Pre-Race Notes: Chase Purdy // Langley Speedway & Winchester Speedway – NASCAR K&N Pro Series & ARCA/CRA Super Series
Driver: Chase Purdy
Car: No. 17 Bama Buggies Toyota & No. 97 Bama Buggies/Textron Off-Road Toyota Super Late Model
Sanction: NASCAR K&N Pro Series & ARCA/CRA Super Series
Race: Visit Hampton Virginia 150 / Run For the Gun 100
Track: Langley Speedway – Hampton, Va. / Winchester Speedway – Winchester, Ind.
Track Description: .395-mile paved flat oval / .500-mile paved high-banked oval
Date/Time: Saturday, September 2 – 9pm ET / Monday, September 4 – 1pm ET
Race Length: 150 laps / 100 laps
TV Coverage: NBC Sports Network (taped) / None
Radio Coverage: None
Last Race Recap: Chase most recently competed in a super late model during the Battle at Berlin 251 this past weekend. A faulty seal in the rear end ultimately ended his day prematurely in 23rd before the race reached its halfway point. In NASCAR K&N Pro Series competition, Chase most recently competed at the famed Watkins Glen International road course. After various battles throughout the day including incidents and off-track excursions, he finished the event in 15th position.
Labor Day Holiday…. Or Not: While most Americans are enjoying an extended, three-day weekend over Labor Day, Chase will be going to work for four consecutive days of competition. On Friday, he’ll be testing at Langley Speedway prior to the 150-lap K&N Pro Series contest on Saturday. Immediately following the race, he’ll travel to Winchester, Indiana, for Sunday practice in his super late model before Monday’s 100-lap race event which is the final tune-up prior to the legendary Winchester 400 in October.
Title On The Line: While the likelihood of claiming the series championship in his rookie season of K&N Pro Series competition is slim (-62 points), the Rookie of the Year Title is well within Chase’s grasp over the final three races. Entering Langley, Chase is six markers (92-86) ahead of Chase Cabre, a gap easily maintained if everything plays out according to plan for the David Gilliland Racing team. While the series title will take a lot of misfortune by the two top drivers to bring Chase into the fight, the Rookie of the Year title would be his second consecutive NASCAR rookie award after winning last season’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Rookie of the Year honors.
Chase’s Thoughts: “I think we’ll be good at both tracks despite the fact they are both polar opposites. Langley requires you to be smooth and easy on the throttle, while Winchester is a track all about being hard on throttle and driving the wheels off of it. We’ve been really good at doing both this year, winning a pole at Berlin and a pole at Thompson, so I think I’ll be able to adapt quickly from one car to another, but the K&N car is definitely our focus for the weekend because we’re third in points with three races to go.”
The Skinny: For more information about Chase, explore his website at www.ChasePurdyRacing.com. He can also be found on social media such as Facebook (@ChasePurdyRacing), Twitter (@ChasePurdy12) and Instagram (@chase_purdy).
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