In his second season of Late Model racing, Denver, North Carolina native Ryan Repko has established himself as one of the best upcoming talents in auto racing along the east coast. The 17-year-old has made a name for himself in the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour, where he has five Top 10s in six career starts, and frequently challenges Late Model veterans that include Deac McCaskill, and three-time ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner Philip Morris.
Repko looked to continue his momentum at Myrtle Beach Speedway in the track’s “Breast Cancer Awareness Night” on October 21st, where he was the fastest of the 28 cars who participated in the Late Model feature’s qualifying session. However, in the early stages of the race, Myrtle Beach regular Sam Yarbrough got into the back of Repko, which led to a multi-car accident that involved over a dozen cars.
The crash caused severe damage to the Late Model that Repko had planned to use for the Myrtle Beach 400 on November 18th, 2018. After his team assessed the car, they determined that the damage was too severe to repair in time for the event, which forced Repko to withdraw from one of the most prestigious Late Model races in the country.
“Yarbrough picked me up at the flagstand and never backed off until he wrecked the whole field down into Turn 1,” Repko said. “Pretty much everyone else who was involved in that accident agreed with that sentiment. There’s really no other way to put it.”
Repko credits his grandfather as the one who helped him start his racing career, as he watched Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races on TV with him when he was younger. Since the age of eight, Repko has gradually worked his way up through several racing divisions, winning rookie of the year at Motor Mile Speedway in both Late Models and Limited Late Models, and finishing in 9th place in the 2016 ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Repko has limited starts at Myrtle Beach Speedway, and had hoped to have a strong run in the Myrtle Beach 400 after finishing 37th in the 2017 ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Completed in 1958, Myrtle Beach Speedway hosted nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races from its inaugural year until 1965, with Ned Jarrett leading all drivers with three victories at the track. After the Cup Series left, the half-mile track served as a standalone race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with several notable drivers going to victory lane during the track’s 12-year lifespan in the series, including Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Jimmy Spencer. The last major NASCAR race held at Myrtle Beach was on June 17, 2000, which was won by Jeff Green from the pole.
NASCAR’s departure from the speedway did not lead to its closure, as it continued to host the NASCAR Racing Experience, Monster Jam events, as well as the Horry County Fair. The track has also hosted several auto racing divisions, including the X-1R Pro Cup Series, as well as being one of the tracks to host races for the CARS Super Late Model and Late Model Stock Car Tours since its inaugural season in 2015. The CARS Tour was scheduled to return in 2017, but a conflict with the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 test session forced series officials to cancel the event, but the series plans to return to Myrtle Beach on March 24, 2018.
Myrtle Beach Speedway has been hosting the Myrtle Beach 400 to end its season in every November, and the event has grown into one of the most prestigious Late Model races since its inception in 1993. NASCAR veteran Jody Ridley won the first Myrtle Beach 400 in 1993, with several notable drivers adding their names to the race’s list of winners, including Late Model veterans Timothy Peters, Robert Powell and Lee Pulliam, as well as Toyota development drivers Myatt Snider and Christian Eckes, the latter of which won the event in 2016.
Repko intended to use “Wild Card Night” as a way to gain valuable experience for the Myrtle Beach 400, which is also scheduled to be broadcasted on national television for the first time in the race’s 25-year history. Repko quickly adjusted to the track’s conditions, and believed that he had a car fast enough to contend for the win in the October 21st Late Model feature and the Myrtle Beach 400, but is disappointed that he will not have an opportunity to demonstrate that speed in front of a national audience.
“I think I had a good grasp on the race track from watching videos of other people drive around there,” Repko said. “Particularly, I watched videos of Lee Pulliam because he had won 13 races there this year. Plus, I found out a few things on the racetrack, including how you could get the car to turn better in places where there was more grip. We were the fastest car all weekend, and I had the car hooked up.”
Repko has not decided on his 2018 plans, but is looking forward to competing in the upcoming CARS Tour event at Myrtle Beach Speedway if he elects to focus on his Late Model program. Although the Myrtle Beach 400 will not have Repko in the field, a strong field of drivers are expected to participate in the event, including Tommy Lemons Jr., as well as Lee Pulliam, who won the 2017 Late Model track championship at the speedway.
