HENDERSONVILLE, NC :: A five-way UARA-STARS championship battle moves to Anderson Motor Speedway this Friday night when the popular late model stock car tour visits the track for the first time this season. Ronnie Bassett, Jr., holds a scant 10-point margin over most recent tour winner Garrett Campbell, followed closely by Dillon Bassett, Travis Swaim and Ben Rhodes. The entire top five is separated by only 35 points.
Moving into Anderson, Bassett is the defending race winner at the facility, winning the last tour stop at the Action Track of the Carolinas last fall. Prior to that victory, former tour regular Scott Turlington captured his first and only career victory to date in the spring race last year. His second tour appearance of 2013 is scheduled for Friday night and he is looking to defend his spring race crown.
“I’m really excited to go back to Anderson. We’ve always run well there, capturing a pole last year and of course getting our first win,” said Turlington. “The thing I love about Anderson is it’s a driver’s track, and the more I’ve learned how to pace myself and save my equipment, the more I’ve liked it. It’s always a really interesting race to see how it plays out and the end is always exciting with us all jockeying for position and trying to win. Hopefully our Mid-Atlantic Controls car will be the one they’re chasing on the last lap.”
Garrett Campbell won the most recent UARA-STARS event at Lonesome Pine on June 1 and is looking to take over the point lead at Anderson, a track that used to be one of his statistically worst tracks. A victory at Tri-County Motor Speedway last season helped “Mr. Excitement” to tame the worn-out, flat, low-grip tracks that make up a significant portion of the tour’s schedule.
“I’ve always liked places like Myrtle Beach and Tri-County, but I could never win there. Running Ronnie for the lead at Tri-County last year and winning the Myrtle Beach 400 a couple seasons ago really taught me about how much to save and what the car needs to feel like in the closing laps of a race at a place like Anderson,” explained Campbell, a resident of Asheboro, NC. “We’re really motivated this weekend. We’ve never been this far up in points at this point in the season, and we really want to challenge for this championship. I think my guys are very capable, but it’s going to take winning at places like Anderson to make it happen.”
Following the last event, the biggest loser in the points battle was Ben Rhodes, who despite finishing sixth at Lonesome Pine, dropped from second to fifth in the standings. With a win at Anderson, Rhodes could vault himself to the point lead for the first time in his UARA-STARS career, and at a track very special to his Hawk-McCall Motorsports team that is partially owned by Travelers Rest resident Randy Hawkins.
“We didn’t get the finish we wanted at Lonesome Pine, but it was still an overall good points day,” said Rhodes, who was recently named to the NASCAR Next program, highlighting the rising stars of the sport. “We did lose a few spots in the championship standings, but we actually gained points on the leader. We have already shifted our focus towards Anderson on Friday. We did get a few runs in during testing Sunday before the rain canceled the rest of the day. I am confident in what Lee McCall and the entire Hawk-McCall Motorsports team will bring Friday, and hopefully we can have a strong run in the team’s back yard.”
Campbell, Turlington, Rhodes and the rest of the UARA-STARS tour will descend on Anderson Motor Speedway this Friday night, June 14, for the sixth scheduled race of the 2013 tour. Spectator gates open at 5:30 and UARA-STARS Sunoco Pole Qualifying is slated to roll off at 5:45pm. An on-track autograph session will take place shortly after 7pm and racing will begin at 8pm. Other divisions on the card include the Carolina Vintage cars, the US Legends Cars and the Anderson Motor Speedway FWD cars.
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