HENDERSONVILLE, NC :: One of short track racing’s most prominent touring divisions is on the rebound. That series is the North Carolina based UARA-STARS late model series. Over the past few years, new traditions have been formed and UARA competition has become a key development program in stock car racing.
Kerry Bodenhamer has been the UARA-STARS Series President since 2001. Under his leadership, the series, like most racing divisions as a whole, has seen its share of ups and downs. Bodenhamer has learned that the basics matter.
“I think our series has become a development program for the teams that want to move forward in to K&N and Trucks,” Bodenhamer said. “With that, it seems like more teams are becoming involved which strengthens everything. More and more teams are looking at us for development programs. Our professionalism helps our growth. In tough economic times, it’s tough to move forward so we’re fortunate that we can continue to grow. It’s just hard nowadays to know what the future holds.”
The UARA tour offers a wide variety of racing. The series will start its season at Southern National Motorsports Park and will end its season at Rockingham Speedway.
“We go from little bullrings in Newport to the mile in Rockingham which no other Late Model touring series really does,” Bodenhamer stated. “To move forward in these drivers’ careers, they need bigger racetrack experience and that’s something we’re able to offer.”
The main expectation for Bodenhamer in 2013 is consistency. While he feels it’s realistic things will remain consistent, Bodenhamer feels the quality of racing will improve in 2013.
“I think we can maintain consistency this year,” Bodenhamer expressed. “The sad part is that people put so much emphasis on car counts. Quality has as much to do with it as quantity. We have quality cars and a decent count to go along with it. We think we’ll maintain and improve on it this year. We’ve got a lot of returning teams and a lot of new teams. It looks promising at this point.
“I think the product will be exciting. We went to double file restarts last year which created excitement. As teams become more professional, the quality of the driver becomes more and it makes for a better driver. We have 15-18 cars that could win on any given night. Not a lot of people can say that. We have enough quality teams that it makes for a great race.”
Bodenhamer would love to see the series on national television, but recognizes it may not be a reality without a major corporate sponsor. Last year, the series began streaming races over the internet on a pay-per-view video streaming service. It’s something Bodenhamer would like to do again this season.
“We’re working on internet streaming,” he expressed. “I’d like national television but it’s unrealistic without a major corporate sponsor. Internet streaming is something that has potential. We’re on the cutting edge of trying to make internet streaming a reality. We’ve got some improved things this year.”
Bodenhamer doesn’t have any real ‘favorite’ race. He says he looks forward to them all and that every track can put on a good show.
“I’m looking forward to every single race,” Bodenhamer stated. “They’re all unique in their own way. We’re looking forward to the opener at Southern National. We haven’t been there since ‘07. It’s a nice, competitive track. It’ll be neutral ground for everybody. We’ve also got places like Hickory where we’ve been for years and years. I can’t say I have any favorites. Rockingham ranks up there. We always have our grand finale there. It’d be hard to pick one that’s better than the others.”
Bodenhamer says the series always looks at expansion, but also wants to keep the series close enough to home for series regulars to be able to race. Over previous years, the series has run in markets as far south as Atlanta, as far west as Nashville and as far north as Washington, DC.
“I think we always look at expansion but we’ve got to be realistic,” Bodenhamer explained. “With gas at $4/gallon and the economy the way it is, it’s part of where we decide to go and how we decide to do it. We always want to look at new markets for competitors and sponsors but we’ve got to be realistic. As time moves on, we look at different markets. We’ll continue to maintain a 16 race schedule. It works well for the racers with off weekends.”
The 2013 UARA-STARS tour will start at Southern National Motorsports Park on March 9th. Bodenhamer thinks the first race at the Lucama short track in several years will be an exciting one.
“I think Kenly’s going to run of the most interesting races we’ve run in a while,” Bodenhamer suggested. “Very few of our teams have been there. Last time we were there, we were on Goodyear tires. We’re going back on a Hoosier. It’ll be interesting to see what plays out there. It will be one of the most equal playing fields we go to. The teams have got a notebook but not a lot of notes. I think it’s going to be an interesting race on who wins and what strategy they use. That will be one of the better races. You might have someone you’ve never heard of in victory lane or you might have someone who’s been around for a while in victory lane, you never know.”
