Track set to begin its 56th season of racing.

March 18, 2019-By Gray Sutherland

The thunder in the gentle valley just off I-85 between Greenville and Anderson is set to return this Friday night at Anderson Motor Speedway. The track that has been around since the early 1960s is set to return a thrilling engagement of divisions this year such as the top divisions in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series with the Asphalt Late Models that featured an exciting points battle that went quite literally down to the last laps of the last Twin 40. One new division that will make its way to Anderson this year will be the Pure Stocks as they will replace the Renegades. 

What’s New

 If you didn’t catch a race at Anderson last year, you missed the addition of a new scoring tower which now resides in Turn 3 and 4. As previously mentioned, the Pure Stocks will be added to the racing card in 2019 as this particular division ran an exhibition race late in the season of 2018 as an opportunity to see how the cars would perform. The Junior Fan Club returns as well with some new activities planned.

Review

Here is a quick review before we dive into a look at what we could expect to see at Anderson this year.

Points Champions

• BM Modifieds-29 Austin Northcutt
• US Legends-81J Lee Jordan
• Front Wheel Drive-9 Scott Parker
• Late Model Stocks-9 Luke Sorrow
• Vintage Stock (Renegades)-1 Chris Whitfield
• Limited-39 Steve Carver
• Mini Stocks-23 Jeffrey Kummer

Northcutt rattled off 6 wins on his way to a 2018 BM Mods Championship. Bryan Mitchell finished runner up 28 points behind posting up 9 top 10s in all 9 of his features.

Lee Jordan had an incredible US Legends run at Anderson as he grabbed the 2018 US Legends Championship by 16 points over Karl Moberg. Jordan finished in the top 5 8 times across his 10 features including a AMS Shrine Race win in late August. He has now won back to back championships at AMS.

Scott Parker has won on dirt, he’s won an asphalt, and he’s the 2018 AMS track champion for Front Wheel Drive after missing out by 5 points in 2017. The Pickens native took home 7 wins across his 10 features.

The late models featured the most dynamic points battle of the year as Luke Sorrow edged Trey Gibson by a mere 2 points at the end of the last points paying LMS Twin 40. Sorrow would win 3 races and finish in the top 10 in all 14 of his features.

The “Lead Sled” of Chris Whitfield would dominate his way to the Renegades Championship with 3 wins. David Whitaker would finish runner up with the first wins of his career at Anderson gained as well.

Former Renegades champion Billy Brown would jump to a limited ride and almost take the limited championship too. Steve Carver would edge him by 3 points while also netting 3 wins.

The Candiotti Express was fast, very fast, for Jeffrey Kummer as he made regular visits to Victory Lane at Anderson with 7 wins of his 10 features. He and Ryan Howard had close finishes week in and week out but Kummer would take it by 25 points.

Preview

Expect the Limited Division to be stacked this year. With the removal of renegades from the program, a lot of former renegade drivers are moving over such as Billy Brown who ran with the limiteds last year. Renegades track champion “The Lead Sled” Chris Whitfield may also be getting involved. Also be sure to pay attention to the youth movement in the late model series. Luke Sorrow should be fast again if he returns for points at Anderson. However the veterans will also be looking to make some noise this year such as “The Rocket” David Roberts who is no stranger to Anderson or Greenville-Pickens. Lastly, keep an eye on the newly added Pure Stock division. Their exhibition race late last year was quite exciting and now these drivers will have a weekly opportunity to put their talents on the track. Here are some dates to go ahead and circle on the calendar for this year. The Southeast Super Trucks will make 3 visits to AMS this year. One driver to watch in that series will be Kenneth Headen if he brings his #99 back out to run. Also on May 31, the Mid Atlantic Street Stock Series will be making a trip to Anderson. This series has run at tracks across the Carolinas and Virginia at such places as Greenville-Pickens, Dillon, and Concord in North Carolina. 

• April 12-Front Wheel Drive Frenzy
• April 20-Southeast Super Trucks
• April 26-US Legends Spring Fling
• May 18- Southeast Super Trucks
• May 25-Knights of Destruction Thrill Show
• June 21-Pure Stock Summer Slammer
• June 28-Mini Stock Dash 4 Cash
• August 2-Front Wheel Drive Dash 4 Cash
• August 23-Richard Starkey Memorial BM Modified Double Dozen
• September 6-AMS Rupert Porter Memorial Shrine Race
• October 5-Southeast Super Trucks

The season gets under March 22, 2019 with the first green flag shortly after 8 pm. Be sure to get there early for practice and qualifying. The AMS Jr. Fan Club will also be present this year with activities for the kids. For more information on times, schedules, events, rules, and more, please be sure to visit the Anderson Motor Speedway Website.