Dirty Dozen Cup: Reid Lanpher
Motor Mile Speedway Race Preview
THE STORY
MANCHESTER, Maine – Reid Lanpher of Manchester, Maine, heads back to the seat of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for the fourth round of the Dirty Dozen Cup, with Twin 125-lap Late Model events at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., on Saturday, May 18. 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. Lanpher looks to head back and repeat his pre-race efforts while following up on his third-place finish in round three of the Dirty Dozen Cup at Southern National Motorsports Park in early April.
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 Southern National Twin 125s
WHERE: Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va. (.416-mile oval)
WHEN: Saturday, May 18 – 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 1, Motor Mile Twin 125s, Motor Mile Speedway, Radford, Va. (.416-mile banked oval)
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 how disappointed he was that the race at Motor Mile in April was rained out: “I was really disappointed. We had such a good car all day, and I really wanted to run that race. I liked the track a lot.
“Those tires (for the Dirty Dozen Cup), especially at Southern National, wear out. You just eat up tires like crazy. Tire wear was big down there at that track, and you really had to save your stuff for 100 or 125 laps.”
On how Motor Mile compares to Southern National: “It’s a lot different, definitely. It’s got so much more grip than Southern National has. The tracks look pretty similar, but they drive completely different just because of the grip that Motor Mile has.”
On how his impressive PASS North Series run at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on May 5 helped his confidence: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend. It was a big confidence boost, even though it didn’t end the way we wanted.
“It will be good for my confidence to get back with JR Motorsports. We’ve run really well down there so far this year, and we seem to keep getting better every time we go to the track. The competition’s really good there, too, and if we can keep working like we have we should get another good finish.”
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 1… Reid Lanpher after entering the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season opening Super Late Model event at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 25.