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Pair
of Races in Southwest Virginia Could Prove Pivotal toward 10th
Anniversary SCSCS Championship
Mount
Joy, Pennsylvania (August 1, 2017) – Super Cup Stock Car
Series drivers and teams have been hard at work gearing up for a
pair of opportunities offered this upcoming Saturday. The
10th Anniversary season continues its summertime pace as Lonesome
Pine Raceway hosts the Extreme Awards & Personalization /
Patrick Miller Photography Twin 50s presented by United Tire.
Last year’s race
at the Coeburn, Virginia 3/8-mile oval presented some thrilling
battles all the way to the checkered flag.
The first-time winner in his initial SCSCS start, Ben Ebeling,
still vividly remembers how meaningful the special night that ranks
up there as a career highlight was.
“It was
unbelievable just because of so many things,” the 36-year-old
racer recapped. “Having
my daughter there eight months after we adopted her for only the
second race she was at and it was the first time my mom was present
when I won a race. I
wasn’t even sure if I’d be driving and we unloaded that thing
and it was pretty good right off the truck.”
Ebeling absolutely
feels the added pressure going into this weekend to repeat last
year’s performance. The
first appearance of 2017 for the Hickory, North Carolina resident
was originally set for June, but a postponement provided some extra
time to prepare a newly purchased car out of the Potter Racing
stables.
“I
set the bar really high,” Ebeling laughed.
“We were 95 percent ready but it was great to take a step
back and fine tune some more. There
are a lot of unknowns again and this car hasn’t even turned a lap,
but I have no doubts that it’s as good as anything out there.
Hopefully we will be able to work on speed when we get to
Lonesome Pine.”
Ebeling once again
will lean on two of his biggest influences for pointers, although
one of them will not be in attendance at the track much like in
2016. Jon Kerley, who
was Ben’s instructor at the Catawba Valley Community College
approximately 15 years ago as part of their motorsports program when
he relocated south, provided the preferred setup and necessary
advice to navigate the outside groove to his advantage last year.
The winning ride
from that night will be piloted by team owner Mike Potter, who
thankfully walked away from a wicked wreck last time out at
Jennerstown Speedway Complex. The
Johnson City, Tennessee veteran’s experience in the region dates
back to the 1970s when he won races in weekly competition and also
scored top 10 finishes in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman National
Championship which preceded the NASCAR Busch/Xfinity Series.
In fact, Potter is
one of four drivers entered that first raced at Lonesome Pine more
than three decades ago. Brad
Teague, a former track champion and veteran of 241 career NASCAR
Xfinity Series starts from 1982 to 2015 with a victory in 1987,
comes out of retirement to go for the win in a third Potter Racing
machine.
Mike Kurkowski will
make his first appearance of the season and competed at Lonesome
Pine during his rookie year in the highly-regarded former American
Speed Association back in 1983 with a ninth place result.
Bob Schacht perhaps may be looking for the most redemption
after being credited with a runner-up finish in an ARCA race that
same year in which the Mooresville, North Carolina driver believes
he should have won.
In regards to those
in the running for the overall championship, current leader Jim
Crabtree Jr. set fast time, led laps, and finished top five in his
only previous SCSCS start at Lonesome Pine Raceway back in 2008.
Kevin Kromer hopes
to narrow the point deficit as he travels south following an ARCA
Racing Series debut at Pocono Raceway the past weekend.
The Walnutport, Pennsylvania racer missed last year’s event
after undergoing a successful series of cancer treatments, but did
compete at the southwest Virginia track four times from 2008 through
2010 with a best finish of third.
The team owner he drove for at the 2.5-mile track, Brian
Kaltreider, returns to the series at the site of his best run in
2016.
The hunt for the
abbreviated southern division title begins with the two races this
weekend as well. J.P.
Crabtree III tops those eligible in the overall standings, and has
been studying video of past events and inquiring about setup since
the Muncie, Indiana driver has never competed at this particular
racing surface.
Brent
Nelson is fresh off an evening sweep at Jennerstown and was quick at
Lonesome Pine a year ago before gremlins under the hood sidelined
him. Larry Wilcox could
have something for his fellow counterparts, recording two top five
finishes in the past at LPR.
The Harrison family
composed of Harvey and his two sons Brian and Brandon will be tough
to beat as always. Harvey
set fast time a year ago and has never finished worse than fourth in
five past LPR starts.
J.P. Crabtree’s
teammate and proven quick adapter Trent Gossar will bring back the
same car he finished runner-up with one year ago after heavy damage
was sustained to his Don Gnat Racing primary car last time out.
Bill Ashton, Jason Schue, Ron Langdon, and more hope to
improve on their past series results with two chances to do so.
SCSCS practice is
slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. with qualifying taking place at 6:00
p.m. following local divisions. The
first of the Extreme Awards & Personalization / Patrick Miller
Photography Twin 50s presented by United Tire will take the green
flag shortly after 7:00 p.m.
The Sopwith
Motorsports Television Productions crew will be on hand once again
filming the full Super Cup Stock Car Series season and producing
nationally televised broadcasts scheduled to be shown on MAVTV at a
later date to be announced.
For more
information please visit the official web site at www.supercupstockcarseries.com.
Interactive updates throughout race day will be available on
the Super Cup Stock Car Series Facebook
and Twitter.
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