LUCAMA, NC – Three different drivers have won in the last three Limited Late Model races held at Southern National Motorsports Park. Now the stage could be set for a fourth on March 31st.
Rusty Daniels, Jamie York and Mini Tyrrell have won in the last three Limited Late Model races at Southern National. Daniels’ win came in October during the Spooktacular, while York and Tyrrell each scored victories in the Thanksgiving Classic.
Now, another competitive field is set to take to the high banks.
Daryn Cockram will be making the trip from Blacksburg, Virginia to compete in his black and yellow Limited Late Model. Cockram raced predominantly at Motor Mile Speedway but has made the decision to race at Southern National this season when Motor Mile canceled their oval track racing program.
“The Limited Late Models at Southern National are very competitive,” Cockram said. “You’ve got people like Bradley McCaskill and Deac McCaskill’s daughter is racing now, Tony and Andrew Grady as well. It’s the luck of the draw. That track changes daily. We were fast last year in practice, came back two weeks later with the same car and everything, and we were a seventh-place car. That track is one of its own and everybody is so close. If you’re not dead on, you’re going to lose four or five positions easily.”
Cockram has had strong runs at Southern National, even if the results have not done his performances justice. After racing in a handful of races in 2014, Cockram had been wanting to race full-time one season at Southern National. With his home track no longer hosting races, Cockram committed to a full season at the 4/10-mile track in Lucama, North Carolina.
“We’re going to run the full season at Southern National and South Boston,” Cockram explained. “Motor Mile affected a bunch of people when they closed. I always loved that track and have always been competitive. I always wanted to come down to Southern National and run a full season. When Motor Mile closed its doors, the first thing I said was I was fixing our car and heading down there.”
Kenansville, North Carolina’s Paul Williamson knows first-hand how competitive the Limited Late Model division is at Southern National Motorsports Park and he expects it to remain competitive in 2018.
“I think the Limited Late Model division will be stout,” Williamson said. “I expect there to be a lot of competitive racing in this division all season out at Southern National.”
Williamson has run regularly at Southern National for the past several seasons and knocked on the door of his first Late Model win. He scored seven top-five finishes in the regular season in the Late Model class last year and could be poised for a breakthrough Limited Late Model victory this season.
“I’m looking forward to racing this weekend at Southern National,” Williamson remarked. “We’re hoping to bring what we learned last year into this year and continue to get better. I feel we have a strong car and strong team.”
Cockram and Williamson will both join what is expected to be a very competitive field of Limited Late Models, which includes Rusty Daniels, Ashlyn McCaskill, Brandon Whitley and a host of others.
The Limited Late Model season will get underway on Saturday afternoon with the Easter Bunny 100. In addition to the 100-lap Limited Late Model race, Saturday’s program will feature the USAC Eastern Midgets, Mini-Stocks, Legends, Bandoleros and Any Cars. The green flag will fly at 2pm.
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.
