Josh Berry was fastest during Saturday’s practice session leading into Sunday’s Solid Rock Carriers Battle of the Stars at Goodyear All American Speedway.
Berry ran a fast lap of 16.095 late in Saturday afternoon’s practice session at the 4/10-mile track in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The top-five in practice also included Conner Jones, Chad McCumbee, B.J. Mackey, and Carter Langley.
“I feel pretty good,” Berry said. “The car’s driving pretty good and I feel like our pace, after eight or 10 laps, is pretty good. We did a mock run and were pretty fast. I think we’re pretty close. Who knows how it’s going to race. You know, tire wear’s going to be a factor. I don’t have a lot of experience on these [McCreary Speed] tires. Tomorrow’s going to be different weather. We’ll just put our heads together and see how we do tomorrow.”
Berry said B.J. Mackey, Chad McCumbee, Justin Johnson, and Conner Jones also looked quick and would be contenders for the win in Sunday’s 150-lap event. So far, the veteran driver who has scored two wins in the national ranks of NASCAR, has enjoyed the challenge Goodyear All American Speedway has presented.
“This track is definitely unique,” Berry stated. “It reminds me of some different characteristics of a few different places I’ve been. It’s been a lot of fun. Just enjoying my time with these guys and working on the racecar to get it a little better. We unloaded pretty good. Just trying to tweak on it. I’m excited to be here.”
Amber Slagle clocked more laps than any other driver on Saturday, running 73 timed laps during Saturday’s practice sessions – recording a best time of 16.541.
“I think we learned a lot today, made a lot of laps,” Slagle said. “We didn’t fire off as good as I think we had hoped but we made really good changes today. I can’t thank my guys enough for all the hard work and sticking with me. I put them through a lot today. I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings. We put a lot of laps on one set of tires to see where we would at the end of 150 laps. I think we’ll have really good race pace, just have to get after it in qualifying now and hope we can start out front.”
Like most of the drivers who had never competed at the track, Slagle said the track was unlike any other she’s been at.
“This track is very different,” Slagle remarked. “I have never been anywhere like here. It’s very racy and I think we can race all over it tomorrow. It’s going to be a fun and exciting race.”
There will be a final practice session on Sunday morning, followed by qualifying at 1:15pm. The green flag will fly at 3pm with the Prelim races kicking off the program, followed by the 150 lap Solid Rock Carriers Battle of the Stars.
Tickets are available at the gate on race day for $20 for adults and young adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12 and kids five (5) and under free. The race will be broadcast on Racing America powered by Speed51.TV for those unable to attend.
Battle of the Stars
Saturday Practice
- Josh Berry 16.095
- Conner Jones 16.198
- Chad McCumbee 16.217
- BJ Mackey 16.246
- Carter Langley 16.318
- Ryan Millington 16.318
- Justin Johnson 16.324
- Tate Fogleman 16.346
- Zach Lightfoot 16.362
- TJ Barron 16.401
- Jason York 16.429
- Trevor Ward 16.442
- Tony Grady 16.44
- Tyler Matthews 16.458
- Chris Burns 16.464
- Camden Gullie 16.539
- Amber Slagle 16.541
- Paul Williamson 16.560
- Chris Chapman 16.574
- Conner Hall 16.621
- Kenneth Mercer 16.658
- Thomas Burbage 16.743
- Matt Gould 16.774
- Christian Rose 17.058