Pro Cup Rookie Makes Up Three Laps for Top-10 Finish

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (June 12, 2013) – In short track racing, some top-10 finishes come relatively easy.  Others, like the one 17-year-old Reid Wilson had Saturday night at Motor Mile Speedway, require a sheer test of man and machine just to get to the finish.

The odds of a seventh-place finish seemed stacked against Wilson early in the running of the CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series Heritage Truck Centers 250 at the Virginia track when he went down three laps to the leaders early due to an ill-handling racecar. 

A determined driver and the hard work and decision-making of his crew at the lap-125 halfway break at Motor Mile helped rally the Bojangles’ Chicken ‘n Biscuits No. 66 towards the front of the field in the second half of the event.  Wilson earned all three laps back and he sailed beneath the checkered flag in a strong seventh place.

“I don’t know how this day turned around to be so strong at the end,” remarked Wilson after the race.  “I wish I had a better way of putting it, but we just struggled all day.  To be able to get three laps down, but not get down on ourselves and rally back to finish seventh just shows how strong this team is.  Beyond that, it shows how much stronger we’re going to be as we move on from here.”

Archdale, NC, June 4, 2013 - Walker Motorsports is proud to announce & welcome Stacy Puryear, of South Boston, VA to the Team! Stacy will be driving the #17 Walker Motorsports X1-R Pro Cup car for the reminder of the 2013 season!

"Walker Motorsports is very excited to have Stacy a part of the team" said by owner Chris Walker. "With Stacy having extensive experience in racing, he brings a lot to the table! Stacy has been around the Pro Cup Series since 2000 but began his racing career in 1986. He won his first ever Pro Cup race in 2001 at Jennerstown Speedway in PA. During 2003-2004 he had six top 5's and eighteen top 10's. He also grabbed the Pole during the first race of the season, finished 2nd at Pensacola, FL and 3rd at South Boston, VA. During the 2012 season Puryear won at Southern National in October, was 2nd at Orange County Speedway and had 2 poles and 2 outside poles in seven Pro Cup races. Apart from being a driver, he has always been a mechanic, crew chief & chassis specialist. Mr. Puryear has worn a lot of hats in his racing career - he will a wonderful asset to Walker Motorsports!"

Mooresville, NC (06/09/13): The date was July 19, 2008 when Mark McFarland last visited Edelbrock Victory Lane at an X-1R Pro Cup Series event. Saturday night, for the first time this season, a driver was strong enough to break championship point’s leader Clay Rogers undefeated streak. Veteran Mark McFarland used his pole position and a little bit of luck on his side to win the Heritage Truck Centers 250 at Motor Mile Speedway. Rogers and rookie Brady Boswell were hot on his heels in the final lap before crossing the line in second and third respectively.   

“First off it’s really special for us because the guy that owns this car, his shop is just right down the road”, said McFarland in victory lane. “This is his home track and we’ve always run good here, but have never been able to give him a win. Being able to win at Motor Mile Speedway is really special for him, me, and our entire team. Ron Faison and this entire JMI Motorsports team made this happen, and worked their tails off to get this thing together in time. We didn’t decide we were coming until Wednesday night and had to rent a motor from Tyler Young (fellow Pro Cup competitor) just to get here. It just shows you how good this small team is.”  

The crowd at Motor Mile Speedway was the largest the series has seen in the last few seasons. The X-1R Pro Cup Series and Heritage Truck Centers teamed up together and provided fans with 20,000 free tickets for the event in Radford, VA. The sixteen drivers in the field provided an entertaining show, with side-by-side racing throughout the 250 lap event. Home state driver McFarland jumped out to an early lead after winning the MAHLE Pole Award in qualifying for a second week in a row. As laps clicked away in the early stages of the race, the battle for the top eight positions intensified just before the event’s halfway break on lap 125. Just as it was in Kingsport, in the series last outing, McFarland took the Roush Yates Performance Products Halfway leader award over Rusty Skewes, and the undefeated Clay Rogers. The redraw of the top eight drivers at the series’ halfway point put leader McFarland to third and Skewes to the point as the field went back to green.

We are set to hit the track today for the Heritage Truck Centers 250 from Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA. If you can't make it to the track today, you can follow along with live updates all day with our Speed51.com powered updates presented to you by Automotive Specialists.

http://www.speed51.com/2013_Stories/ProCup/Trackside_Now_MotorMile_6_8.html

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Mooresville, NC 06/04/13: Clay Rogers stole the victory in dramatic fashion at Kingsport Speedway in Tennessee. With a green-white-checkered finish over Mark McFarland in the MAHLE 250, Rogers took home his third victory of the season. The X-1R Pro Cup Series will now head to Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA on Saturday June 8th for the Heritage Truck Centers 250. Motor Mile Speedway is always one of the most popular stops on the schedule normally drawing the largest car counts of the year. All indications point the same direction once again in 2013 as competitors will get their one and only chance to visit Edlebrock Victory Lane at the .416 track this weekend in front of what should be the largest crowd thus far this season thanks to the distribution of 20,000 free tickets in the market area.

Episode # 9 of The Roll Cage. Host CJ Woliver talks with the new driver of the Wes Gonder Racing #33, Ryan Heavner.