Hunter Robbins and Ty Majeski have legacies to protect and establish respectively but those narratives will run through Stephen Nasse on Sunday in the Rattler 250.
Nasse set quick time for the 45th annual Super Late Model classic at South Alabama Speedway with a 15.148 second lap around the .4-mile short track and will lead a stacked 33-car field to green on Sunday afternoon.
Majeski has won this race three of the past five years and is looking to break a record he shares with the legendary Ronnie Sanders. Meanwhile, Robbins drives the same No. 18 that Sanders made famous throughout the Southeast over the past four decades as both a championship winning driver and car owner.
Nasse is still seeking his first victory in the race that is once again contested between some of the top Super Late Model programs in the coutry.
It’s a dynamic set-up for the 250-lap race that is scheduled to take the green on Sunday at 3 ET.
“We have had a pretty good call since we unloaded,” Nasse said. “When you unload quickest, there’s only one way to go from there, but we haven’t had any fall off yet. We’ve stayed on top of the track and it should race pretty good.”
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I kind of hate these weekends when you start on top and it seems like you just fall off and fall off, but we’ve held on strong at least up to this point. There’s a lot of practice and a lot of time where you can dial yourself out. Fortunately, we didn’t do that.”
Robbins expressed quiet confidence ahead of the race after putting his car second quick.
“I was pretty happy with it in practice,” Roderick said. “We had it driving pretty good so you always worry about if it will carry over to qualifying and having the speed that you need. So, to put it outside pole, it’s a big shot of momentum.”
And then there’s Majeski.
This is the best he has qualified in this race in his sixth attempt. The fact that he and Toby Nuttleman filed a pre-entry probably has a lot to do with it, too.
“We wised up and pre-entered and was able to get a better qualifying draw,” Majeski said.
The defending Snowball Derby winner says the car drivers just like it did last year when he dominated to the tune of 133 laps led.
“We have a really good feel in the car ” Majeski said. “We brought the same package from last year and picked up where we left off. I didn’t think we’d qualify that good so that’s good news for us.”
And potentially bad news for everyone else.
Larry Blount, owner of the No. 21 driven by Jeremy Pate says this is the best car they’ve ever brought here and aren’t worried about their 17th place starting position.
“We weren’t going out there to light up the charts,” Blount said.
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Two-time and defending World Series of Asphalt champion Derek Griffith says he was satisfied after starting fifth in his first appearance at South Alabama Speedway too.
“I’ve raced with most of these guys,” Griffith said. “I was talking to Stephen Nasse about what to expect and this place is faster than it looks so it’s not the bullring it looks like it is, so these guys are race each other smart.
“So, it’s fun to see a mix of guys from all over the country but there’s a lot of talent level here, and that should make for a good race.”
Reigning All-American 400 winner Casey Roderick had a personal engagement to attend to and was not able to qualify the car but will take the green flag from the rear of the field.
The entire Rattler 250 race weekend will be broadcast online via Speed51.com’s 51TV pay-per-view service for its annual subscribers and via a single-ticket PPV.
The starting lineup for the Rattler 250 can be found below.
- Stephen Nasse
- Hunter Robbins
- Ty Majeski
- Jett Noland
- Derek Griffith
- Sammy Smith
- Jake Garcia
- Michael Hinde
- John DeAngelis
- Carson Hocevar
- Michael House
- Nick Neri
- Austin Nason
- Colin Garrett
- Bubba Pollard
- Grant Enfinger
- Jeremy Pate
- Anthony Sergi
- Connor Okrzesik
- Daniel Dye
- Brian Campbell
- Kyle Plott
- Steve Dorer
- Kyle McCallum
- Hudson Halder
- Willie Allen
- Kyle Bryant
- Tyler Roahrig
- Augie Grill
- Dusty Williams
- Johnny Brazier
- Jake Finch
- Casey Roderick (No Time)
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