June 28, 2014 Paramount Kia Big 10 Challenge Race Hickory Motor Speedway

There were 23 cars entered on Saturday, 6/28, for the 7th race of the Paramount Kia Big 10 Challenge series at Hickory Motor Speedway. It was a night of side by side battles and 3-wide racing. Justin and the other drivers of the late models that night showed off their talent behind the wheel.

Early in the race Justin and track champion Austin McDaniel would battle side by side for several laps. At the halfway point after the second caution, the driving became way more intense. Twice Justin was 3-wide into turn 3 with all cars making it through. The third and final caution of the night happened at lap 63. The 3-wide racing continued with Justin, Austin McDaniel and the #82 showing again their talent and the respect to drive each other clean. Coming out of turn 4 Justin would be in the center with the #82 coming high on the outside and the #12 of Austin McDaniel on the inside. They stayed 3-wide down the front stretch and into turn 1 with all cars making it out of turn 2 and continuing to the end. Justin crossed the finish line p. 11. The next race will be Saturday, July 19.

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June 14, 2014 Hickory Motor Speedway 100 Lap Paramount Kia Big Ten Challenge Race

 

June 14, 2014 was the 6th Paramount Kia 100 Challenge Series race at Hickory Motor Speedway. It was also flag day and during the autograph session we handed out flags to the fans as well as signed Hero Cards.

At Friday’s practice, the team felt good about the car’s setup.  After qualifying p. 13, Justin was confident he could get the car through the field. However, once the race started it was pretty clear they missed the set up and Justin could not advance to keep up with the leaders.

The race with 20 late models went green for 100 laps. It would have been interesting had there been a caution around lap 25. By the looks of most of the cars on the track, half of the field would have come down pit road to adjust their cars. That would have been entertaining for the fans. It took a lot to wheel that car and stay ahead of the leader for as long as he could but Justin had to let the leader by on lap 84. Justin finished p. 14, the first car one lap down. Josh Berry had a car that was hooked up and there were only 13 cars on the lead lap at the end. The next race is 6/28 and you can be sure Justin and the team will take this race as a learning experience and come back more determined than ever.

View additional photos here.

May 24, 2014 Hickory Motor Speedway 100 Lap Paramount Kia Big Ten Challenge Race

Saturday, May 24, was the fifth race and the half-way point in the Paramount Kia Big 10 Challenge Series at Hickory Motor Speedway.

There were 24 late models for the event. Justin had a strong qualifying run and would start the feature in p. 10.

The 24-car field was very close in times. The start of the race had the entire field double file coming into Lap 2. Several cars in front of Justin checked up in his line and as he checked up, the cars behind him were not able to slow in time and Justin was turned around coming out of turn 2.

The advantage of the top 10 qualifying run was now gone. Justin had 23 cars to pass to get to the front. The field this weekend included the strong competition of HMS regulars, Austin McDaniel, Shane Lee, Landon Huffman, Ashley Huffman, Matt Piercy, as well as strong equipment of Dillon Bassett, two JR Motorsports drivers, two David Gilliland Racing competitors and Steven Wallace.

Justin drove his way to p. 15 at lap 15 when the second caution waved. There were several more cautions before half way where Justin had raced his way to p. 10.

The race would go green for the second half. Justin crossed the finish line in p. 7 staying calm and focused in the car to overcome an early spin and drive through the field.

A few days after the race it was confirmed two cars were DQ-d which would give Justin a top 5 finish.

The next race will be June 14.

View photos of the race here. We have also added some photos from the Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Before the race, we went to the Ford Hospitality Tent to hear from Jimmy Fennig who is Carl Edwards’ crew chief, Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards.