KINSTON, AL :: The Southern Super Series was founded three years ago to provide a novel platform for Super Late Model competitors to travel south of the Mason Dixon while also becoming a symbol for unity across the entire discipline.

On the eve of the 2015 season opener, Southern Super Series Director Tim Bryant believes his tour is well on its way to achieving their intended goals and then some.

“We feel pretty good about the Southern Super Series,” Bryant told Race22.com on Saturday afternoon. “We feel good about Super Late Model racing in general which was what we intended to do from day one

“With the help of other tours, I believe that Super Late Model racing is stronger than it has been in a long time.”

It’s hard to argue with him based on the quality and quantity of competition entered in the Rattler 250 on Sunday afternoon. It starts with tour regulars like Bubba Pollard, Anderson Bowen, Augie Grill and Donnie Wilson but also includes elite talents like Chase Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Hemric.

The 2015 Rattler is arguably one of the greatest non Snowball Derby fields in at least five years and Bryant says he’s proud that the Southern Super Series gets to participate in one of the most storied Stock Car races in the Southeast.

“You know, the Rattler 250 has been a great race for a long time and that has everything to do with (promoter) John Dykes and his commitment to the sport and South Alabama Speedway,” Bryant said. “I’m just excited that the Southern Super Series gets to play a part in that and I like to believe we also add something to that race.”

The Super Late Model has gotten considerably more crowded in 2015 as the SSS, CRA, Pro All Stars Series and CARS Tour are all promoting events on the east coast. This presents a great opportunity for growth across the discipline but it also presents major pitfalls as tours have a fine number of teams to share who can only run so many races between them.

By in large, the tours have all worked together to avoid an overlap on the schedule and the rules are largely unified between the Southern Supers, CRA and CARS Tour. As a result, Bryant feels as though he’s strengthened both his division and the state of short track racing as a whole.

“Thus far, we have met the challenges,” Bryant said. “We’re on a pretty common sheet of music as far as our rules packages are concerned. And so far, we’re on pretty good with our schedules.

“We do have some conflicts with the CRA but with this many tours, there are only so many race weekends. The real challenge is going to be when one of us has to reschedule due to rain or something that that effect and that’s where we’re going to need to communicate.”

Despite all the optimism surrounding the tour, there have been some challenges specifically regarding the schedule and costs of participating in the Southern Super Series. The league has lost two marquee races in the World Crown 300 at Gresham Motorsports Park and All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville — two of the traditionally crown jewels of Super Late Model racing.

Gresham is closed for the season and seeking a buyer while the All-American 400 was suddenly and dramatically reformatted into a Pro Late Model showcase over the summer in 2014.

However, the Southern Super Series will return to Nashville in 2015, running a 100-lap feature on the same afternoon as the ARCA Racing Series event on April 4. The promoter of the ARCA event at Nashville would have preferred the ARCA\CRA Super Series come in to co-headline, but Bryant said the SSS become the more reasonable choice given that the CRA scheduled its regular season opener at Toldeo Speedway that weekend.

“It was a boost for the Southern Super Series,” Bryant said of the Nashville return. “Our guys love going to Nashville and we’re excited to go back there.

“We hope it’s the first of many trips back to the Fairgrounds.”

Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville has hosted three Southern Super Series events since the 2013 season, including that year’s All-American 400. That partnership ended last summer under controversial circumstances with the promoting Formosa family expressing dissatisfaction with the SSS political structure.

However, Bryant emphasized that he has maintained a close personal and professional relationship with track promoter Tony Formosa even in the fallout of the sudden breakaway from the Southern Super Series.

“He made some adjustments in the format of the All-American 400 last year because he felt like that was in the best interest of his race track,” Bryant said. “We respected that, even though it was a blow to the series. We’ve maintained a relationship with the Formosas all the way through and we hope we’re the ones to get the call should he ever want to promote a Super Late Model race.”

The biggest challenge for Bryant may be keeping his biggest stars in the tour all the way through the rigors of a full season. Hemric won the inaugural championship in 2013 and used his success in the tour to graduate to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series full-time this season.

Then Pollard defeated Hemric to win the 2014 championship but has recently expressed a desire to travel more following his marquee victory in the Winter Showdown at Kern County Speedway in California.

“We want to travel a little bit more,” Pollard told Race22.com last week. “This is what our family does together. We race together. So I don’t think we’re going to chase a championship anywhere but knock off some of these bigger races like the Summer Showdown in Washington (State) and the Slinger Nationals.”

Bryant hopes that several star drivers, like Pollard, getting off to hot starts after South Alabama and Nashville could persuade them to stay and chase the championship and the $10,000 prize that comes with it.

“The first couple of races may establish what Bubba does,” Bryant said. “We hope winning a championship is a feather in anyone’s cap, and as defending champion, we’d certainly like to see him defend it.

“At the same time, if he wants to explore other areas, we respect that as well. We welcome guys to participate whether they are part-time guys or championship contenders. We welcome to the Southern Super Series.”

Super Late Model racing is healthier than it has been in a long time. And based on the rhetoric from the boss of the Southern Super Series, it looks as if Bryant will continue leading the charge of resurgence moving forward.