Josh Berry paces practice at Goodyear All American Speedway
Josh Berry paces practice at Goodyear All American Speedway
Mix of young guns and speedway veterans fast in practice
JACKSONVILLE, NC - Josh Berry was fastest during Saturday's practice session
leading into Sunday's Solid Rock Carriers Battle of the Stars at Goodyear
All American Speedway.
Berry, who has a lengthy list of accomplishments in Late Model Stock Car
racing, ran a fast lap of 16.095 late in Saturday afternoon's Atlantic
Turfscapes Practice Day at the 4/10-mile track in Jacksonville, North
Carolina. The top-five in practice was rounded out by Conner Jones, Chad
McCumbee, B.J. Mackey, and Carter Langley.
"I feel pretty good," Berry said. "The car's driving pretty good and I feel
like our pace, after eight or 10 laps, is pretty good. We did a mock run
and were pretty fast. I think we're pretty close. Who knows how it's going
to race. You know, tire wear's going to be a factor. I don't have a lot of
experience on these [McCreary Speed] tires. Tomorrow's going to be
different weather. We'll just put our heads together and see how we do
tomorrow."
Berry said B.J. Mackey, Chad McCumbee, Justin Johnson, and Conner Jones also
looked quick and would be contenders for the win in Sunday's 150-lap event.
So far, the veteran driver who has scored two wins in the national ranks of
NASCAR, has enjoyed the challenge Goodyear All American Speedway has
presented.
"This track is definitely unique," Berry stated. "It reminds me of some
different characteristics of a few different places I've been. It's been a
lot of fun. Just enjoying my time with these guys and working on the
racecar to get it a little better. We unloaded pretty good. Just trying to
tweak on it. I'm excited to be here."
Amber Slagle clocked more laps than any other driver on Saturday, running 73
timed laps during Saturday's practice sessions - recording a best time of
16.541.
"I think we learned a lot today, made a lot of laps," Slagle said. "We
didn't fire off as good as I think we had hoped but we made really good
changes today. I can't thank my guys enough for all the hard work and
sticking with me. I put them through a lot today. I'm excited to see what
tomorrow brings. We put a lot of laps on one set of tires to see where we
would at the end of 150 laps. I think we'll have really good race pace,
just have to get after it in qualifying now and hope we can start out
front."
Like most of the drivers who had never competed at the track, Slagle said
the track was unlike any other she's been at.
"This track is very different," Slagle remarked. "I have never been
anywhere like here. It's very racy and I think we can race all over it
tomorrow. It's going to be a fun and exciting race."
There will be a final practice session on Sunday morning, followed by
qualifying at 1:15pm. The green flag will fly at 3pm with the Prelim races
kicking off the program, followed by the 150 lap Solid Rock Carriers Battle
of the Stars. Tickets are available at the gate on race day for $20 for
adults and young adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12 and kids five (5) and under
free. The race will be broadcast on Racing America powered by Speed51.TV
for those unable to attend.
Goodyear All American Speedway is Jacksonville's Action Attraction featuring
racing and other events. For more information about Goodyear All American
Speedway, <https://goodyearallamericanspeedway.com/> check out the
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SOLID ROCK CARRIERS BATTLE OF THE STARS
PRACTICE DAY PRESENTED BY ATLANTIC TURFSCAPES
1. 88 Josh Berry 16.095
2. 44 Conner Jones 16.198
3. 16 Chad McCumbee 16.217
4. 71 BJ Mackey 16.246
5. 5 Carter Langley 16.318
6. 15 Ryan Millington 16.318
7. 14 Justin Johnson 16.324
8. 1 Tate Fogleman 16.346
9. 7 Zach Lightfoot 16.362
10. 44 TJ Barron 16.401
11. 14 Jason York 16.429
12. 77 Trevor Ward 16.442
13. 1 Tony Grady 16.446
14. 77 Tyler Matthews 16.458
15. 19 Chris Burns 16.464
16. 01 Camden Gullie 16.539
17. 42 Amber Slagle 16.541
18. 29 Paul Williamson 16.560
19. 51 Chris Chapman 16.574
20. 41 Conner Hall 16.621
21. 25 Kenneth Mercer 16.658
22. 9 Thomas Burbage 16.743
23. 27 Matt Gould 16.774
24. 41 Christian Rose 17.058
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Josh-berry.jpg - Josh Berry drives off into turn one as the sun sets over
Goodyear All American Speedway. (Andy Marquis/Honey Badger Photography)
Amber-slagle.jpg - Amber Slagle gives a 'thumbs up' after a practice run at
Goodyear All American Speedway. (Andy Marquis/Honey Badger Photography)
Andy Marquis
Media and Marketing Manager, Goodyear All American Speedway
4744 Richlands Hwy, Jacksonville, NC 28540
Office: 910.708.0202 ext. 6395 | Cell: 910.467.6395