The new Rowdy Manufacturing Super Late Model entity enjoyed another
successful outing on Sunday at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, even if it came
up one position short in the final rundown in the North-South Super Late Model Challenge
100.
Josh Brock in a FURY Race Car held off a pair of identically prepared, brand-new Rowdy cars driven by Donnie Wilson and Matthew Craig. The case could even be made that they both let Brock off the hook on the final restart with eight laps to go by racing each other and allowing Brock to set sail.
RECAP: Josh Brock outduels Donnie Wilson for Nashville win
But the afternoon was yet another example that the new Kyle
Busch owned entity formed from the foundation of Hamke Race Cars will be a
force to deal with in Super Late Model racing throughout the summer.
Busch acquired Hamke late last year and assigned crew chief
Cody Glick to production duties and their cars have been successful
immediately.
Preston Peltier drove the first car off the block to a third-place finish in the Winter Showdown back in February. Tony Jackson Jr. has won both races he has entered at I-44 Speedway in Lebanon, Missouri and Boris Jurkovic won last month in the Berlin Raceway season-opening Icebreaker.
READ MORE: Boris Jurkovic breaks the ice for Rowdy midwestern debut
Then came Sunday where Wilson and Craig challenged for the
win with new cars without the benefit of a notebook.
It was a statement for what the rest of the year could bring
according to Wilson.
“It’s their expertise and attention to fine
detail,” Wilson told Short Track Scene after the race. “They know
what works and we’re going to show that this year … I kept telling you guys
that we had a new piece coming and it was going to be worth the wait.”
It was.
It was worth the wait for Craig too.
“I’m not sure we could have done this with last year’s
car,” Craig said of his third-place finish. This automatically makes our
program so much better. I’m really excited to compete at Bristol and the rest
of the year.”
That speaks volumes from a family team that won three PASS
South championships and 11 total Super Late Model victories over the past
half-decade.
Craig said last year that he wanted to travel more and race
against the elite in the division but felt like they were missing something.
Based on Sunday at Nashville, it appears they found it.
“This is a really good piece they built,” Craig said. “Identical to the one Donnie has. We’ve got a notebook now and we’re ready for the All-American 400. We’re really pleased with our car so far.”
It continues an immediate trend of customers getting an immediate ROI from their Rowdy car.
Jurkovic hadn’t even turned a lap in his car until he raced — and won it at Berlin.
“It’s a brand new car and honestly, the first time I saw it was yesterday when the guys brought it up and with this car I feel really confident about this season and the Money in the Bank,” he said in Victory Lane at Berlin. “I just want to thank Cody Glick and the guys for a good car.”
But of course, Brock had the last laugh on Sunday.
“There’s always a social media war but at the end of the day, you see what’s in victory lane,” Brock said. “It’s a FURY Race Car. It’s a Wimmer Motorsports car and these things are fun to drive.”
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