reid jrm crew_face1Dirty Dozen Cup: Reid Lanpher
Motor Mile Speedway Race Preview

 

 

THE STORY

MANCHESTER, Maine – After two consecutive Dirty Dozen Cup rainouts, Reid Lanpher of Manchester, Maine, returns to drive the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the Michael Huffman Memorial Twin 125-lap Late Model events at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., on Saturday, June 1. The 15-year-old Lanpher posted second-fastest time in final practice at Motor Mile and had a career-best qualifying effort of third at the track when Dirty Dozen Cup first visited the .416-mile speedway last month, but the rain intervened and the race was postponed. Racing against the reigning NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion and a number of Motor Mile Speedway track champions – including JR Motorsports teammate Josh Berry, Lanpher is currently eighth in the Dirty Dozen Cup standings. This weekend marks his first race at the Virginia short track.

THE FACTS

WHO: Reid Lanpher, Manchester, Maine
TEAM: No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Seth Kooika, Mooresville, N.C.
BEST CAREER MOTOR MILE SPEEDWAY FINISH: N/A
LAST RACE AT MOTOR MILE SPEEDWAY: N/A
WHAT: Dirty Dozen Cup Michael Huffman Memorial Twin 125s
WHERE: Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va. (.416-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, June 1 – 2 p.m., practice; 4:45 p.m., qualifying; 7 p.m., race
Dirty Dozen Cup
LAST RACE: April 6, Southern National Twin 100s, Southern National Motorsports Park, Kenly, N.C. (3rd)
NEXT RACE: June 22, Motor Mile Twin 125s, Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va. (.416-mile banked oval)
CURRENT POINTS POSITION: 8th

DID YOU KNOW?

Reid Lanpher became the youngest driver in history (14) to win an event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when he won an Amsoil NELCAR Legends Tour race on the road course at the facility last May.
Reid Lanpher finished third in just his sixth career Late Model Stock start while driving for JR Motorsports at Southern National Motorsports Park last month.
Reid Lanpher won one of four PASS North Series qualifying races at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on May 5 to become the youngest heat race winner (14) in series history.
Reid Lanpher will compete as a teammate at JR Motorsports to Josh Berry. Berry won the 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championship at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va.
Just 15 years old, Reid Lanpher has already won Super Late Model, Modified, Legend, go-kart, Mini-Cup, motocross and snowmobile feature events in his career.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

REID LANPHER, Driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, On finally getting a chance to go back to Motor Mile this weekend after two straight rainouts: “I can’t wait. I’m really excited. We were good in practice, and we’ve qualified well there (before rain), and I can’t wait to see what we can do in race trim. I think we have a really good package for the races.”
On why he took to Motor Mile so quickly: “It has so much grip. Really, the tracks down south are night and day difference in grip compared to tracks up here. You can really drive off into the corners. That took a while for me to get used to, really. Once I got used to that, I started running some good times.
“I like Motor Mile. I think it’s an awesome track and a great facility. It can be challenging as a driver because it’s all about track position, but that’s just part of it. It really didn’t take me a whole lot of laps to get used to it.”
On his experience driving for JR Motorsports so far this season: “I’m having a blast. It’s a lot of fun to go to the track with the guys every race. I’ve learned so much from them – they’re so smart about race cars. I learn a billion things every time I go down there. It’s only going to help me in my racing career.
“It’s been good going down there and racing against guys have been racing there weekly since the start of season, guys like (Lee) Pulliam, (Tommy) Lemons, Deac McCaskill – there are five recent track champions all in the field at the same time every week. Some of the guys we’re racing against have been racing there since before I was born, so it’s definitely a challenge.”

UP NEXT

The Dirty Dozen Cup returns for Round No. 5 with a return trip Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., for Twin 125 Late Model events on Saturday, June 22… Reid Lanpher plans on racing in that after running some NASCAR Whelen All-American Series events at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in his family-owned No. 59 Super Late Model.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow Reid Lanpher on Facebook: facebook.com/ReidLanpherRacing
Follow Reid Lanpher on Twitter: @ReidLanpher59
Follow JR Motorsports on Twitter: @JRMotorsports
Follow GWC Motorsports Marketing on Facebook: facebook.com/GWCMotorsports
Follow GWC Motorsports Marketing on Twitter: @GWCMotorsports