PASS Champion Eyes CARS Tour
Tyler Church is among the drivers considering joining the new CARS Super Late Model Tour full-time. The Hickory, NC driver may only race part-time with the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model Series.
“It goes back to the financial side of things,” Church said. “I’ve applied for the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program and I know right now we’re one of the finalists for it, but as far as the racing, it’s hard to really say. I’ve been looking at the CARS Super Late Model Series. I’d love to be able to run all of them. I’m going to try to go to at least the first two, and race off of what we win. I’d like to run a couple of PASS races again too, but we’ll just have to go to this first one and see how it plays out.”
Church said the the 10 CARS races fits his schedule. His race car is housed in Hickory at his father’s house in Hickory, NC. Church moved to Kannapolis, NC and drives to Hickory to work on his race car on weekends.
“There’s good money, guaranteed payout each race, I think like $5,000 to win, and as it drops through the field there’s good money all through the finishing order. It’s easier for me to be able to try to run that, since there’s only 10 races and there’s a month basically in between each race.”
Church won his first PASS South championship last season. He opened the year with seven consecutive top tens, including his lone win at Ace.
“It was huge. It took a while for it to really set in.”
Church and his father accomplished this with limited help. They worked on the car together. Church had AR Bodies for fasteners and panels. Church thanked some other people, including his Uncle Johnny. Spotter Harold Johnson helped at the track. Johnson and Preston Peltier helped get Church into Super Late Models.
“That was a dream come true. We were racing against guys that they’ll spend $4,0000-$5,000 dollars a weekend. We might spend $1,500 at most. We wouldn’t buy practice tires. We’d practice on what we raced on the previous race, and to be able to outrun all those guys, that says a lot about us. Very, very honored and very blessed.”
Church ended the year with 1 win, 6 top fives, and 10 top tens in 14 starts. The missed opportunities to win and bad luck bug Church. He highlighted the Easter Bunny 150 at Hickory. He finished second at his old stomping grounds, but he “kind of got booted up out of the way and that’s part of racing.”
“I could go on and on about the races we should have won or at least finished better, but it was a good season.”
Church believes he should have been able to clinch the championship by the penultimate race at Caraway. The title fight was kept close by his average finish (16th) in the final three races.
“We had axles break, we had oil leaks, and it just every time I thought we had something going, something else would bite us. Clutch was slipping one race, causes an oil leak, and me and daddy at home had the motor in and out of the car I think three times last year trying to figure out what was going on. But it was close. It was tough all year.
He works as a hood fabricator for Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, NC. The high school graduate came to Hendrick with “a lot of hands-on experience.”
“I love it. The atmosphere down here is just like none other. It’s real upbeat. There’s always going to be struggles, but it’s a good place to be at.”
The opportunity came after someone quit the shop and a friend that works there.
Former PASS South champion Preston Peltier of Concord, NC works at Hendrick as the body plate leader for Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 car. Peltier helped get Church started at Hendrick.
“He got me in touch with who i needed to talk to. … Somebody was quitting out in the shop, and everything kind of just fell into place.”
“It’s a unique bond that me and him have, and although I haven’t been able to race with him yet, now that I’m working with him, it will be an experience. I’m looking forward to it.”
Church has an automotive background, but it was at several dealerships washing and detailing. He spent eight years at Everett Chevrolet in Hickory and moved to the parts department after two-and-a-half years.
Church began driving Go Karts around 1999. He moeved to the Mini Stocks in 2004, then Limited Late Models in 2007. He began racing Super Late Models part-time in 2013.
“I just want to say I’m thankful for all what God’s done for me. This isn’t easy by no means to be able to race, and it’s been a struggle, but He’s always been there and got me through a lot of things.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
2015 CARS Tour Schedule
March 28, 2015-X-1R Performance Products 300, Southern National Motorsports Park, Kenly, NC
April 18, 2015- Orange Blossom 300, Orange County Speedway, Rougemont, NC
May 9, 2015-Catawba Valley 300, Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, NC
May 30, 2015-CARS Tour 300, Southern National Motorsports Park, Kenly, NC
June 12, 2015-CARS Tour 250, Tri-County Motor Speedway, Hudson, NC
July 11, 2015-Food Country USA 300, Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, VA
August 1, 2015-Summertime Showdown 300 pres. by CV Products, Orange County Speedway, Rougemont, NC
August 29, 2015-CARS Tour 250, Concord Speedway, Concord, NC
September 19, 2015-Dean Custom Air 300 pres. by Carrier, Myrtle Beach Speedway, Myrtle Beach, SC
November 1, 2015-CARS Tour 300, Hickory Motor Speedway, Hickory, NC
2015 PASS South Super Late Model Schedule
March 7, 2015-Dillon Motor Speedway (150 laps)-Dillon, SC
March 21, 2015-Anderson Motor Speedway (150 laps)-Williamston, SC
April 4, 2015-Hickory Motor Speedway (150 laps)-Hickory, NC
April 25, 2015-Myrtle Beach Speedway (125 laps) – Myrtle Beach, SC
May 8, 2015-Kingsport Speedway (150 laps) – Kingsport, TN
May 22, 2015-Concord Speedway (125 laps)-Concord, NC
June 6, 2015-South Boston Speedway (150 laps)-South Boston, VA
June 19, 2015-Anderson Motor Speedway (125 laps)-Williamston, SC
July 25, 2015-Caraway Speedway (150 laps)-Sophia, NC
August 15, 2015-South Boston Speedway (150 laps)-South Boston, VA
September 7, 2015-Ace Speedway (125 laps)-Altamahaw, NC
September 26, 2015-Southern National Motorsports Park (150 laps)-Lucama, NC
October 17/24, 2015-To Be Announced
November 7, 2015-Caraway Speedway (150 laps)-Sophia, NC
November 21, 2015-Hickory Motor Speedway (200 laps)-Hickory, NC
Dates Subject To Change
Additional Dates Could Be Added