SWANSBORO, NC – Veteran racers are feeling the challenge at the brand new Carteret County Speedway while a favorite to win has emerged upon the competition.
Jeff Oakley is the driver who enter’s Sunday night’s race as the favorite due to his experience at Langley Speedway and his consistent speed throughout Saturday’s open test. However, veteran racers such as Clay Jones and Chris Burns hope they have something to say about that.
“I think we’ll be pretty good,” Burns said. “So far, we’ve improved a lot since we’ve come out here. Hope everybody else is not as fast as us. There are a lot of tough cars around and we have a lot of work to do but I feel pretty good. We normally run well everywhere we go so we’ll do the best we can.”
Clay Jones is a favorite anywhere he goes. Jones has dominated at tracks like Southern National Motorsports Park and Wake County Speedway. However, Carteret County Speedway has thrown a curveball to the veteran.
“It’s a very nice facility, one of the nicest places I’ve ever been to,” Jones remarked. “So far, everybody’s really nice. Kind of a learning experience for everybody. It’s a flat track and we don’t have many of these on the East Coast. We have to take it one step at a time, record some fast laps and find a line nobody else is running so we can be a little bit quicker.”
When competitors learned that Taylor Howard would run in the race for Wendell Davis, he was the pre-race favorite to win and for good reason. Howard has won races at Coastal Plains Raceway, East Carolina Motor Speedway and won championships at Southern National Motorsports Park.
“Driving for Wendell Davis does give me a ton of confidence,” Howard commented. “I can’t thank him enough. The track is a little bit different. Kind of on the edge at all times, nothing like any other place.”
However, the two favorites appear to be Jeff Oakley and Haley Moody. Moody’s performances at East Carolina Motor Speedway this season has casts doubts among her peers as to whether she can race competitively with cars around her which is why Oakley is the clear favorite entering Sunday’s race.
“The track has a lot of grip and the tires have done real well,” Oakley explained. “The crew chief has worked really hard on the car. When the crew works hard, it pays off and the driver needs to drive … we certainly hope we win. We came to win.”
Haley Moody was consistently fast during Saturday’s test session, clocking times in the top three in all but one practice session. There is little doubt that Moody, who’s car is prepared by veteran racer Jamey Caudill, comes to Carteret County Speedway with a fast car.
“I think we’re pretty good because we aren’t on new tires and the car is good,” Moody said. “It’s going to cool off a bunch and the track’s going to change. I sure hope we can get a win. It’s going to be a tough race tomorrow .. a lot of beating and banging going to happen tomorrow but I hope that won’t be an issue. I think we’ll be pretty good.”
