3 TEAM FULL THROTTLE RACERS TEST LATE MODEL SUCCESSFULLY AT TRI-COUNTY

HUDSON, N.C. - Three Team Full Throttle (TFT) Driver Development members got a chance to turn laps in an Orion Motorsports late model stock car at Tri-County Motor Speedway Thursday afternoon in anticipation of their 2009 campaigns. Josh Morrow and Taylor Doggett, both currently dirt racers, drove a pavement late model for the first time, and Christian PaHud made his second testing appearance in a full-size stock car.

All three drivers ran steady, consistent laps on the four-tenths mile semi-banked oval, leaving TFT President Mike Calinoff impressed with the day's events.

"Josh, Taylor and Christian all did a terrific job in the test," Calinoff said. "They each got three sessions and we brought them along slowly, picking up the speed at an even pace in each session. They all listened extremely well and were very smooth. Orion Motorsports brought a well-prepared late model to the test and each driver respected the equipment and what we were teaching. It was a great day for everyone involved."

The test was organized by TFT to give a few of its future late model racers coaching, advisement and evaluation while behind the wheel of a full-size stock car. Each driver is planning a 2009 move to the pavement late model division.



PARESE GETS FIRST TOP 10 OF SEASON FRIDAY AT TRI-COUNTY

HUDSON, N.C. - Toby Parese raced to his best finish of the season Friday night at Tri-County Motor Speedway, starting 14th and finishing ninth in the 100-lap late model feature, which was highlighted by 23 cars starting the event.

"The car was amazing all night," said Parese. "It was one of the best cars we've had. It got a little too free toward the end of the race, but we still had a great run. I knew we had a car to move up, and we got up to seventh at one point, but got shuffled back to ninth with a few laps to go. It was a great run and great to get our first top 10; it was an amazing car."



PAIR OF SECONDS FOR PAHUD AT CONCORD; TESTING LATE MODEL THIS WEEK

CONCORD, N.C. – Christian PaHud returned to racing at Concord Motorsport Park’s quarter-mile oval Friday and Saturday night, as the track ran their first legends car races since the spring on account of the 10-race Quaker Steak & Lube Summer Shootout Series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Apparently PaHud did not forget his way around Concord; the 15-year-old racer picked up second-place finishes in the pro legends car 25-lap features on both Friday and Saturday.

“It was good to get back to racing at Concord; it’s a fun track and we run well there,” PaHud said. “Both nights were good racing. On Friday we were side-by-side for the lead for about five or six laps and then we got shuffled back to third and ended up getting back to second. Saturday was another second-place run; Daniel Hemric (the winner both nights) is just a little better than us right now. We’ve got to get a little faster to keep up with him; he’s running really well.”



PIERCE READY FOR $3,000-TO-WIN LEGENDS RACE SATURDAY AT CORDELE, GA.

GRIFFIN, Ga. - Semi-pro legends car racer Currie Pierce is anticipating one of the biggest legends car races in the South this Saturday at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Ga. Pierce will be gunning for an elusive $3,000 payday in the Frank McKinney Memorial Legends Car Scholarship 50 at the three-eighths mile speedway in Middle Georgia.

Pierce goes into the event with realistic expectations while recognizing that his Currie Pierce Racing team has as good a chance as anyone to get the big win.

"Man, it's going to be tough," Pierce said Monday evening, "but we're going to approach it like any other race and give it our best shot. We're hoping for a win, but speaking down-to-earth, I guess you could say, we would be really pleased with a top-five finish. I'd guess all of the best racers in Georgia and Carolina will be there. It's a big race, (and) we're really looking forward to it."

Currie Pierce has enjoyed a solid season in the semi-pro division. He has wins at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Lanier (Ga.) National Speedway and top finishes at a host of other speedways throughout the South. Pierce is currently 13th in INEX national asphalt semi-pro point standings out of nearly 600 entrants.

JJ NEWMAN RACES TO TOP 10 AT MAHONING VALLEY

LEHIGHTON, Pa. - JJ Newman raced to another top-10 finish in the Pro 4 late model class Saturday night at Pennsylvania's Mahoning Valley Speedway, known as the fastest quarter-mile asphalt track in the Northeast.

Newman, 15, started the 20-lap feature in 14th and made his way to a 10th-place finishing position while running side-by-side with other cars throughout most of the race.

"We had a pretty good car," Newman began. "Starting 14th is tough because it's a tight track and everyone is pretty equal. We ran side-by-side most of the race; it was a lot of fun out there. This is a great class to learn in and we're running pretty well in it. We'll keep working hard and hopefully get some more top finishes this year."

IGO RUNS BEST RACE OF SEASON FRIDAY AT SEEKONK

SEEKONK, Mass. - Chris Igo Jr. and his No. 8 Igo Racing car started 10th and finished fourth Friday night in the SYRA 700 mini-cup feature at Seekonk Speedway. The fourth-place run marked Igo's first top-five finish of 2008 after battling a number of handling issues throughout the season.

"I think we finally found what was wrong with our car," Igo began. "The brake calipers were hanging up on us and there was a problem in the front end that caused the toe to be inconsistent when the car was on the track. We found the issues over the week and got them straightened out for the race and the car was the best it has been all season. We're happy to get a top five."

While satisfied with the positive result, Igo believes the finish could have been better if it wasn't for an engine problem on his No. 8 mini-cup.

"Toward the end of the race the engine was losing power and cutting out on us. It usually runs at about 4500 rpm but it was barely at 3500 (rpm) in the feature. We're looking into it; when we get that straightened out hopefully there won't be any other problems and maybe we can get a win the next time out," Igo said.

PARESE GETS FIRST TOP 10 OF SEASON FRIDAY AT TRI-COUNTY

HUDSON, N.C. - Toby Parese raced to his best finish of the season Friday night at Tri-County Motor Speedway, starting 14th and finishing ninth in the 100-lap late model feature, which was highlighted by 23 cars starting the event.

"The car was amazing all night," said Parese. "It was one of the best cars we've had. It got a little too free toward the end of the race, but we still had a great run. I knew we had a car to move up, and we got up to seventh at one point, but got shuffled back to ninth with a few laps to go. It was a great run and great to get our first top 10; it was an amazing car."

HANS GETTING RESULTS IN INDIANA LEGENDS CARS

SCHERERVILLE, Ind. - Andrea Hans drove what was perhaps her best race of the season Saturday night at Illiana Motor Speedway in the legends car feature at the western Indiana paved oval. Hans finished sixth of the 13 cars that started the event, and ran competitively throughout the race.

"It was a great time, a lot of fun," the 16-year-old Indiana native said. "I was running a different line than most of the other drivers and it seemed to work well for me. I would go low into the corner and come out low, and I got a good run on a lot of cars in the race. We're happy to run well and get a good finish."

Hans has been improving throughout her rookie season of racing legends cars. On Friday night at Anderson (Ind.) Motor Speedway, she qualified three-tenths-of-a-second faster than she has all season at the track. This weekend, Hans has her sights set on the INEX Legends car Young Lions Nationals at the Indiana Speedrome in Indianapolis.

MONDEAU NETS TOP 5 RUNNING HALF-THROTTLE AT SEEKONK

SEEKONK, Mass. - Brian Mondeau drove to a fifth-place SYRA 750 mini-cup feature finish Friday night at Seekonk Speedway while driving a car that only had half-throttle because of a carburetor change the Mondeau team made between the heat and feature races.

"We were changing the carburetor and we accidentally broke the throttle cable. We fixed it as fast as we could but there was still a problem and we had to run the feature at half throttle. We're happy to come away with a fifth-place run with only half throttle," Mondeau admitted.
With only three SYRA mini-cup races remaining at Seekonk, Mondeau is excited to get to the latter part of the season.

"The car is going fast. I think we're a top-three car right now; we just need to put it all together for a few nights. We're expecting good finishes in the last few races at Seekonk and we'll probably do some other races in New Hampshire, too," said Mondeau.