Hendersonville, NC (11/26/12) – Many first-time drivers come to the UARA series to gain experience and get equipped to move up the ranks to higher racing divisions. Jake Morris and Cory Joyce have not only done that very thing, but have overcome many obstacles throughout their rookie season to finish seventh and eighth in the final Championship Points.

Seventh place point finisher Morris captured a top-10 finished at the Season Opener at Hickory, only to follow up with engine failure at Dillon. Two races into the season, Morris has already experienced his first roller coaster as a UARA driver. He redeemed himself at Rockingham, earning Circle and Xtreme Trophies Rookie of the Race title for his fifth place finish. Out of the 15 events that Morris competed in, he missed the top-15 only three times.

In addition to his Rookie of the Race award he won, two Tilton awards, plus a Joe Gibbs Driven Award and Swift Spring award.

“We’ve had strong cars everywhere we’ve been,” says the Virginian Rookie. “If we weren’t in the top-10, it’s not because of my team, but of some sort of car issue, like engine problems or getting tangled up on the race track.” (more…)

Hendersonville, NC (11/12/12) –During ‘The Classic 3 Championship’ weekend at the Rock, Travis Swaim and Dillon Bassett not only had the responsibility of focusing on the race, but the Championship as well.

After Bassett clinched the Sunoco Pole, Swaim only led the Championship points by 66.  Swaim’s team played out the different scenarios of how the race could go and what position they needed to maintain the points lead. The team was truly tested when Swaim started running hot only a few laps into the race. As he began to fall back into the field, the power steering on his machine was starting to fail. The only option was to come in a work on their car under green.

While Swaim’s team hustled to get back on the track, Bassett focused on winning the race. With the pressures of a potential championship, the 15 year-old rookie battled with Clay Rogers the entire race. Only to come up one position shy, Swaim was declared the official 2012 UARA Champion with an 18 point led. After a hard day of battling his race car, Swaim was relieved that his team’s hard work paid off.

Swaim’s team were not the only ones figuring out the different scenarios, the UARA officials had to be on their toes and prepared for anything on race day. According to the calculations, if a tie fell between the two drivers, the tie breaker would be the amount of wins. With both drivers having two wins this season, the officials had to look for another tie breaker, which would be the most runner-up finishes. Both drivers had two runner-up finishes prior to Rockingham. The next tie breaker would favor the driver who had the most third place finishes. Swaim lead with three while Bassett had two. (more…)

Hendersonville, NC (10/29/12) –While many season regulars are hoping for a solid points day, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Mike Skinner are joining the STARS during the 2012 Championship Weekend at Rockingham Speedway November 2^nd-3^rd.

Since his 2011 Rock appearance with UARA, Wallace Jr. has been turning heads and creating a buzz about his remarkable driving talents in the K&N Pro Series and NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. Returning to the STARS is like a homecoming for Wallace Jr. since he battled and grew up with some of the drivers.

Skinner, on the other hand, has been a spectator to the UARA-STARS throughout this season. His connection with the STARS is through Championship contender Travis Swaim. With Skinner’s experience and well-known background, he was asked by UARA officials to mentor rookie drivers during the last event at ‘The Rock.’ Steve Wallace, Jamey Caudill, and Justin Boston have also entered to run the season finale at the Rock.

Caudill holds the honor of being the driver with the most wins in the UARA record books with 13 wins to his credit.  Caudill will be driving the 34 car that has visited victory lane two times at Rockingham in UARA events with Corey LaJoie as the driver. (more…)

Rockingham, NC (10/22/12) –For the past eight months the United Auto Racing Association has opened their doors to allow drivers from all over the world to compete in their racing season. On November 3^rd the series will wrap up their season and crown their 2012 Season Champion at Rockingham Speedway.

The 2012 season drivers ranged from young Australian drivers to experienced local track champions. Throughout the season, fans have been introduced to eleven young rookies who have exceeded expectations. Seven of those eleven rookies will finish in the top ten championship points.

Heading into the final event at Rockingham, recent Tri-County winner Travis Swaim leads Rookie Dillon Bassett by 71 points. Both drivers have never completed a full UARA race season until this year. Swaim has run with the series over the past couple of years, but never committed to running a full race season. His performance has championship qualities all over it. His record breaking Sunoco poles, not only added his name to the driver with the most poles in a season, but his times on the track have also broke records. (more…)

Hudson, NC (10/13/12) –After the misfortune of experiencing engine trouble at Anderson, current point leader Travis Swaim bounced back and won his second race of the 2012 season during the AlphaEnergy Solutions 150 at Tri-County Motor Speedway Saturday night.

After qualifying on the outside pole, Swaim held a fifth place position or higher throughout the race. He seemed to fall back after leading the majority of the first 50 laps, but came back to make a run for the win.

While Swaim played strategy, Jeremy Burns had a similar night. Burns won his first UARA Sunoco Pole with a 16.313 lap during his qualifying run. After the start of the race, he too began to fall back. The two top drivers weren’t having problems, but started conserving their equipment. Local driver Grant Wimbish and Australian Brodie Kostecki took full advantage and created an entertaining race for the lead. The two drivers kept swopping places throughout the middle of the race. Grant Wimbish came home with a top-five finish, but unfortunately Kostecki ran into some bad luck. After being at the front for the majority of the race, Kostecki started to fall back and got caught up in a last lap caution. (more…)

DENVER, NC (October 8, 2012) – After taking a few weeks off from the series, Will Gallaher returned to United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STARS Series competition this week at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway.  The young driver picked up several positions throughout the 150-lap Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company 150 to bring home his first top-10 finish in the 2012 UARA-STARS Series.

Despite having a fast car in practice, Gallaher spent Saturday’s practice session working with his Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) crew trying to improve the No. 6 Chevrolet even more.  Twelfth-quick in practice, Gallaher overdrove his first qualifying lap causing him to lose momentum on his second lap and secure the 19th starting position.

Knowing they needed to make it to the end of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company 150 to have a good finish, the No. 6 ESR team was a bit cautious at the start of the 150 lap event.  Gallaher logged laps and passed several competitors while maintaining his position on the lead lap.  The driver drove a clean race and made a charge through the field picking up nine positions throughout the event.  By the time the checkered flag fell, Gallaher was scored in the 10th position to record his career-best UARA-STARS Series finish.

“Even though we didn’t get to start where we wanted, the team put together such a good car we were able to move through the field quickly,” commented Gallaher.  “The race was really one groove all night, so we had to be careful about saving our car so we had something left at the end.  I’m really happy I was able to get a top 10 for the team because they’ve worked hard all year and getting them a solid finish feels good.  We are all looking forward to Tri-County next week.”

Gallaher will climb back in the cockpit for the UARA-STARS Series race at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Saturday, October 13.

DENVER, NC (October 8, 2012) – Brandon Jones made it back-to-back top-five finishes in the United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STARS Series with a fifth-place run at Anderson (S.C.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night.  The young racer drove a clean event and saved his tires enabling him to pick up five positions during the closing laps and record his fourth top-five finish of the 2012 season.

Jones returned to Anderson Motor Speedway for his second UARA-STARS event at the 3/8-mile speedway.  With a fast No. 33 Chevrolet from Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR), Jones was able to record the third- and ninth-quickest laps during the two practice sessions.  The young driver posted a 15.869-second lap during time trials to secure the 11th starting position for Saturday night’s Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company 150.

With tires at a premium, Jones logged laps while calmly waiting for his opportunity to make a move through the field.  The field was regrouped when the caution flag was displayed with just 30 laps remaining.  As the race restarted, Jones immediately began his charge through the field and toward the front of the pack.  During the closing laps, Jones was able to pick up several positions to cross the finish line in fifth-place.

“We had a really strong No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend at Anderson Motor Speedway,” commented Jones.  “I’m really proud of the effort of my Eddie Sharp Racing team, and I’m already excited to get back on the track next weekend.  I feel like we’ve shown a lot of improvement as the year has progressed-we’re proving that we’re a competitor week after week.  We hope to be back up front and contending for the lead next week at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway.”

Jones will be back behind the wheel in the UARA-STARS Series on Saturday, October 13, at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway