{"id":24647,"date":"2019-02-18T15:27:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T20:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=24647"},"modified":"2019-02-18T15:42:12","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T20:42:12","slug":"southern-new-england-late-model-stars-ready-to-take-on-richmond%ef%bb%bf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2019\/02\/southern-new-england-late-model-stars-ready-to-take-on-richmond%ef%bb%bf\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern New England Late Model Stars Ready to Take on Richmond\ufeff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Waterbury, VT<\/em> \u2013 They first-ever American-Canadian Tour (ACT) event at Virginia\u2019s Richmond Raceway is inching closer on the calendar, but it has already produced at least one pleasant surprise. Southern New England will send one of the largest brigades of racers to the Commonwealth Classic 65 on Saturday, March 30. The region\u2019s Late Model competitors are coming out in force to go racing at the historic track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least seven ACT Late Model drivers from either Massachusetts or Rhode Island will get an early start on their 2019 season. This includes a mix of veteran touring drivers, rising Late Model stars, and veteran weekly racers eager to showcase their talents under the southern spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big opportunity to go to one of the bigger race tracks that NASCAR goes to,\u201c East Bridgewater, MA\u2019s Ryan Kuhn said. \u201cThere\u2019ll be a lot of fans in the stands and it\u2019ll be a great race. We\u2019re going to get big car counts \u2013 that\u2019s always great \u2013 and I get to race with the best of the best in the business. It\u2019s really an honor to race at Richmond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt means a lot to have so many racers from this area going,\u201d he added. \u201cA lot of these guys haven\u2019t really expanded around and traveled a whole lot to race. So it means it a lot to them, because now they can travel to Richmond. It\u2019s great to get the name out for the Southern New England guys so others see what people can do there. It\u2019s going to be a different playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuhn, who turns 18 a few weeks before the event, definitely falls into the \u201cRising Star\u201d category. He comes off a season where he won the Late Model track championship at Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts. Kuhn also posted top-12 finishes in all three of his starts on the ACT Late Model Tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellow Massachusetts racer Jake Johnson of Rehoboth is another young star heading down south. Johnson finished second in 2018 Pro Stock points at Seekonk as a 15-year-old and was the track\u2019s Late Model Rookie of the Year the season before that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great thing for the series,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI think (the ACT Late Model) is one of the best cars to race. It puts on a great show and it equalizes the field a lot. I\u2019m glad they\u2019re going to be on display down south so people who normally wouldn\u2019t get to see that kind of racing will get to. I\u2019ve put in a little time on iRacing checking out the track there, but I think we\u2019re going to go down there just about equal to everybody else, because everyone from New England really hasn\u2019t had any practice there. We\u2019re going to go give it all we\u2019ve got. I think we should have a good car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two of the top Late Model racers at Connecticut\u2019s Thompson Speedway will also be in Virginia. New Salem, MA\u2019s Tommy Carey III finished a close second in 2018 Late Model points while Warwick, RI\u2019s Mark Jenison was third in the standings at the 5\/8-mile oval. Their experience at the larger track could be a factor as teams get up to speed on the \u00be-mile D-shaped speedway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern New England fans will have several other familiar faces to cheer for.  New Bedford, MA\u2019s Joshua Hedges was Seekonk Speedway\u2019s 2018 Sport Truck Champion and is looking to make an early splash in Late Model competition. Seekonk, MA\u2019s T.J. Moreshead has impressed at both his hometown track and at Thompson while making select appearances with ACT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And of course, no ACT event would be complete without the presence of James \u201cScruffy\u201d Lindardy. The Somerville, MA veteran has filed his entry and is ready to tackle the Richmond high banks for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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