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Tyler Horne hoping to end winless drought at Carteret

Carteret County Speedway

Tyler Horne is looking to end a two-year winless drought at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway in Saturday afternoon’s NC Aquarium of Pine Knoll Shores Clash at the Coast.

Horne, 25, from Maysville, North Carolina, last won in a Late Model at Carteret County Speedway back on June 10, 2017 – his only Late Model victory to date.  After a rough 2018 season, which ultimately ended with him not competing after the Solid Rock Carriers 150 in July, Horne is hoping for some consistency and some better luck in the Clash at the Coast.

“We had a streak of bad luck last year,” Horne said.  “Hopefully we regroup this year.  First race, we caught some bad luck but I believe we’ll be able to regroup and be a little more competitive.  Just looking for consistency and, as long as we get that, I believe we’ll be a competitive car.”

Horne finished fifth in the season opener back on March 30th.  Since then, he’s been hard at work getting the car ready as he pursues victories and continues to chase the championship.

“We changed a few minor things and made sure the car is getting back to our baseline,” Horne remarked.  “Trying to make a few more adjustments to get us a little more competitive.  We managed to finish fifth the first race but we still have a lot left in the car.”

As Horne works to find more speed in his car, he also respects how much his competitors, such as Chris Burns, Stacy Puryear, Jason York, and Brandon Clements, among others, have stepped up in 2019.

“Those guys are top guys, fast guys,” Horne stated.  “We showed speed in practice and qualifying, but race time, where it mattered, those guys were just consistent.  As long as we hit our marks every lap and get our car where we need, I think we’ll be right there with them.”

Being used to success on the track throughout his career has made the winless streak even more frustrating for the Maysville driver.

“It’s pretty frustrating especially coming from the U-CAR division which we were pretty competitive at and jumping into this,” Horne commented.  “Kind of having to learn and regroup.  Win early on in the Late Model then going two years without a win, it happens.  We just need to get back where we need to be.”

Horne began racing Late Models at Carteret County Speedway in 2016.  The year prior, he had won the U-CAR division championship at Southern National Motorsports Park.  He began racing at a young age and, with the help of some familiar names in the Coastal Carolina racing scene.

“I was riding four-wheelers in my backyard, we had a round track in our backyard,” Horne explained.  “The guy who was painting our house saw me riding it and talked to my dad.  Went and bought a car.  Roger Burns got us a car with Travis Provost.  We bought a Dodge Shadow.  From there, we just let it roll on and progress.”

Horne will be in competition in the 60-lap Limited Late Model portion of the Clash at the Coast on Saturday afternoon.  The Clash will also feature racing for Legends, Street Stocks, Mini-Stocks, U-CARs, Champ Karts, and Mini Cups.  Festivities will get underway shortly after 1pm with the pre-race autograph session.  Racing will get underway at 2pm.

Tickets are $15 for adults while kids 10 and under are admitted free.

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Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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