Sammy Smith has signed with Nelson Motorsports to make six starts in the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car series beginning with the Race to Ace 125 at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, NC next Friday, May 3rd.

Smith comes off a successful run at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car racing at New Smyrna Speedway, where he won a race during the nine nights of action and won the Pro Late Model championship.  Smith made his way to Late Models from go-karts and Legends cars and after his success at New Smyrna, he’s ready to try his hand at Late Model Stock Cars.

The 14 year-old driver from Iowa won 23 times in 2018 while capturing the Elko Speedway Rookie of the Year in the Legends division.  Smith wanted to get seat time in a Late Model Stock Car and knew that Nelson Motorsports is exactly where he wanted to be.

“We knew we wanted to race Late Model and we’ve always known Nelson Motorsports was a solid team,” Smith said.  “We reached out to Timothy Peters shortly after.  I’m very excited for this opportunity and I want to thank TMC Transportation and Nelson Motorsports for allowing this opportunity to happen!”

Nelson Motorsports team owner, Barry Nelson was impressed with Smith in a recent test.

“I watched Sammy test drive our car and I was really impressed with how he held himself and handled himself behind the wheel,” commented Nelson. “He’s a good young man, with a lot of talent and I believe he’s going to mature a lot with this team.”

Part-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver and the leader of Nelson Motorsports Driver Development program, Timothy Peters is also excited to see what Smith can do on the track in the next six races.

“From my standpoint, we’re just really excited to have Smith on our team and to start our six-race schedule,” Peters said. “We’ve already got one test run under our belt with Smith and we’re all really impressed.”

Smith’s first race will take place at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, NC next Friday night in the CARS Tour Race to Ace 125.  Smith will have teammate Bobby McCarty, who was the 2018 CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car champion, to lean on for information as well as Peters and the rest of the Nelson Motorsports team.  McCarty and Peters have won some big races in recent years at Ace Speedway including McCarty’s win in last years CARS Tour event at Ace Speedway.

He will also compete at Motor Mile Speedway on May 18th, Langley Speedway on June 8th, Carteret County Speedway on July 13th, Hickory Motor Speedway on August 3rd and Orange County Speedway on August 24th to finish up his six-race stint with Nelson Motorsports.