____________________________________________
 UARA
ROOKIES & SOPHOMORES LOOKING TO EXTEND MID-SEASON SUCCESS
AT TRI-COUNTY
HENDERSONVILLE,
NC (July 8, 2013) -- When Tri-County Motor Speedway opens the
gates this Friday, July 12, the large contingent of UARA-STARS
sophomores and rookies will have extra motivation to reach
victory lane in the MotorsportsPhoto.com 150. One race ago,
14-year old Kaz Grala became the youngest winner in the
history of the series and the second first-time winner this
season out of the four drivers who have won events.
 "I
remember thinking that it really couldn't be happening, there
was no way I was about to win a UARA event in only my second
start," said Grala after his win at Hickory. "But it
was real and everything fell into place. My crew at Falcon
Racing did a fantastic job to get me to that point and gave me
a great car to drive."
Grala
joined Brodie Kostecki as the other first-time winner this
year after Kostecki claimed the win at Rockingham, becoming
the series' first foreign-born driver to claim a checkered
flag. Coincidentally, it was Kostecki who Grala had to beat at
Hickory for the win. Both driver will be looking for their
second career wins at Tri-County. Grala's teammate, 2012 UARA
Champion Travis Swaim, picked up his second career win at
Tri-County last fall in the same car that Grala will be
driving.
 Other
drivers still looking for their first series win include Devin
Jones, Chandler LeVan and Garrett Jones among others. Each
driver has had flashes of brilliance in the recent past, but
has yet to visit victory lane. Devin Jones came the closest
one year ago at Anderson after finishing second to Scott
Turlington.
"My
crew chief, David King, had so much success at Tri-County in
the past, and I really like the racetrack, too," said
Devin Jones, a second-year driver on the tour. "We've
really been working together well and the more we learn about
this new tire, I think the better we will be. There wouldn't
be any place better than Tri-County to pick up my first tour
win."
LeVan, a
native of Statesville, NC, considers Tri-County one of his two
home tracks on the tour and his career best finish came at his
other home track of Hickory earlier this year when he finished
seventh. At the Banjo Matthews Memorial 150, he was running
fourth when his car overheated.
"Hickory
should've been really good for us, but it turned into a not so
good night," said LeVan. "I drove my way up to
fourth without radios because they went out at the very start
of the race, and then the car started overheating. I was
pretty upset, but the good news is we were in the top five
when it happened. I just hope that we can put it all together
at Tri-County."
One of the
hottest rookies on the tour recently has been 13-year old
Garrett Jones. Jones graduated from limited late models to the
UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Tour this year and has caught fire
with his crew chief, Roger Johnson. Jones ran in the top ten
all race at Hickory and had a top three car two races ago at
Anderson before a flat tire derailed his efforts. He also
qualified on the outside pole at Anderson, a career best
effort for his Chevrolet.
"You
wouldn't think it to look at him, but this kid is one heck of
a wheelman," said Roger Johnson, the crew chief on the
No. 88 of Garrett Jones. "We've been working together for
a while, and he gives great feedback and really helps us to
get the car dialed in to what he wants.
He's
starting to learn how these races play out, his endurance is
increasing, and he should be a very real threat to win these
races sometime soon. It would be cool if we ended up winning
Tri-County. We're certainly going to try to get the win. It's
a driver's racetrack."
Tri-County
has a history of producing first-time winners in UARA-STARS
competition. Recent first-time winners at the facility include
Matt Kurzejewski (under crew chief Roger Johnson), R.A. Brown,
and former series champion Brennan Poole (under crew chief
David King). With the majority of the field in Friday night's
race winless in UARA-STARS competition, the odds favor another
first-time winner at the Hudson, NC, facility. Series veterans
who will be looking for another win at Tri-County include
Ronnie Bassett, Jr., Garrett Campbell and Travis Swaim. Swaim
and Campbell won the two most recent races at the facility
while Bassett won the only UARA event at the track in 2011.
Over
thirty entries are expected to pour in for the
MotorsportsPhoto.com
150 at
Tri-County Motor Speedway including former UARA Champion Danny
O'Quinn Jr. and Tri-County Motor Speedway past champion Grant
Wimbish along with one of the largest fields of the UARA-STARS
season. Solid fields of Southeast Super Trucks, Carolina
Vintage cars and regional street stocks are also expected for
their respective portions of the event. Spectator gates open
at 5pm with UARA-STARS Sunoco Pole Qualifying taking to the
track at the same time. An on-track autograph session and a
performance by the Loose Strings Band of Galax, VA, highlight
the pre-race activities before the 7:30pm start time.
For more
information on the UARA-STARS or the MotorsportsPhoto.com 150
at Tri-County Motor Speedway, visit uara-stars.com or call
(828)
692-3833.
UARA is
also on Facebook (facebook.com/uararacing), Twitter (@uarastarsseries),
and has a season-long series hashtag of #uarastars applicable
to all social media sites. For the latest video updates, race
recaps and replays, UARA followers can visit WatchMSB.com.
Press
Release by Tony Stevens
Photos by
Drew Hierwarter
____________________________________________
TRI-COUNTY
MOTOR SPEEDWAY RE-OPENS WITH UARA JULY 12
HENDERSONVILLE,
NC (July 2, 2013) -- When the UARA released their schedule for
this season, scores upon scores of racers circled one date on
their calendar - July 12. It is on that Friday afternoon that
racing will resume at the Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson,
NC, even if only for one event, the MotorsportsPhoto.com 150.
As has
become tradition over the past few seasons, a summertime date
at one of the most popular tracks in the state will feature
the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Tour as well as the Southeast
Super Truck Series. Joining that pair of touring divisions
will be the Carolina Vintage cars and Street Stocks from
around the region's racetracks.
 "We
always love going to Tri-County, and although they don't race
weekly right now, the fans really come out to support their
racetrack," said Kerry Bodenhamer of the UARA-STARS.
"We've gotten some of our largest car counts at
Tri-County the past few years, and had some of our most
spectacular races, too. The facility is a favorite among
racers and race fans alike."
Last
summer, Garrett Campbell edged Ronnie Bassett, Jr., to go to
victory lane in the tour's first stop at Tri-County. Later, a
fall date was added to the schedule and 2013 UARA Champion
Travis Swaim collected his second career win. Both races
featured multiple lead changes, side-by-side racing for laps
on end, and a spectacular finish.
The worn
and weathered surface at Tri-County brings out the best in
drivers, forcing them to save their tires until the end of the
150-lap UARA races. Usually, veteran drivers like Bassett and
Campbell have excelled at these types of tracks, but more
recently youngsters like Brodie Kostecki and Kaz Grala, among
others, have entered the picture.
Kostecki
had a chance to win at Tri-County last fall and also at
Hickory two weeks ago, while Grala proved he is already able
to conserve his equipment after winning the tour's most recent
event, the Banjo Matthews Memorial 150 at Hickory.
"Tri-County
is the perfect racetrack for everyone. Very rarely can you
find a track that makes everyone happy, but Tri-County is
it," said Bodenhamer. "Drivers like having the
strategy of saving their equipment, fans and drivers both love
the wide racing surface that produces side-by-side racing, and
it's those things that are starting to produce these new
up-and-coming stars that we've been seeing begin their
breakouts in the last few races."
Other
stars beginning to emerge on the tour include 13-year old
Garrett Jones who has picked up top-five qualifying efforts
over the last three events, Chandler LeVan who had a
mechanical failure while running fourth at Hickory, and
second-year driver Brandon Jones who has plans of moving up to
the NASCAR K&N Pro Series as well as the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series later this season. All of the
aforementioned drivers are tentatively entered in the July 12
event.
"The
crop of talent we've had come through the series in the past
is pretty substantial, but I think the drivers and teams we
have this year could envy some of our top classes from the
past," said Bodenhamer. "I think the general
consensus of most people in the sport is that you have to have
at least one or two years in one of these types of cars before
you jump up to K&N or Trucks. A large number of our
drivers have those aspirations, and if they can catch the
right breaks they've certainly got the talent to do so."
July's
Tri-County date is the only scheduled late model racing date
at the facility this year. It is also the only scheduled
chance to catch Southeast Super Truck, Street Stock and
Carolina Vintage racing action at the track in Caldwell
County, NC.
Spectator
gates for the MotorsportsPhoto.com 150 at Tri-County are
scheduled to open at 5 pm.
UARA-STARS
Sunoco Pole Qualifying begins at 5pm.
An
on-track autograph session will precede racing action that is
schedule to roll off at 7:30pm.
For more
information on the UARA-STARS, visit their website at
uara-stars.com or call (828) 692-3833. Fans and media are
encouraged to join the conversation on social media like
Facebook (facebook.com/uararacing), Twitter (@uarastarsseries),
and by using #uarastars on their social media interactions.
Press
Release by Tony Stevens
Photo by
Drew Hierwarter
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