LUCAMA, NC – Saturday night’s races will feature a blast from the past when the Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club invades the 4/10-mile Southern National Motorsports Park oval.
The Southern Ground Pounders visit several tracks throughout the season with two classes of cars, Vintage Modified and Vintage Sportsman. Racing together, in a style similar to sports car racing, the Southern Ground Pounders always put on an entertaining show for the fans at Southern National.
“I’m very excited to go back to Southern National Motorsports Park,” Southern Ground Pounders Vintage Racing Club president Mack Tatum said. “Good relationship with those guys. I’ve worked well with both Langley Austin and Michael Diaz so we’re very excited to go back. Most of my guys love the racetrack. We’re really happy to be there. It’s fast. It’s forgiving on our cars. We should have a good field of cars there. We should have about 15 cars.”
It’s not just the cars themselves but the actual racing. The drivers in the Southern Ground Pounders don’t just cruise around the track. They race to win and they race to entertain the fans.
“We’re not boring,” Tatum explained. “We’re racing. The fastest car is going to win. And we’re going to run hard. We’ve got cars that have just as much horsepower as most stuff at the racetrack. We strive to race hard and clean. Every now and then, things happen and we scuff something but we strive not to scuff anything and our guys are very respectful. If you have a car, you’re racing and you’re not having fun at the racetrack, you need to do something else.
“Tearing a racecar up is not fun and we’re not about that. We want to put on a good show for the fans because this is an entertainment thing. We’re part of the entertainment venue for the promoter. The real show is the Late Models and premier division. We’re here to entertain the fans and show them what racing was like in the 60s and 70s and to relive some of their memories.”
While the Late Model division is the main draw at Southern National Motorsports Park, the Southern Ground Pounders hope they can be the main attraction and be the race the fans talk about at the end of the night.
“We want to be the best race at the track,” Tatum remarked. “We love showing up with 10 or 15 cars and having more cars than the feature division at some place. That’s not a slam against any racetrack. It happens sometimes. We don’t get paid a penny to race. We’re here for pit passes and we race and have fun and I guarantee if you like racing and having a vintage racecar, you would enjoy being a part of this group.”
The Southern Ground Pounders will join the Late Model, Charger, Legends, U-CAR, Bandolero and Champ Kart divisions in Saturday night’s Mother’s Day Special at Southern National Motorsports Park. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, students (with student ID) and active military, $5 for kids ages 6-12 and kids five and under free.
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.
