Okrzesik Claims SpeedFest 200 in Decisive Win Over NASCAR Champ Busch

Prior to scoring a breakout win at SpeedFest, Connor Okresik put up an impressive showing in Pensacola during the 51st Snowball Derby weekend. (Daniel Vining/PixelatedSPEED.com)

CORDELE, Georgia (January 28, 2019) -- Just a few weeks ago, I found myself standing next to a young man at Sunny South Speedway. He was flagging kids younger than him during an open test for groups of go karts, Bandoleros, and the like.

We talked about finishing up school. In May, he will graduate after being homeschooled throughout high school; a move that has afforded him the opportunity to begin a racing career at an age when most of his peers barely have their driver’s license.

We talked about the new engines in Legends cars this year. We talked about mounting cameras in weird places to get interesting perspectives. We talked about how hard his Mom and Dad work at the Speedway the family owns and operates, and how hard his team works to support his racing endeavours.

He’s not very outspoken, and his comments reflect that; responding with modesty and an strong sense of appreciation of the opportunity in front of him.

From humble beginnings at a quirky little quarter mile racetrack in Grand Bay, Alabama, Connor Okresik has begun a climb up the racing ladder in the Deep South racing scene. At each rung he has found success, and on Saturday in Cordele, Georgia, he took the next step by scoring a breakout victory in the SpeedFest 200 at Crisp Motorsports Park.

Okrzesik claimed his first Super Late Model win in fine fashion, besting NASCAR Champion Kyle Busch in a five lap dash where the restart made all the difference.

“I was pretty mad when the caution came out,” Okrzesik told Short Track Scene. “It took me a lap to get my bearings. And then I started to think about what I was going to do on the restart. I knew it would be tough.”

Veteran racer turned Crew Chief and driver coach Mike Garvey was in the youngster’s ear, and gave Okrzesik some intense motivation.

“You need to do whatever it takes to beat him on this restart,” Garvey said on the radio. “This story is going to be even sweeter when you beat Kyle Busch for this one.”

On lap 194 the green flag flew and Okrzesik took off, leaving Busch to battle with Harrison Burton for the second spot. Okrzesik jetted to an 0.80 lead en-route to victory in his Senneker powered machine.

“It feels good,” Okrzesik told Speed51.com.  “I’m like, half the age of Busch or something like that.  There’s a lot of older drivers out there.  Being on a low-budget team, not a shoestring but a lower budget than KBM, Toyota Racing, or any of those guys, it’s really sweet to get this win.”

Okrzesik began to see a noticeable shift in his performance midway through the 2018 season, after his first late model victory in a Show Me the Money Series Pro Late Model race at Montgomery Motor Speedway.

“It’s not just the team, but also me as a driver;  I’ve gotten better,” he said. “Around Montgomery it just clicked.”

From then on Okrzesik has steadily improved and is constantly finding himself among the names at the top of the charts week in, and week out.

During the 51st Snowball Derby, Okrzesik turned heads with a fourth place effort in the Derby, and a third place finish in the Snowflake 100 after starting from the pole.

Kyle Busch was quick to credit Okrzesik on his performance at SpeedFest.

“The 14, Connor and those guys did a great job,” Busch said. “They were hauling butt today.  Fun to see these younger guys going fast and doing well, and sucks to finish second to them.  Overall, we had fun and that’s what it’s about.”

Busch held off Harrison Burton in the final laps to remain in second after starting the day in tenth.

“We were really bad in qualifying,” Busch said.  “Our car was terrible there.  A couple of guys ran some really good laps in the .70s and we were stuck in the .90s.  I knew we were going to have a struggle in qualifying, but once the race started I knew we had a good race car.

“It was always just a little too tight or a little too loose. We tried everything, we wholesaled it, we threw the kitchen sink at it on both pit stops trying to make improvements.”

For Okresik, this win is the start of 2019 racing program that will him once again compete in the Southern Super Series and various other Pro and Super Late Model events.

Plans also include entering in the ARCA 200 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida on March 9th. Okrzesik has already turned laps at the famous half-mile in an ARCA car in preparation for that event.

On a personal note, I have to say that I am excited for what a kid like Connor Okresik brings to the racing community. I have seen many in his position in the past that have not maintained the level of composure and appreciation that this young man shows.

Instead of going the route of the spoiled rich kid, Connor has so far chosen to put his nose to the grindstone; all the while thankful to be surrounded by a hard working and passionate network of family and friends that ready to help him rise to the ranks of racing’s elite.

He has an honest to goodness true shot at making it pretty dang far, and it’s exciting to get to play witness to the rise from the ground level.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A correction to Okrzesik's finish in the Snowflake 100. I initially had him as the runner up, however he in fact finished third. For the record, Bubba Pollard finished second to Chase Purdy in that race. (Updated: 1-28-19, 17:23)

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedSPEED is a part of the Gravel Network. Copyright - 2018, 2019

THOUGHTS: Live Pit Stops Gone for 52nd Snowball Derby in a Needed but Bittersweet Change

With blazing fast stops, the crews from Kyle Busch Motorsports played a huge roll in the success of the team at the 51st Snowball Derby on December 2, 2018. (Daniel Vining/PixelatedSPEED.com)

PENSACOLA, Florida (January 27, 2019) -- Five Flags Speedway announced on Saturday that the 52nd Annual Snowball Derby will see the end of live pit stops, instead favoring the controlled pit stop format used at other marquee events around the country. The hope is to help with the added costs of teams bringing in hired, professional pit crews for the 300 lap Super Late Model race.

Event promoter Tim Bryant made the announcement during the driver’s meeting at Saturday’s SpeedFest at Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Georgia. During that meeting, Bryant emphasized that this decision was made with drivers and teams in mind.

“We know that the Snowball Derby is a costly event for the teams to participate in,” said Bryant.  “We are in constant search of ways to make it less expensive for competitors. On-track competition has gotten increasingly more competitive over the years.  The importance of length of time on pit road has gone to the extreme. The cost of a high-paid pit crew was never intended for this level of racing. Given the competitiveness of this event and the importance of the event, guys will take any measure necessary to get an edge on the others.  For that reason, we’ve decided to go to the controlled caution format for the 52nd Snowball Derby.  It’s simply in an effort to save teams the money of high-team pit crews.”

And save money it can. At last year’s Snowball Derby, Wayne Okrzesik, father and team owner of 2019 SpeedFest 200 winner Connor Okrzesik, told PixelatedSPEED that the cost of pit crews was a limiting factor at the Snowball Derby. He admitted that he had what was basically a crew comprised of pit crew “students”, and that the crew paled in comparison to the crews from the likes of Kyle Busch Motorsports.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Stephen Nasse, who became a highlight in the 51st Snowball Derby for all the wrong reasons after an altercation with his own crew member after a botched tire change resulted in Nasse losing a wheel while on the speedway and crashing hard into the wall, destroying his car.

Nasse told Short Track Scene, “There are so many elite pit teams, and only so many of them come to the Derby, so a lot of teams have to settle for mediocre options. So people like me get stuck with those.”

In practice, this format will see the field basically frozen during a caution period. During this time, teams may change tires and do all of the things that are done during a normal pit stop. The difference is, however, that instead of racing to be first off of pit road, teams will retain their position after the completion of their stops. Without the added urgency, teams will not need faster crews, and thus will save the $5,000 plus bills from the professional caliber crews.

There are a few more rules and procedures associated with this format. For instance, teams cannot change tires unless it’s under the controlled caution period (or replacing a flat after official approval). Bubba Pollard found this out the hard way during the SpeedFest 200, coming in to change tires -- then having to return to pit road after being told he could not change the tires because it wasn’t a controlled caution period. The old right sides were put back on his car, resulting in a mountain of lost track position.

While the importance of cost savings is of paramount concern, implementing this format will also result in the loss of one of the layers of competition that has made the Snowball Derby so exciting over the years. For many, watching a full field of race cars swoop down pit lane with teams of crews slinging lug nuts and throwing tires is exhilarating. The race off of pit road could be the race for the win, or at least a vital part of the overall drama of the race.

I for one, will miss live pit stops. I realize I may be in the minority here with my experiences, but let me share why.

As a photojournalist at the Snowball Derby, I’ve had the privilege to find myself mere fee from the heart of the action on pit road. The thrill of cars flying by on pit road, watching them dive into their stalls, and capturing the action of the pit crews has always been one of the most intense experiences I’ve encountered at the race track.

During last year’s Derby, I was hit by a flying lug nut coming off of the car of Derek Kraus during a round of stops. I saved that lug nut as a memento, and know that anyone that has spent enough time on pit road over the years can probably relate. This may sound odd to most, but dodging flying lug nuts is just another aspect of live pit stops, albeit a sometimes painful experience.

In closing, yes, saving teams money whenever possible is a no-brainier. This measure will at the very least free up cash for teams to use in another area, but saying farewell to live pit stops at the Snowball Derby is going to be bittersweet.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedSPEED is a part of the Gravel Network. Copyright - 2018, 2019

NASCAR Pioneer Glen Wood Passes Away

NASCAR Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Taken on January 20, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (John Harrelson/ Getty Images)

STUART, Virgina (January 18, 2019) -- The NASCAR community has lost another icon of the sport, as Wood Brothers Racing co-founder Glen Wood has passed away.

Wood had been placed in hospice on January 10th.

Reports of his passing began surfacing on January 12th, however those reports were premature. Wood was able to spend his remaining days at home among family before ultimately passing on January 18th.

Wood Brothers Racing Statement:

“It’s with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of team founder and family patriarch Glen Wood this morning. We want to thank family, friends, our small-town Virginia community of Patrick County, as well as everyone in the NASCAR community for their unwavering support of him, his life, his legacy and everything “Pa” represented. We’ve had some very challenging days but the uplifting words you all have sent truly meant a lot and we thank every one of you for thinking of our family during this difficult time. Funeral arrangements are still pending but it will be a small family service.”

As the co-founder of a team that has seen victory lane at the Daytona 500 five times, Wood had been to every single running of the “Great American Race” up until the 2018 running, wherein Wood opted to stay home amid concerns of a flu virus that was sweeping the country at the time.

Glen Wood was one of NASCAR’s true pioneers of the sport. A former driver from Stuart, Virginia, Wood and brother Leonard founded Wood Brothers Racing in 1950. Wood raced in NASCAR for eleven years from 1953 to 1964, claiming one win in a 50 miler in Winston-Salem in 1963.

Wood shared his memory of the beginnings of the Wood Brothers Racing team on the team’s website. He tells the story of his first race, at Morris Speedway in 1950.

“In 1950, at Morris Speedway, near Martinsville, VA, I was running along pretty good about the middle of the heat race, when they had a wreck in front of me. I was trying to go through a little narrow opening and hooked my left rear wheel on the bumper of one of the other cars. It bent the rear end housing, forcing us to quit. We were towing it behind another car, and got up the road about 10 miles. The wheel was wobbling from being bent and finally broke the axle. That, in turn, let the brake drum down on the pavement. As the wheel came out, it jerked the gas neck out of the tank and the gas spilled down and caught fire. Then, it caught the car afire, and it burned right there in the middle of the road. Finally, we got the car unhooked from it, but we didn’t have fire extinguishers. We had some extra gas cans and extra tires and tools that we were carrying in the racecar. And once in a while, a gas can would blow up in there. We were scared to get close to it because of that. So we let it burn until it burned up about everything. That was the first race I’d ever got to start. So we figured it all might be over.”

Glen Wood is survived by a large family including friends and colleagues throughout the motorsports world.

As part of the the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team, Wood played a vital role in the development of the sport over a sixty plus year career.

Legendary names including Pearson, Waltrip, Bonnet, and Elliot all played a role in the success of the team under Wood’s view.

PixelatedSPEED would like extend sincere condolences to the entire Wood family during this time.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedSPEED is a part of the Gravel Network. Copyright - 2018, 2019

Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Gets Double Dose of All American 400s and Welcomes the Greatest Show on Dirt to the 2019 Schedule

2018 Big Machine Records Pro Late Model Series Champion Michael House practicing at Five Flags Speedway during the 51st Snowball Derby Weekend. (Daniel Vining/PixelatedSPEED)

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (January 16, 2019) -- The Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee is home to some racing’s legendary drivers and hosts one of the crown jewels of late model racing. In 2019, fans will be treated to a double dose of All American action, get dirty with some Outlaws, and enjoy the return of super late models and plus the track’s home pro late model series.

Nashville made headlines in the racing world in December after Formosa Productions, Marcus and Bruton Smith in conjunction with Bristol Motor Speedway announced a partnership with the goal of bringing a NASCAR nationally sanctioned event back to the Fairgrounds for the first time in almost two decades. The NASCAR Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series last visited the venue in 2000. While plans on the exact details of how this return is set to occur are unclear at present time, the notion of NASCAR returning to Nashville has brought a much needed dose of positive attention to the speedway following the postponement of the 34th All American 400 due to inclement weather.

Speaking of the All American 400, fans will be treated to the first of a double dose of crown-jewel super late model racing in 2019 as the aforementioned 34th Annual All American 400 will be contested on the weekend of April 13-14th. After being rained out in November, participating teams will re-qualify and be given a free set of tires, plus a waived entry fee. There are a couple of options that were made available for ticket holding fans; contact the speedway for details.

Super late models return on May 4th with the return of the Southern Super Series. The Southern Super Series will be making it’s third stop of the 2019 season as the Fairgrounds plays host to the Nashville 100.

Following the supers, the 2019 season will roll on and begin a six week program that will span from the middle of May through to November and focus on the core local divisions of the speedway, headlined by the Big Machine Pro Late Models and also including Legends, Trucks, Pure Stocks and more.

Things get dirty on the weekend of May 30th - June 1st when the World of Outlaws visit for the Music City Outlaw Nationals. The quarter-mile track will be covered with dirt for the event, which will feature the WoO Sprint Cars for the first time at Nashville in a race that will be $25,000 to win.

The 2019 season comes to a close with the running of the 35th Annual All American 400 on the weekend of November 2-3. The traditionally scheduled time frame for this historic race will once again feature the stars of the super late model world, which will include pro late models and local divisions.

Log on to http://fairgroundsspeedwaynashville.com or follow the speedway on Facebook for complete details on events being held in 2019.

2019 Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Schedule:

April 14 -- 34th Annual All American 400 Makeup Race
May 4 -- Nashville 100 - Southern Super Series
May 30 -- Music City Outlaw Nationals - WoO Sprint Cars Night 1
June 1 -- Music City Outlaw Nationals - WoO Sprint Cars Night 2
June 22 -- Weekly Racing Action
July 13 -- Weekly Racing Action
August 10 -- Weekly Racing Action
September 7 -- Weekly Racing Action
October 5 -- Weekly Racing Action
November 3 -- 35th Annual All American 400

PixelatedSPEED would like to wish the entire Wood family good speed and hope to see Glen recover quickly.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedSPEED is a part of the Gravel Network. Copyright - 2018, 2019

Southern Super Series 2019 Racing Schedule Set; Features 10 Races in 7 Places

Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida is the hometrack of the Southern Super Series, as well as the Snowball Derby. Pictured are the pace laps of the 2018 Snowball Derby on December 2, 2018. (Daniel Vining/PixelatedSPEED)

PENSACOLA, Florida (January 13, 2019) -- The Southern Super Series, presented by Sunoco, released it’s 2019 racing schedule on Monday. With ten races, the series will visit seven different venues across the southern United States region.

This year marks the seventh season of the series, which began in 2013. Over the course of those seven years, 76 races have been ran showcasing the talents of 278 different drivers. The Southern Super Series features the top super late model stock cars at some of the nation’s premiere short track venues.

There have been six different champions in the short history of the series. The most recent, 2018 Southern Super Series champion Casey Roderick, won over super late model racing’s top driver currently, Bubba Pollard. Roderick captured the title with a 65 point margin over Pollard, and did so after missing the race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 2019 season starts off with the 43rd running of the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama on March 17th. This marks the sixth season featuring the this race as the series’ season opener. Harrison Burton won last year’s Rattler 250.

Next up, round two takes the series to Pensacola, Florida’s Five Flags Speedway on March 29th for the Rubber & Specialties 125. As the hometrack of the Southern Super Series, Five Flags Speedway will host four of the series’ ten races, also making up the 2019 Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series. Those events bring the series back on June 21st, July 19th, and September 21.

The Southern Super Series will visit two NASCAR tracks in 2019.

On May 4th, Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee will feature the Nashville 100. The Fairgrounds Speedway has been in the headlines recently after announcing that there are plans in the works to bring a NASCAR sanctioned national touring series event, presumably either Xfinity or Trucks, back to the speedway for the first time since 1984.

Following the Nashville 100, the series heads over to nearby Bristol Motor Speedway for the 3rd Annual US Short Track Nationals on June 1st.

Both races in Tennessee will be in combination with other touring series featuring co-sanctioning with the ARCA/CRA Super Series and the CARS Super Late Model Tour.

Deep South favorites Montgomery Motor Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama and Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Georgia are both returning to the schedule in 2019.

Montgomery will host the Rumble by the River 125 on July 6th. Then, on August 10th, Cordele will play host to the Lyle Farms 125.

The championship finale of the 2019 Southern Super Series is yet to be announced, but it’s spot on the schedule is set for October 19th. The series has said this will be a prestigious race.

The most notable venue missing from the schedule is the Mobile International Speedway, in Irvington, Alabama. Last year, Mobile set the stage for the series’ season finale with the Mobile 300. In 2019, Mobile is focused on it’s local divisions, omitting all late model racing from it’s schedule.

In all, ten races will make the 2019 Southern Super Series championship. Ten races spanning from March through to October.

“We are confident ten races will allow our teams the opportunity to experience some great racing with our series, while also being able to venture out to race some of the other great Super Late Model events in the country,” said Tim Bryant, Series Director.  “Our landscape includes multiple events with other series and we enjoy working with each and every one of them.  We will have many more details on the season in the coming weeks.”

As always the Southern Super Series will have plenty of NASCAR flavor throughout the season. Over time, the Southern Super Series has become a proving ground for many of NASCAR’s future stars. Daniel Hemric, the first Southern Super Series champion, won his championship in 2013, and used it as a launching platform that led to an opportunity in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, then the Xfinity Series, and beginning this season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Harrison Burton, John Hunter Nemecheck and Chase Elliott are just a few of the drivers that have roots racing in the south.

Throughout the 2019 season, look to PixelatedSPEED.com for complete coverage of the races, the drivers, and teams as the nation’s best super late model drivers wage a war over ten battles on the most fierce battleground… the short track.

2019 Southern Super Series Racing Schedule:

March 17 -- The Rattler 250 - South Alabama Speedway - Opp, Alabama
*March 29 -- Rubber & Specialties 125 - Five Flags Speedway - Pensacola, Florida
May 4 -- Nashville 100 - Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville - Nashville, Tennessee
June 1 -- US Short Track Nationals - Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, Tennessee
*June 21 -- SERF 125 - Five Flags Speedway - Pensacola, Florida
July 6 -- Rumble by the River 125 - Montgomery Motor Speedway - Montgomery, Alabama
*July 19 -- Universal Fabricators 125 - Five Flags Speedway - Pensacola, Florida
August 10 -- Lyle Farms 125 - Crisp Motorsports Park - Cordele, Georgia
*September 21 -- Deep South Cranes 150 - Five Flags Speedway - Pensacola, Florida
October 19 -- Southern Super Series 2019 Finale - TBA

*Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series Championship - Five Flags Speedway - Pensacola, Florida

PixelatedSPEED would like to wish the entire Wood family good speed and hope to see Glen recover quickly.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

PixelatedSPEED is a part of the Gravel Network. Copyright - 2018, 2019