, Mid-Atlantic Limited Late Models, Mini Stocks, and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour followed by main events for the Southern Sizzler starting at approximately 4:30 PM.
