Story by: Langley Austin ~ langley@RACE22.com

Kingsport, TN(November 5, 2009) -- The UARA-STARS Series has been full of drama since we started covering it in 2007, after all when you have between 20 and 30 of the best Late Model Stock Car drivers anywhere competing on tracks of all shapes and sizes, what more could you expect?

This weekend you can expect the unexpected as the eight year old series rolls into a track that it hasn't competed on since 2002, the year the series was created. Take that and combine it with the fact that the track itself hasn't been run on competitively since the same year and this will be the first race on a concrete surface that has beaten by the weather for seven years. This one is going to be interesting ... don't you think?

I'm certainly fired up about this race ... I've only been to this track on two occasions to see racing action and that was the final two races that 2002 season. It's time for that track to roar back to life and I'm glad RACE22.com will be a part of it. Here's our preview of what you might see this weekend ...

LOCALS, LOCALS, LOCALS
This race may well see the largest number of non-UARA regulars compete against the best drivers in the Late Model Stock Car racing world. Lonesome Pine Raceway regulars will fill up much of the non-regulars led by 2008 & 2009 track champion, Nate Monteith as well as 2007 track champion, Wayne Hale. Brian Blevins, Jeff Woodward and Royce Peters are expected to join the two LPR champions as will part time LPR drivers Mike Potter and Keith Stiltner.

Of those guys Stiltner is the only one with a UARA-STARS Series win to his credit on Kingsport Speedway, but these other guys and Stiltner will look to change that come this weekend. Then you throw in Motor Mile Speedway regular and former UARA-STARS regular, Zeke Shell and former crew chief for UARA-STARS rookie Dylan Presnell, Wade Day. While Shell has never competed on the concrete at Kingsport, Day is a seasoned veteran on the track winning many races and the NASCAR Blue Ridge Region championship one season.

According to fellow driver, Nate Monteith, Wade Day has to be the favorite going into this weekend's race because of his experience on the track.

"Wade(Day) has won more races there in that track's active days than anyone I know of," said Monteith. "He knows this track better than anyone and I think he'll be the one to beat from the start of the weekend."

TRACK CONDITION
"Rougher than ever," said Monteith during a Thursday morning phone conversation. However the young driver who has plenty of laps on the 3/8 mile track said it might not just be the track itself.

"The concrete has sat there and settled and maybe it needs to be ground like they did to Bristol before they redid the track, but we also weren't running these aggressive shock setups back then either. I would say it's a combination of both, but these shock packages we run now can make a smooth track seem a little rough."

With cars having tested there for the last couple of weeks including today and with an open test session scheduled for tomorrow, Friday November 6th the track will certainly be getting plenty of rubber in the track surface before Saturday's race.

3G
No, I'm not talking about your cell phone coverage, I'm talking about third generation racer, Coleman Pressley who will make laps for the time on a track that his grandfather, Bob ran on in years gone by. While Pressley's father, Robert never got the chance to put his stamp on the east Tennessee track, his son will have an opportunity to try and repeat some of the magic his father made becoming the 1977 track champion.

Coleman has had a pretty good season, his first on the UARA-STARS Series, while he hasn't set anything on fire, he did pick up his first series win at Hickory Motor Speedway in the series last race. Pressley hopes to find his groove on the old track and help Pressley fans of his grandfather in the area relive some old memories.

THIS AIN'T NO DIRT TRACK
Jeff Maupin is known for his dirt racing at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN, a track owned by the same guy who owns Kingsport Speedway, Joe Loven. Maupin however was a very successful Open Wheel Modified driver in Kingsport's late days winning many races according to LMSC driver, Nate Monteith.

"He was like the Wade Day of the Open Wheel Modifieds, he was pretty much winning everything at one time over there, so he knows his way around track for sure," said Monteith.

Maupin is driving a Dan Estes owned car, which has been driven in the past by Dirt Super Late Model driver, Vic "The Thrill" Hill. While the car isn't one of the newest LMSC chassis' Maupin can only hope he can make up for whatever the car lacks with his driving talent and experience on the track.

KEN-TEN ROOKIE TO MAKE DEBUT
Josh Brock had a great rookie season on the new Ken-Ten(Kentucky-Tennessee) Pro Late Model Series, which feature Super Late Model or straight-rail type chassis', but he's about to embark on a whole new endeavor at Kingsport this weekend. While running the Ken-Ten Series this year Brock was able to pick up one victory in the series and three others non-sanctioned races and wrapped up the Rookie of the year title, but none of that will help him as he makes his first start in a Late Model Stock Car chassis this weekend.

However the young driver will have someone in his corner that may be able to point in the right direction as Late Model Stock Car racing legend and current chassis builder, Greg Marlowe is his car owner for this one-off start. Marlowe recently started a rental program at Martinsville Speedway in the Bailey's 300 and with two cars there that weekend, he was able to get them both in the top ten at the end of a grueling race. Brock is hoping to build on Marlowe's success at Martinsville as well as his own success this season.

"This deal came together because of Roy(Dies) from ARP Bodies hooked us up with Greg Marlowe and we know that to get our name out there in racing we're going to have to head toward the Carolina's," said Brock. "The UARA seems to be the next step for us and we're going to use this race at Kingsport to get our feet wet and see how we run."

Brock is expecting to be one of the fastest cars when the series holds an open practice on Friday and he's certainly got the equipment to do it, but he's going to be going up against guys with much more experience in this type of car, so it's certainly going to be interesting to see how he fairs against the likes of Jamey Caudill, Wade Day, Matt McCall and others. If 17-year old, Brock can hold his own this weekend we could be looking at the birth of another UARA-STARS Series Rookie of the Year contender for the 2010 season.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Almost never do the UARA-STARS Series regulars come into a track at a disadvantage and while any advantage the locals may have this weekend at Kingsport Speedway is slight, this track poses a different set of challenges for the UARA regulars. The locals on the other hand as stated above will be a plenty, but there are a few of them that may well be able to take advantage of having experience on this tricky track.

The guys everyone will be watching starts with the above mentioned Wade Day, who has many wins on this track and will be piloting Nate Monteith's second car. It's the same car that Monteith raced in both his UARA-STARS Series starts this season at Bristol and Lonesome Pine while Monteith himself will be driving the car he piloted to the Lonesome Pine Raceway championship the last two years. Day, Monteith and Keith Stiltner are the three locals that Monteith points out as early favorites due to their experience on the 3/8 mile concrete bullring.

"Wade(Day) has got to have a little home field advantage, but Keith Stiltner won a UARA race here the last season they raced here and the last race I ran there I won against a 23-car field," explained Monteith. "I think that gives us three for sure a little bit of an advantage, but you have to look at the UARA guys coming in too. I mean I don't think for a second that Matt McCall, Jamey Caudill, Paddy Rodenbeck and those guys won't be incredibly strong."

BRAKES, BRAKES, BRAKES
Nate Monteith feels that one of the things that will separate the guys who have experience on this track with the UARA regulars is the fact that you can wear your breaks out in just a handful of laps.

"This is the toughest track on brakes, tougher than Martinsville. If a guy gets out hot dogging(not sure if that's a word) it, we'll see him a few laps later going backwards. The cream will rise to the top in this race, the guy who qualifies good, conserves his equipment and has a little luck riding with him will win this race."

We've seen a few of these young UARA drivers this season qualify fast, jump out front and then slip back due to wearing his equipment out and at Kingsport we will probably see much of the same.

MESSAGE DELIVERED
UARA-STARS Series President, Kerry Bodenhamer sat down with Matt McCall and Jamey Caudill at Concord last week according to sources telling them that if either driver hit the other, he would park them both. Word is that he plans to sit them down one more time this weekend at Kingsport and make it clear and while the message has been delivered was either of them listening???

McCall and Caudill both have found themselves in one of the most intense points battles between veteran drivers ever seen and while neither driver seems completely rattled, they both have lost that edge and have put themselves in terrible positions in recent races. The blood is boiling, a little spilled at Hickory, everyone expected it to tip over at Concord, but rain washed the race out, but did it cool these two down??? We'll have to wait and see how this plays out.

ON THE VERGE
While McCall and Caudill battle for the UARA-STARS Series championship, Brennan Poole finds himself firmly atop the series Rookie of the Year standings and while nothing will be official until Concord next weekend in the season finale, it's safe to say he's on the verge of becoming the 2009 UARA-STARS Rookie of the Year. Poole has had plenty of success this season despite getting his UARA season off to a slow start and not reaching the top ten until after the midpoint in the season, but he's pretty much stayed there since and got his first top five in his last trip to Tennessee at Newport Speedway.

Tennessee might just be the place of his first career win as the Fat Head Racing team and their rookie driver look to be on the verge of breaking through for his first career UARA-STARS Series win. The win would also be the teams first for a development driver in the series, but the teams last win came at Orange County Speedway last season with team owner, Jamie Yelton behind the wheel.

NO SUB NEEDED
Brandon McReynolds has proved time and time again that he can work through pain as his Ace Speedway win came when he was very sick and he dominated the race. Then last week at Concord he had Matt DiBenedetto on standby for him as he was recovering from hernia surgery, but the young driver pressed through the pain and put his car on the pole for the race before the rain came and washed the event out.

McReynolds should be more healed this week in Kingsport and with the tight conditions of this track, he's going to need to be at or near 100%. As Nate Monteith describe earlier the track is rough and it's tight and racing on this track could prove to be a challenge, but if the rest of this season is any indication McReynolds will press on and make the most of it.

LIVE COVERAGE
RACE22.com is planning an all-out assault on Kingsport Speedway this weekend as tomorrow, Friday November 6th we'll have LIVE Coverage of the practice times and happenings of the day. The series regulars as well as many of the local favorites are expected to test during the open session and we'll keep you up to date on all the action from start to finish.

Then on Saturday, November 7th RACE22.com will have all the action covered from the start of the days action from the Choroideremia Research Foundation Presents the Anytime Fitness, Courtesy Chevrolet 150 at Kingsport Speedway. We'll be live for Saturday morning practice
 

followed by qualifying and then racing at 2pm beginning with the UARA-STARS Series.

I would do everything I could if I was you to see this historic race, but if you can't make it we'll be here with all the action with LIVE Updates, Photos, story lines and more.