LUCAMA, NC – Matt Sever has been making the trip to Southern National Motorsports Park from Pennsylvania, and so far, he is enjoying the challenge in his Pro Late Model as he prepares to compete in the Spooktacular on Sunday, October 22nd.
Sever, 26, from West Newton, Pennsylvania is a former champion at Jennerstown Speedway. He has been accustomed to racing at the predominately flat tracks in Pennsylvania. In August, Sever decided to try his hand at Southern National after talking with longtime competitor Colt James.
“It wasn’t just the bounty,” Sever said. “I’ve run with Colt James before. He’s been up here for a few shows so I knew him before he went down. I’ve known him for a while and he wanted us to come down and give it a shot so we did.”
Sever made his debut at Southern National on August 19th, scoring a fifth-place finish in the second of two Pro Late Model races that night. Now, Sever is hoping to build on that, improve and potentially contend for the win in the Spooktacular.
“We learned a lot about how the track transitions throughout the night,” Sever remarked. “The second night is to improve how we started and get more consistent as the night wears on.”
Southern National has posed a new challenge for Sever in terms of track configuration. The 17 degrees of banking in the corners at Southern National are a significant contrast from the 9 degrees of banking in the turns at Jennerstown Speedway in Pensnylvania where Sever has won a championship.
Sever has welcomed that aspect.
“It’s the first time I’ve been on higher banks and they’ve been pretty enjoyable so far,” Sever commented. “That’s part of why I love racing at Southern National. The other big thing, getting down and trying the place, the way Michael [Diaz] and Juston [Ellis] have handled management, they’re good to work with.”
The other primary adjustment for Sever has been traveling. Sever has won multiple championships in different divisions across two different tracks, but both tracks were in his home state of Pennsylvania. Now, Sever is traveling out of town to compete at races in different states.
“We’re glad to be coming down,” Sever stated. “It’s kind of a different world when you’re used to running weekly at the same racetrack. To get out, experience new things and new people, it’s been a great experience so far.”
Matt Sever’s accomplishments include winning the Super Compact division at Motordrome Speedway in 2009, the Street Stock championship at Motordrome Speedway in 2012 and the Late Model championship at Jennerstown Speedway in 2015. Now, he’s hoping he can become a race winner at Southern National Motorsports Park.
The Fast Five Pro Late Models, which will be competing in twin races, are one of the headline acts of the Spooktacular on Sunday, October 22nd. Limited Late Models, Mini Stocks, Legends, Bandoleros, Any Cars and Mini Cups will also be in action.
For more information about the Spooktacular, visit the event page at http://www.snmpark.com/spooktacular.
For more information about Southern National Motorsports Park, check out SNMP’s website at www.snmpark.com, “like” Southern National Motorsports Park on Facebook or “follow” @SNM_Park on Twitter.
