From Kyle Luetters
HOLMESVILLE, Ohio. – October 31, 2012 – The Peak Motor Oil World Finals presented by NAPA Auto Parts is an event like no other in the sport of dirt track racing. Part season finale. Part showcase of the dirt track racing world. Three of the biggest classes in the country will converge on the 4/10th’s of a mile Dirt Track at Charlotte in a racing extravaganza that will be captured live on SPEED.
“I’m certainly ready to get to Charlotte,” said Stevie Smith, driver of the #19 entry for CL Motorsports. “We’ve had our challenges all season and we really feel like we let too many victories get away. The World Finals give us two more chances to get a win. Ideally, we’d love to sweep the weekend but that’s going to be very difficult to do since these are the last two nights of the season. We will all qualify for Friday and Saturday night’s shows on Thursday night. I expect there will be a lot of sprint cars there. Once you throw in the fact that the World of Outlaws Late Models and Super DIRTcar Big Block modifieds will also be racing there, you have a huge show.”
Smith hasn’t been behind the wheel of his #19 CL Motorsports/DDNi/CJB Motorsports/Spectro Oils sprinter in over a month. With rain claiming the victory at the UNOH Sprintacular at Eldora Speedway, the New Oxford, Pa native hasn’t turned a lap since the 50th Annual Morgan Hughes National Open at Williams Grove Speedway on Saturday, September 29. Smith knows he and his team are in for a challenge as they tackle the Peak Motor Oil World Finals.
“The high car counts are going to mean that the track will change an awful lot throughout the night,” commented Smith. “Keeping up with that will be key for us. We’re trying some new things to get a jump-start on 2013. I haven’t raced at Charlotte in about five years so it will be a learning curve for me again. Luckily, we have notes from the past couple of years and we’ll use those to get started.”
Despite not having raced at the facility recently, Smith has a baseline and another track draw comparisons from.
“Charlotte is a very fast track,” said Smith, who has never won at the Dirt Track at Charlotte. “The progressive banking really lends itself well to the high speeds. Sometimes that means there isn’t as much passing like what you would see at Lernerville Speedway, even though they are the same size. I would honestly liken the track to Las Vegas Motorspeedway. Vegas is a half mile but they have a similar shape to them. I really like Vegas and turned some pretty fast times there in my career. That being said, there are some big differences between the two and the competition will be fierce.”
Not only is there pressure to do well from a competition stand point, Smith also knows that partners and fans from across the country will be watching the live telecast on SPEED.
“The pressure from the competition side is immense,” explained Smith. “It’s the last race of the season so every team wants to win it to go into the winter with momentum. We are also very lucky to have a great deal of partners and fans that not only will be at the track but will also be watching at home since Saturday night’s race is live on SPEED. We really want to do well so that they have something to cheer about and make them feel good about our team. We’ve been in some high-pressure situations earlier this year like sitting on the pole of the Knoxville Nationals. I think our team really responds well to those types of situations and I’m very optimistic that we will put on a great showing at the World Finals to cap off the year.”
For more information or to purchase tickets for the Peak Motor Oil World Finals presented by NAPA Auto Parts, please visit www.WorldofOutlaws.com or www.CharlotteMotorsSpeedway.com
For more information on CL Motorsports and the Black Bandit, please visit www.TheBlackBandit.com
Stay in touch with the Black Bandit and CL Motorsports
The Black Bandit and CL Motorsports are committed to providing their fans and media partners with the most up to date information. Please visit www.TheBlackBandit.com for more news and content. For media and PR information, please contact Kyle Luetters at kluetters@clmotorsports.net. You can also follow along on these social media sites: