SWANSBORO, NC – A friendship among competitors and the feeling of family in short track racing came full circle at Carteret County Speedway on Saturday night for race winner Eric Winslow.
Winslow, 27, from Danville, Virginia, scored his first career Late Model victory back on August 6th in a race at Carteret County Speedway – but that win came at a price. Following the race, Winslow and the race’s runner-up finisher, Zachary Marks, made contact, resulting in Winslow wrecking. The incident destroyed Winslow’s car and sidelined him from competition.
Winslow was able to return to the track on Saturday night, thanks to the help of a longtime friend and fellow racer Chris Burns. Burns, 24, from Swansboro, North Carolina has won two races at Carteret County Speedway this season and offered up his second car to Winslow so he could compete.
“I’ve known Eric for a long time, from back when he was racing at Coastal Plains,” Burns said. “I knew that when I offered him the car and we talked about what we were going to do to it that is was a good chance it would end up in victory lane.”
That is exactly what the result would be. Winslow dominated Saturday night’s 75 lap race while Chris Burns finished in second.
“Chris Burns gave me an opportunity to drive his backup, I’m really glad we worked on it and seized the opportunity instead of blow it,” Winslow said. “Thankful that we have the sponsors on the car this week along with all of my help from everyone in Danville loaning me what I needed to make this happen. I thought I was done for the year and now I’m just getting started again thanks to Chris Burns.”
Winslow and Burns have become close friends. Both drivers have very similar personalities and the same passion for racing.
“Eric has the same desire and passion to do what it takes to win as I do and that’s why we are getting along so good,” Burns commented. “He’s also very smart when it comes to the modern day suspension systems that these cars are running now and I’m benefitting from this deal in unseen ways. Just the things I’ve learned and we have talked about together has made it all worth it.”
In an era where many Late Model racers are able to race for a living, Winslow and Burns are both throwback, grassroots racers. Both drivers spend their days working their primary jobs and spend late nights in the shop working on their cars. And, in the past week, both drivers have been working on their cars in the same shop.
“Man, we are racers,” Winslow remarked. “We both race the same way. We both stay up half the night working on cars. Both of us work alone on our cars during the week and this week, I learned how much he wants to win and his dedication as well. It gave me a lot of motivation having help at 2:30 in the morning cutting stuff apart. Plus, we have a lot of fun doing it.”
It’s that sense of community that attracts Winslow to Carteret County Speedway. Winslow normally races at South Boston Speedway, but the laid back atmosphere as well as the fans and racers at the Swansboro, North Carlolina short track have led Winslow to adopt it as a home away from home.
“It’s no secret I like racing at Carteret a lot,” Winslow said. “The fans show up rain or shine and want to see a race not a demo derby and thankfully we ended up in victory lane instead of the turn one wall.”
While Chris Burns doesn’t like losing, finishing second to Winslow on Saturday night was a loss Burns was okay with.
“I’m not a fan of losing but it was good to see my car and him in victory lane on Saturday night,” Burns said.
Winslow’s victory was his second career Late Model victory – both wins coming at Carteret County Speedway. Burns spent much of the race perpetually deadlocked in battle with Joshua Yeoman, a battle that has taken place all season long at Carteret County Speedway.
