Story by: Langley Austin ~ langley@RACE22.com
 
Asheville, NC(December 22, 2009) -- Coleman Pressley was one of the many drivers who had been dubbed by many race fans and racing insiders as a "one track wonder", of course he had won at two tracks, Hickory and Greenville, but many thought he could only run good on those tracks.
 
While Pressley didn't do much to hush the critics early on in the season, but by the end of the year many were no longer claiming he was a "one track wonder".  Pressley's season started off with one of the most spectacular crashes of the season on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN.  Pressley had qualified fifth on the 1/2 mile super speedway of short tracks for Late Model Stock Cars, but as the races laps began to click off Scott Turlington had an engine failure directly in front of him.
 
Pressley might have missed the wreck but was clipped by Andy Loden as he slowed to avoid the crashing cars of Turlington and Rob Fuller and made for what will certainly be among the Best Crashes in the RACE22.com "Best 9 of '09", which will be released soon.  Pressley ended the day with a 30th place finish and his car trashed and hoping to rebound when the series hit Rockingham Speedway, the biggest venue in which the series competes on.
 
As the UARA-STARS Series hit the confines of the one-mile Rockingham, NC track it appeared that the son of a former NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series driver was still reeling from his Bristol crash.  Pressley qualified a poor 21st, but as the race got started Pressley found himself picking his way to the front of the field one position at a time and by the end of the 70-lap race marred with cautions and caution laps, he would finish seventh.  Next it was time to visit the 1/2 mile d-shaped oval in Concord, NC, the Concord Speedway and while he again qualified less than stellar in 17th, but came home with a second straight top ten in tenth.
 
Now off to the Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, NC where many drivers who have been sucessful at both Greenville Pickens Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway seem to be sucessful at.  Pressley found out quickly that he was going to run strong on the 4/10 mile track as he qualified ninth and then drove it home to a fifth place finish, his first top five of the year and the young driver was hoping that would be a sign of things to come.  Next up at Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, SC he would qualify sixth and finished eighth, but kept his streak of top ten finishes going at four.
 
Rougemont, NC's Orange County Speedway was up next and after qualifying eighth, Pressley proved to be up to the task as he raced inside the top five and eventually came home with a solid second place finish.  It would be his best finish of the season to date and the young driver had now built up some real momentum and what had started out as a trial to see if they would run the full season had turned into an opportunity to race for the series championship.  With the top ten streak at five in the six races to date, Pressley entered a race at his home track at Hickory poised to be a contender for the win.
 
Pressley however seemed to be out to lunch as he qualified 16th and finished 13th, no where near the effort that he was hoping for and once the race had concluded he and his team were searching for an explanation.  He then found like many other series competitors did that he had a bad tire, which was a serious problem for the first half of the season for the series as they were on a new Goodyear tire.  Next up was Lonesome Pine Raceway in Coeburn, VA and while he didn't set the world on fire he would qualify 11th and finish tenth.  Unfortunately for Pressley the Lonesome Pine race was run under the most adverse of conditions as the series was forced to run the race in the rain due to storms expected to be in the area for a couple of days and not wanting to force the drivers to make the long trip back up there.
 
Now it was time to head back to Tri-County and while Pressley was strong in his first appearance, he wasn't as good this time around qualifying 17th, but rallying late in the race to finish seventh as he started a new top ten streak at two in a row.  Now it was time for the series to head to one of the toughest tracks the series competes on, Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, NC and for Pressley it would prove to be a challenge as he would qualify a strong fifth, but faded to finish 12th in a grueling 150-lap race.  This ended his top ten streak at two this time, but next up was the Myrtle Beach Speedway in Myrtle Beach, SC and Pressley loves the big, fast, gritty track.
 
Pressley proved to the world that he could race anywhere in these Late Model Stock Cars as the series hit the tough Myrtle Beach track, where you have to save your tires and he did despite leading several laps and nearly pulling off the win late as Alex Yontz beat him to the finish.  Another second place finish had him feeling good as the series headed to Newport Speedway in Newport, TN, but the third generation driver struggled qualifying 15th and finishing 11th and as the series headed back to Dillon next he would qualify strong in fourth, but finished again outside the top ten in 20th after blowing his engine, his worst finish since the season opener at Bristol.
 
The UARA-STARS were then off for a few weeks before heading back to Pressley's home track, Hickory and in the downtime, Pressley hit the season ending NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race on the 3/8 mile track dominating the Fall Brawl, one of the most prestigous races on the historic track.  That win came shortly after Pressley's 21st birthday as the young driver had went winless the entire time he was 20 years old and he hoped that he could carry the momentum from this win to get his first UARA win.
 
Pressley's momentum swing was huge as the young driver blasted into the UARA race the following week and qualified on the pole, dominating the race and taking home his second win in seven days.  Pressley was proud of his win, but he knew in order to put an end to his "one track wonder" title, he was still going to have to win a race on another track.  Pressley's next race came on the concrete 3/8 mile track of Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, TN, which his grandfather, Bob had won a track championship many years before.  Pressley qualified tenth and came home with a ninth place finish, but that wasn't the end of the story as he had got involved in an accident that had forced him to pit, but Pressley continued to run strong.
 
Next up was a trip back to Concord for the UARA-STARS Series season finale and while Pressley wasn't very strong in the first trip qualifying 17th and finishing tenth, he had still qualified seventh this time around and if he only gained as many positions as he did the first time, he would come home with the win.  Pressley did just that as many of the front running drivers encountered troubles with tires and the handling went away for others.  While Pressley wasn't the best car at the end of the race, he was in luck as
 

his friend and roommate, Brennan Poole was behind and wasn't willing to wreck him and Pressley officially ended his "one track wonder" status.
 
Pressley certainly grew as driver after joining the UARA-STARS tour, he never gave up despite hitting rough patches during the season and come home with not only two wins and one pole, but also a fourth place finish in the points.  Among a group of very talented racers, he was the highest finishing driver in points without having run the tour full time in any previous seasons and he solidified himself in the world of Late Model Stock Car racing as one of the best in the business.
 
Pressley's 2009 Season at a Glance:
 
Date                     Track Name                            Start/Finish
3/21/09      Bristol Motor Speedway                   5th/30th
4/18/09      Rockingham Speedway                    21st/7th
4/25/09      Concord Speedway                           17th/10th
5/22/09      Tri-County Motor Speedway            9th/5th
5/30/09      Dillon Motor Speedway                    6th/8th
6/6/09        Orange County Speedway               8th/2nd
6/27/09      Hickory Motor Speedway                 16th/13th
7/4/09        Lonesome Pine Raceway                 11th/10th
7/17/09      Tri-County Motor Speedway           17th/7th
8/7/09       Ace Speedway                                    5th/12th
8/15/09     Myrtle Beach Speedway                   4th/2nd
8/29/09     Newport Speedway                           15th/11th
9/19/09     Dillon Motor Speedway                    4th/20th
10/18/09   Hickory Motor Speedway                 1st/1st
11/7/04    Kingsport Speedway                         10th/9th
11/14/09  Concord Speedway                           7th/1st
 
Average Start - 7th                    Average Finish - 9th
 
Pressley's Quick Stats 2009:
 
~Laps Completed: 2111 of 2294 laps
~Laps Lead: 250 laps(6 times)
~Money Won: $14,200
~Weeks Leading Points: None
~Bonus Points: 89(2nd best)