By the time the green flag drops Saturday night, July 9th on the GXS Wraps 100 CARS Tour race at Raleigh, North Carolina's Wake County Speedway, the Pro Late Model drivers on the starting grid will be chomping at the bit to do battle in a tightening points race.
Not only will Saturday's feature race be the first-ever visit to "America's Favorite Bullring" for these hot shot drivers, they haven't even competed against each other since the last PLM event back on June 25th at Tri-County Speedway.
That previous race saw a dominating performance by up-and-coming driver, William Sawalich, who became the first driver in this inaugural CARS Tour Pro Late Model season to win back-to-back races.
Even though Sawalich is out of the 2022 points battle, after missing a race earlier in the season, his goal is to continue upsetting the apple cart by winning each remaining race.
Will he make it a three-peat performance this Saturday at Wake County Speedway?
One driver hoping to keep Sawalich and his Mustang at bay during the GXS Wraps 100 is current CARS Tour Pro Late Model points leader, Luke Fenhaus. Fenhaus, in his #96 Chevy SS has earned 156 points on the season, followed by #35 Caden Kvapil (-6), #13 Austin MacDonald (-24), and #6 William Sawalich (-25).
Of local interest on Saturday night is regular Wake County Speedway Late Model driver, Daniel Vuncannon, (who's currently fifth in points in his home track's Late Model Stock Division). Vuncannon, out of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., will be driving the #2 Pro Late Model car in the GXS Wraps 100 instead of his familiar #50 Chevy. Former NASCAR driver, Randy Renfrow, (who holds the record for most wins at America's Favorite Bullring), is the owner of the #2 PLM car Vuncannon will drive. Now that's a combination that will surely be one to watch!
Another driver with experience at The Bullring, is Carter Langley. The Zebulon, N.C. driver began his LMSC career a year ago at Wake County Speedway. Langley will drive the #24 Pro Late Model for Ashley Crim Racing. He drove to a sixth-place finish at Orange County Speedway in June.
Here's how the entry list for the GXS Wraps 100 looks so far...#1 Kody King, #2 Daniel Vuncannon, #6 William Sawalich, #13 Austin MacDonald, #19c Carter Langley, #24 Brent Crews, #35 Caden Kvapil, #49 Luke Morey, #55 Charlie Keeven, #96 Luke Fenhaus, and #96k Katie Hettinger.
Click here for the full event schedule.
Your Saturday night race ticket will also allow you to witness super-competitive battles between regular Wake County Speedway adversaries who'll be fighting every lap for the lead in their respective divisions.
The green flag will drop first, around 7 pm, on a 35-lap Zaxby's Charger skirmish that features only a 10 point gap between third-place Chad Williams #4w, and first-place Michael Obrien #61. Shotgun Miller #14, currently second in Charger points, is just one point ahead of Williams.
You'll get to see the competitive nature of the sport's young guns in the Country Superstars Bandoleros race as they tussle about the banked quarter-mile oval for 20 laps.
Bandolero points leader, #54 Brody Marinko, will be driving hard to fend-off #88 Phoenyx Kimball (-6), who'll be looking to rebound from a broken throttle linkage she suffered at Wake County Speedway on June 17th.
Next up will be a 25-lap Legends race, featuring points leader #08 Carson Haislip, winner of six Legends races so far this season!
Finally, rounding-out the local action, (following the GXS Wraps 100 CARS Tour Pro Late Model feature), will be a 20-lap fender to fender, bumper to bumper rumble between the drivers of the Regal Driving Academy Bomber Division, a fan favorite.
Keep your eyes on Bomber points leader, #06 Jeremy Mock as he tries to fight off #22g Sammy Pacitti, who's trailing him by just 9 points.
Come celebrate our 60th Anniversary Season on July 9th by buying your tickets in advance here and save $2.00 off the price at the gate Saturday night.
CARS Tour tickets will be on sale on race day at the main gate ticket booth beginning at 5 pm. Adult tickets are $20, Seniors/Military/Students: $15, Children 6-12: $10, and Children 5 and under are FREE for this special event.
Wake County Speedway is located at 2109 Simpkins Rd. just off HWY401S, about ten-minutes south of downtown Raleigh.
Let's go racing Saturday night at the Bullring!
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