Taylor Satterfield got his feet wet in Late Model Stock Car racing in 2017 and followed that up with his first two wins at Greenville Pickens Speedway in 2018 and in 2019 he’s hoping he can make a championship run.
Satterfield cut his teeth in Pro Late Models in Georgia but as asphalt tracks all over his home state began closing up, he was left with nowhere to race locally. An hour and a half up the road is where he calls his home tracks now at Greenville and Anderson Motor Speedway but he had to trade in his straight rail Pro Late Model car for a perimeter chassis Late Model Stock Car.
Satterfield said the move to Late Model Stock Cars was to keep running close to home and have his family at the track with him rather than travel all over the south looking for places to run his Pro Late Model.
“Greenville and Anderson are my closest tracks running a regular program,” Satterfield told RACE22.com. “When we go to the track you’ll see a lot of people in the stands and in the pits with us because it’s a big family thing for us.”
Part of Satterfield’s family now includes a group of guys known as EPM Motorsports. The team had Kyle Benjamin running select races for them over the last couple of seasons and after Satterfield talked to them now he houses his cars in their shop and they’ve become part of his family.
“Toward the end of the year last year, I knew that they had brought Kyle Benjamin to the track a couple of times and I had heard nothing but good things about them and Sylvia (Porter) at Anderson had good things to say about them and I asked them if they wanted to work together and now we house my cars at their shop.”
Satterfield will honor a member of the Elite Performance Motorsports (EPM) team this season by naming one of his cars after the crew members late mother. The car is named “Sue” and Sue was the mother of Satterfield’s spotter, Chris Burton. “Momma Sue” as the team affectionately called her passed away on August 11, 2018, after a battle with not only cancer but also with an Ischemic stroke.
Satterfield joined the team after her passing but he feels as if he knew her through the stories that the team tells and he wanted to honor her because of how much she meant to the team.
“Chris is a good guy,” stated Satterfield. “He’s a funny guy and always has jokes. I wasn’t around when his mom was a part of the team but I came in and heard all the stories and know how much she meant to the race team and I thought this would be something cool to do.”
Satterfield is hoping to take “Sue” to victory lane in the season opener this weekend at Greenville Pickens Speedway. The car dons a new sharp look and is adorned with sponsorship from Maverick Steel Buildings, All-Steel Construction, Maysville Motors, and Georgia Bark Company.
“Sue” got her first test ride of the season on Tuesday and early on the team struggled to keep speed in the car but as the day went on and they put better tires on the car, they found speed and consistency.
“The test went pretty good. We fought tires all day. We were running some tires that Kyle Benjamin had run in practice at Martinsville and I don’t know if it’s the heat cycles or something the concrete up there does to the tires but they were good for three laps and then went to junk. We put stickers on later in the day and we ran some good times and were consistent.”
While Satterfield’s 2019 plans aren’t set in stone he’s leaning toward running for the championship at Greenville Pickens. He knows with the track’s history that it would mean a lot to win a title there.
“Greenville has a great history, it’s so cool to go there and see all those names on the wall. It’s like going to Hickory or Nashville or some of the other historic tracks. It’s a special place for short track racing.”
Satterfield is hoping to dial in his PRW Chassis, which is powered by a Harrington Enforcer by Robbie White, to get his season started off on the right foot.
“We just need to get the season started off right. We have nothing set in stone right now but we’re thinking of going for the Greenville championship. We’re also going to run Anderson as much as we can with it being on Friday’s it’s a challenge. I’d like to also get out and run some CARS Tour races. I love Orange County and Kenly (Southern National) and Hickory, so I’d like to try and his some races there too.”
Look for Satterfield to be a contender for wins and possibly adding his name to the famed wall of champions at historic Greenville Pickens Speedway.
In addition to the Late Model Stock Cars which Satterfield will compete in the Limited Late Models will take center stage for 125-laps and $10,000 to win plus all other track divisions will compete on opening day. The race is set for 2:00pm this Saturday and RACE22.com will have RACEDAY LIVE updates of the event starting with practice at 9:00am.
