Keepin’ it Short – Short Tracks Taking to the Big Track

Not quite one year ago, NASCAR announced a new addition to Speedweeks at Daytona for 2013. The UNOH Battle at the Beach would provide action on the historically dark days of Monday and Tuesday of Speedweeks. The best Modified, Late Model and K&N drivers would be joined by anyone who wanted to take a chance at qualifying into the race to compete on a temporary 0.4-a mile oval in front of the superstretch grandstands at the World Center of Speed. The top 10 drivers in the Whelen All-American Series, the winners and top point scorers in the K&N East and West series and the top point drivers in the Whelen Modified and Southern Modified tours were all locked into the races. Now the races are just three days away as the best local short track drivers in the country will be taking to the track for the first ever UNOH Battle at the Beach.

The opening event of the two-day show will be the Late Model race. There will be four qualifying races, a last chance race and then the feature event. As of this writing there are 32 drivers entered for the event, although six of them have not officially announced what car they’ll be driving. The list includes Lee Pulliam, CE Falk, Nate Monteith, and Deac McCaskill, the top 10 point finishers from 2012 who competed in Late Models during the regular season. Also taking to the track in the first event of the Battle will be Myatt Snider, son of TNT broadcaster Marty Snider. Drive for Diversity drivers Trey Gibson and McKenna Bell. Coleman Pressley, son of former Nationwide Champion Robert Pressley Anthony Anders, the South Carolina State Champion will also have his helmet in the ring on Monday. The Battle for supremacy on Monday night will most certainly be a contentious one.

On Tuesday night there will be two feature races. The Modifieds will run at 7:15 while the K&N feature is set to run at 8:30. Both events will be set by two qualifying races and a last chance race. The Modifieds will see the Burt and Jason Myers, Ron Silk, Doug Coby and Ted Christopher among the many well known drivers who will race for the Modified victory. Conspicuous by their absence are George Brunnhoelzl, Keith Rocco and Tim Brown. The 2012 Southern Modified Champion, the Whelen All-American Runner-up and the track champion from Bowman-Gray Stadium are all missing from the entry list. There are certainly many reasons why drivers aren’t making the trip to Daytona, economics chief among them, but it is a shame that drivers who were locked into the features are not making the drive to Daytona.

The final race is the K&N feature. The biggest names from 2012’s K&N season will be battling for the trophy on the back straight at Daytona. Dylan Kwasniewski, Corey LaJoie, Greg Pursley, Ander Vilarino EURO Racecar NASCAR Champion and Canadian Champion D.J. Kennington will be some of the big names engaged in the Battle for K&N supremacy. Some of this year’s rookie contenders in the K&N series will also attempt to make the show. John Hunter Nemechek, Tyler Reddick and Gray Gaulding are all on the list as Rookie contenders for the Battle K&N race.

The one name that will be seen in all three of the races is the fastest rising star in NASCAR, Kyle Larson. He signed a deal to run a Late Model for Mike Curb, along with a K&N car for Rev Racing and a Modified that is owned by Gary Putnam from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson is the only driver who could possibly win the triple crown next week, and with the success he had in 2012, he very well could pull it off. This will be Larson’s first foray into Modified racing although, with the talent he has shown in every other vehicle he has driven, he’ll be a force to reckon with in a modified as well.

The racers in the Battle at the Beach will all be competing for trophies that look just like the trophy that used to be awarded when NASCAR held the Daytona race on the beach course. The Cup was intentionally designed that way under the direction of Joie Chitwood as an homage to the formative years of NASCAR. This inaugural Battle at the Beach will hopefully be the formative year of a great event, shown on worldwide television on SPEED, giving local racers a huge opportunity to showcase their talents to the world. If you’re in Florida on Monday or Tuesday, travel over to the World Center of Racing and watch the future stars of NASCAR battle at the beach like they did in the old days.

*This Weekend’s Racing Schedule*

Friday 02/15/13 East Bay Raceway Park Tampa FL Winternationals Lucas Oil Dirt Late Models
Friday 02/15/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Florida/IMCA Modifieds
Friday 02/15/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Models
Friday 02/15/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Models
Friday 02/15/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modifieds
Friday 02/15/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Modifieds
Friday 02/15/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals World of Outlaw Sprint Cars
Saturday 02/16/13 Bubba Raceway Park Ocala FL Winternationals World of Outlaws Dirt Late Models
Saturday 02/16/13 East Bay Raceway Park Tampa FL Winternationals Lucas Oil Dirt Late Models
Saturday 02/16/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Florida/IMCA Modifieds
Saturday 02/16/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Models
Saturday 02/16/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Models
Saturday 02/16/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modifieds
Saturday 02/16/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Modifieds Gator Qualifying 1
Saturday 02/16/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals World of Outlaw Sprint Cars
Sunday 02/17/13 Bubba Raceway Park Ocala FL Winternationals World of Outlaws Dirt Late Models
Sunday 02/17/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Florida/IMCA Modifieds
Sunday 02/17/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Models
Sunday 02/17/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Models
Sunday 02/17/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Modifieds Gator Qualifying 2
Sunday 02/17/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals World of Outlaw Sprint Cars
Monday 02/18/13 Daytona International Speedway (temporary track) Daytona Beach FL Whelen All-American Late Models
Monday 02/18/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Florida/IMCA Modifieds
Monday 02/18/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Models
Monday 02/18/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Models
Monday 02/18/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Late Models
Monday 02/18/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Modifieds Gator Championship
Tuesday 02/19/13 Daytona International Speedway (temporary track) Daytona Beach FL K&N Pro Series East
Tuesday 02/19/13 Daytona International Speedway (temporary track) Daytona Beach FL K&N Pro Series West
Tuesday 02/19/13 Daytona International Speedway (temporary track) Daytona Beach FL Whelen Modifieds
Tuesday 02/19/13 Daytona International Speedway (temporary track) Daytona Beach FL Whelen Southern Modifieds
Tuesday 02/19/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Late Models
Tuesday 02/19/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Modifieds Triple 20s
Wednesday 02/20/13 Bubba Raceway Park Ocala FL Winternationals USAC Amsoil National Sprint Cars
Wednesday 02/20/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL 5th Annual John Blewett III Memorial Tour-type Modifieds
Wednesday 02/20/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Florida/IMCA Modifieds
Wednesday 02/20/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Models
Wednesday 02/20/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Models
Wednesday 02/20/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals SDS Big Block Modifieds
Wednesday 02/20/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals UMP Late Models Swamp King Championshp
Thursday 02/21/13 Bubba Raceway Park Ocala FL Winternationals USAC Amsoil National Sprint Cars
Thursday 02/21/13 East Bay Raceway Park Tampa FL Winternationals 360 Sprints
Thursday 02/21/13 East Bay Raceway Park Tampa FL Winternationals Mini Sprints
Thursday 02/21/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Late Models
Thursday 02/21/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Pro Trucks
Thursday 02/21/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Super Late Models
Thursday 02/21/13 New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Beach FL World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modifieds
Thursday 02/21/13 Royal Purple Raceway Baytown TX USMTS Modifieds
Thursday 02/21/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals SDS Big Block Modifieds
Thursday 02/21/13 Volusia Raceway Park Barberville FL UNOH Winternationals World of Outlaw Late Models