Racers are looking forward to the condensed five-event schedule for the Late Model Stock Car division at Southern National Motorsports Park, which kicks off next Saturday.
Southern National’s five event Late Model Stock Car schedule consists of a 150-lap race on March 3rd followed by twin races held on the nights of April 14th, May 26th, July 28th and September 8th. The condensed schedule allows racers to compete at Southern National Motorsports Park while also racing at other tracks or series, such as East Carolina Motor Speedway or the CARS Tour.
“I think the new schedule will be good to bring in some more cars,” Ryan Wilson, winner of the track championship at Caraway Speedway, said. “Guys who may be running every week somewhere else should still able to come and race several races, if not the full schedule at Southern National since there are not as many dates.”
Wilson, who has made starts in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards as well as in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour, says he plans to run the full season at Southern National Motorsports Park.
“I’ve always really liked the twin races, so I think it’s a good schedule that will hopefully draw a lot of cars.”
Wilson will start his pursuit of the Southern National Motorsports Park track championship on March 3rd in the Dogwood 265 presented by Solid Rock Carriers. After competing in the March 3rd race, Wilson will head to the central-most area in North Carolina to compete in a race at Caraway Speedway on March 4th.
Ryan Haddock has been a regular at East Carolina Motor Speedway while also making occasional appearances at Southern National Motorsports Park and Carteret County Speedway. This season, Haddock will run the full regular season Late Model Stock Car schedule at Southern National Motorsports Park in addition to racing a partial schedule at East Carolina Motor Speedway.
“I like it a lot,” Haddock commented. “It’s especially helpful for a team like mine that has an extremely tight budget. It’s nice being able to run two tracks and not worry about schedules falling on top of each other if you are trying to run for points. I think the way they are doing it this year, bringing back true Late Model Stocks and a five-race schedule for the championship, is going to have more people motivated to make those five races.”
The season-opening race, the Dogwood 265 presented by Solid Rock Carriers, is already drawing interest from other competitors, including four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion Philip Morris, former Southern National Motorsports Park track champions Jonathan Findley and Tyler Matthews, Tyler Hughes, Garrett Bunch and Southern National local Melvin Langley, among others.
The Dogwood 265, which commences on Saturday, March 3rd at 2pm, will also feature racing for the Bandolero and Mini Stock divisions.
