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Crate USA Late Model Sportsman Headed to East Bay

1/24/2021
Crate USA Late Model Sportsman Headed to East Bay

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Since its launch as a Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series division at the start of the 2017 racing season, the 602 Late Model Sportsman class has been on a steady upward growth curve that has made it one of the fastest-growing segments of the Adairsville, Ga-based sanctioning body.

Designed for competitors who utilize 602 Chevrolet Performance Circle Track engines that are sold and shipped on a daily basis from Newsome Raceway Parts in Hartsville, S.C., the highly-competitive class is about to step into the spotlight in a huge way as the group has been inked to be part of the traditional Florida Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park.

Three nights of races are scheduled Feb. 18-20 at the third-mile oval, marking the first time ever that the class has been the featured division during Florida Speedweeks at the famed oval located in Gibsonton, Fla. The first two nights will pay $1,000 to the feature winner, and the finale offers a $2,500-to-win prize. A practice session will be held Wed., Feb. 17 at the semibanked facility.

The division’s car counts are still growing steadily, and it’s one of the strongest divisions under the promotional banner of the Adam Stewart-managed organization. Past champions include Kyle Clifton (2017), Haden Duncan (2018), Bryson Mitchell (2019) and last year’s titlist Ryan King of Anniston, Ala.

The event is a little over three weeks away, and is already drawing attention from many competitors, all of whom are hungry for a chance to compete at one of the most famed tracks in the country. Known for its tricky and fast-changing clay surface that’s located just a stone’s throw from Tampa Bay, the reknowned facility has been dishing out challenging track conditions and confounding the sport’s best drivers since it was built and first operated in the mid-70s.

Time is now running out on the facility, which has been sold for its property values and is under contract, so just a handful of years remain for it to operate before the transaction becomes official.

Lambert’s Traveling Tendencies
That is at least part of the draw of this event for Morgen Lambert of Booneville, Miss., a regular at North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, Ala., who recently made a trip to All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla., for a similar 602 Late Model event that also highlighted the popular division. Lambert’s experiences during that weekend sealed a personal penchant for traveling, and he’s looking forward to arriving at the aptly-titled “Clay by the Bay” for another weekend at a track located far from his home.

Lambert will enter the events without a single lap of experience at the racy oval, and looks forward to his first visit given the long-standing reputation of the track as an elbows-up place to race.

“I’ve watched it on videos, but that’s about it,” Lambert said. “We know it’s about a 13-hour drive down there for us, but we’re hoping we can at least get a good finish those three nights. I started racing these cars about three years ago after starting in go-karts, and just love to do it. I really like going to new places. We know we ain’t gonna win all of ‘em, but we’re having fun with it.”

Lambert won a few last year. Actually, his season was quite productive with 10 feature victories. He’s looking toward the 2021 season with a positive attitude, and hopes to improve on those results. A recent appearance in the 602 Late Model Sportsman portion of the traditional Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., resulted in a solid fourth-place finish.

“This will definitely be the longest trip we’ve ever made to go race, but down there we’ll be competing against the best of the best in this division,” Lambert said. “We ran in the middle of the pack all weekend when we went to All-Tech Raceway a couple months ago, so hopefully we can do a little better and hang with ‘em at East Bay.

Lambert will carry high hopes with him as he heads toward Tampa. It’s a class specifically designed as a more affordable division for the organization’s Weekly Racing Series competitors, and as a driver participating in the sport mostly as a hobby, he’s the epitome of the reason for its existence.

“We don’t race for money, and we’re doing this stuff mostly for the fun,” Lambert said. “We ain’t making no money at it, but we pay our family bills first, and the rest we spend on our racing because it’s just what we like to do. We just had our best season ever, and we’re hoping to have another one just like it. We’ve set a goal for 15 feature wins after getting 10 last year, so maybe we can start with one down there, and reach our goals again in 2021.”

Additional information about the weekend can be accessed at www.ebrp.com, or via Crate Racing USA’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The organization’s website is located at www.crateracinusa.com, and all five divisions are featured.

Article Credit: Brian McLeod