LUCAMA, NC – Will Bristle is hoping to score a victory in one of Saturday night’s Fast Five Pro Late Model Series twin races at Southern National Motorsports Park – a track the 17-year-old has had plenty of success at.
Bristle, who hails from Angier, North Carolina, is a former champion in the INEX Legend Cars division at Southern National Motorsports Park and has won numerous races. Saturday’s Pro Late Model doubleheader will be his second and third start in a Pro Late Model, but he is already feeling confident after scoring a podium finish on April 22nd.
“We finished third in our first race out here so that was a great start,” Bristle said. “Obviously, we’re going to try to better that two positions and get ourselves in victory lane this weekend.”
Bristle has adjusted fairly quickly to the bigger, heavier Pro Late Model. While the car has more power, Bristle feels they are less cantankerous to drive than the smaller Legend Cars he has excelled in.
“Pro Lates, you have a lot more tire, a lot more power, a lot more car to deal with,” Bristle remarked. “Overall, it’s just faster, you have a lot more grip. They’re 10 times easier to drive, you just have to adjust to the speed.”
While he has adjusted quickly, Bristle credits much of that to Randy Renfrow. Renfrow, who is from Wilson, is a former champion at Southern National Motorsports Park and a veteran crew chief in Super Late Model racing. Along with his Southern National accolades, Renfrow has also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he has a top-five and six top-10 finishes and in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
“Luckily, I have had great teachers,” Bristle explained. “I have Randy Renfrow on my side, he’s taught me a lot so far. He’s very prestigious. He’s been around it a long time so I have a great teacher to help me and train me. I can’t thank him enough for that. It’s honestly, Legend Cars, you have to be up on the wheel more. Late Models are kind of laid back. You can hang out and not quite as hard to drive but still a blast.”
Standing in everyone’s way right now in the Pro Late Model division is Colt James. James is the reigning Pro Late Model champion and has won the last six consecutive races in the Fast Five Pro Late Model Series – a winning streak that dates back to last summer.
“Colt James, he’s phenomenal,” Bristle commented. “He’s got great equipment, great people. I can’t thank everyone who’s helping me enough and I think we have a great piece to try and win on Saturday.”
Right now, Bristle’s primary focus is on winning races in the Fast Five Pro Late Model Series, but he has not quit racing in Legend Cars. He’s also looking ahead to the future, with hopes of racing in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model Tour. If Bristle wins on Saturday night, he would be locked in to the PASS MegaMeltdown 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway in November. The MegaMeltdown race, which will be nationally televised on the MAVTV Motorsports Network, pays up to $20,000 to win.
“Obviously, if we can win this weekend, we’ll head to Hickory,” Bristle stated. “We want to lay back from the Legends. I don’t want to completely get out of them, I want to race them a little bit. But, I definitely want to move up and so a little Super Late Model racing.”
Outside of the Fast Five Pro Late Model Series, Bristle plans to run some PASS and CARS Tour races later this year.
The Fast Five Pro Late Model Series is the headline event in the K&N SummerFest 300 at Southern National Motorsports Park on Saturday night. Late Model Stock Cars, Chargers, Legend Cars, Mini Stocks, Bandoleros and Any Cars will also be in action. Saturday night’s race (July 9th) will go green at 7pm.
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.
