Bowman Gray Season Preview
As some of you may recall about two years ago, I wrote a pretty controversial “preseason prediction” article. It stirred the pot a little bit, but mainly it had me thinking of what I should come up with this season. As we all anticipate with each passing day the 2015 Bowman Gray season, I can’t help but to look back at 2014 just a little.
Some of the events that happened were unbelievable, to say the least. The “Myers and Miller” feud is still as strong as ever, and Tim Brown finally stood up for what he believed wasn’t right. We had a brand new champion in our premiere division, Danny Bohn in Puddin Swisher’s famous #53 car. Who would’ve predicted that at the beginning? Not I. I’m looking forward to this year’s season more so than I have in the past, with the development of new engines and chassis combinations, like LFR.
The Sportsman season finale was one of the biggest clusters I had ever witnessed with all the “he said she said” going on, until finally Taylor Branch was crowned champion. New faces showed up, but so did old ones. And those faces we all know took their experience and ran with it. Guys like Derek, Ryan, and others consistently ran up front week in and week out. I’ve heard many rumors of drivers moving up to this division, so it should be a great year.
Our Street Stock season finale was nothing short of fantastic, well for some people. Brian Wall all but had it locked up until late race contact, which made Chase Hunt a rookie, the champion of the division, which was a first! We had our normal beating and banging, and then we had Jeffrey Wood. The entertainment this division brings every week never fails. I would rate the racing in this division to be among the best you get to see week in and week out. I also want to wish the best of luck to Brian Wall this year in his pursuit for redemption.
The Stadium Stock division was a roller coaster all year. Most would say AJ Sanders was the man to beat all year, barring a few races that contact took him out of the race. But what’s that saying about consistency? Oh yeah, Chuck Wall, Mr. Consistency brought home another title in this division which makes it the second of his career I believe.
Now on to 2015’s preview, I’d like to keep this short and concise but man, it’s Bowman Gray! Now, I do believe it is unfortunate that the Stadium was handed over to Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), but, I don’t think it’s the end of the world, yet. Let’s talk racing. I can name a handful of drivers who have switched to the LFR bandwagon. I believe it’ll be the way to go on most tours, but I’m not sold on it just yet at the Stadium, I’ll have to see it for myself. The reemergence of Tim Brown this year and his new outlook on racing could really shake things up, and I can’t wait. Rumor also has it that Danny Bohn and the #53 crew have updated their equipment, which could be scary for competition. I just have a few questions I’d like to figure out before the season begins. Will Jonathan Brown find a ride if he hasn’t already? Is the Miller Myers feud still hot, or can they race things out? How will these LFR chassis stack up against the competition? Most of the questions will be answered fairly quick, but in due time.
I’d love to touch on the other divisions as much as possible, but since I haven’t heard a whole lot, I’ll just talk about what I know, or have been told. I know of plenty of drivers who have bought Limited Late Model chassis, but will they be racing at the Stadium? Who knows? My real interest is in with Chase Hunt and whoever does plan to race. Chase Hunt had an incredibly consistent year last year in Street, but will that success carry over to Sportsman? I believe it will; and I’m excited to see some new competitive faces in this division.
Now I do know of many of our regulars will be back to the Street Stock division and I can’t help but think how hungry Brian Wall will be. I hate to focus on one guy, but he’s been around for a while and he shot out of a cannon last year and fell just short. Drivers like Jeremy Warren, Taylor Robbins and others will be returning and as usual the division should be fun to watch.
The Stadium Stock division is the least heard about division for me this year, which is unfortunate. I know a lot of guys in this division and it always seems like they’re the ones that have to sacrifice. If I knew more about what was going on I’d love to talk about it. All I know is there are a bunch of guys that have completely rebuilt during this offseason trying to find speed, and then there’s AJ Sanders. It should be incredible to watch him race once again this year.
Just for fun I’d like to throw my season picks out there for 2015. For the Modified division, I do believe Tim Brown will sweep just about everything there is to be won. With his rumored LFR Chassis on the way, Rahmoc power, and a new attitude on how to race around this football field, he might just be unstoppable. Obviously you’ll have your always competitive Burt, Danny, Jason and Lee.
Sportsman is kind of a tossup at this point but I’m going to say that if Stoltz and Branch do end up racing they’ll win the majority of the races and end up competing for the championship. There will be plenty of guy’s right with them though, like Clifton, Tilley, Hunt, and others.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say this season’s Street Stock championship will be decided between these drivers. Brian Wall, Sumner, Doug Wall, Rice, and Stimpson (if he races). I think we’d all love to see Brian win the championship after what happened last year, but I really think if he wants it, he’s going to have to fight Derrick Rice for it.
I have a strong belief that AJ Sanders will dominate the Stadium Stock division, but that doesn’t mean other guys like Yates, Allison, and Keaton won’t have any say in it. The Mini Stocks should be one to watch as we have a lot of veterans return to this division once again and compete in the 2015 season.
Sources: Brad Newman/YankeeRacer.com