Former Myrtle Beach Speedway track regular Travis Truett will expand his growing racing schedule this weekend when he makes his Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour debut at Carteret County Speedway for the Solid Rock Carriers 125.
Having only raced in Late Models for less than a year, Truett is trying to obtain as much experience as he can, and hopes that he can adapt to Carteret County’s flat surface quickly and put together a strong performance.
“We just joined teams with Wendell Davis and he has a lot of experience up there,” Truett said. “It seemed like a good time for us to go CARS Tour racing, and we might run the full season next year if sponsorship and finances work out for us.”
Prior to making the jump over to Late Models, Truett had never competed in any form of auto racing outside of go-karts until he joined Myrtle Beach’s Charger division in 2018. After getting comfortable with the cars, Truett emerged as one of the best drivers in the division by winning four races in 2019.
Truett believed he was ready to transition over to Late Models for the 2020 season after his consistent 2019 campaign in the Charger division, but he found that wins were more difficult to come by in fields that included former track champions in Sam Yarbrough, Justin Milliken and others.
Truett expected some challenges to come with racing Late Models on a more regular basis, but he remains committed to working on his car and studying his competitors, most of which have moved with him to Florence Motor Speedway following the closure of Myrtle Beach.
“The competition is a lot higher in Late Models,” Truett said. “We’re not quite where we want to be, but we’ve only been able to run about five times this year and we haven’t put together a full race yet. We’re still learning, but time will tell if we’re making gains on it or not.”
Truett and his crew have made several adjustments to his car in recent weeks to try and run better at Florence and other tracks, with one of them being a number change from #4 to #T2, which Truett decided to do as a way to pay tribute to his cousin Taylor Truett, who passed away on Jan. 31, 2017.
Outside of Florence and Myrtle Beach, Truett also recently competed at Southern National Motorsports Park and intends to visit more facilities over the remainder of the 2020 season so he can learn more about how to drive a Late Model and prepare for a more diverse 2021 schedule.
Along with making his Late Model debut at the track earlier this year, Truett also put together one of the most dominant performances of his career in a Charger race on July 6, 2019, but he ultimately settled for a second-place finish after getting passed by Dylan Newsome on the last lap.
Despite coming up short in that event, Truett has grown fond of Carteret County in his limited starts at the facility, adding that the amount of grip available on track enables him and his fellow drivers to be aggressive early, which he believes produces more competitive racing.
“It’s one of the nicest facilities I’ve ever been to,” Truett said. “Some people don’t like it because it’s flat, but coming from Myrtle Beach to there, the grip is very nice. It’s fast, and I like being able to put the hammer down and not have to work the throttle.”
Saturday night will feature one of the deepest fields Truett has gone up against in his brief Late Model career, which will include current CARS LMSC Tour points leader Jared Fryar and two-time series champion Bobby McCarty, who won the inaugural Solid Rock Carriers 125 back in 2018.
Truett knows that it will be a challenge for him to contend with the CARS LMSC Tour regulars and become the eighth different winner in eight races this year, but he is optimistic that he can finish strong as long as he makes smart decisions during the 125-lap feature.
“We’re going to have to bring a good car and stay out of trouble,” Truett said. “It’s going to be a team effort, and I’ll have to stay cool behind the wheel. We’ll also need a good car on the long run, but if we can do all of those things, then we’ll have a shot to win at the end.”
Truett’s debut CARS LMSC Tour appearance will take place following the Legends and Super Trucks features. The on-track action on Saturday evening is set to begin at 7:15 p.m.
