11/1/2012
Five Flags Speedway
Brandon McReynolds Teams With Jeff Burton for Snowflake 100
ARCA & Late Model Stock Winner to Drive for NASCAR Star in Pensacola This December
By Matt Kentfield, Speed51.com Executive Director - Twitter:Â @mattkentfield
Brandon McReynolds has raced, and won in, just about every kind of full-fendered short track car there is, except for a straight-rail chassis Pro or Super Late Model. Now, the 21-year-old North Carolinian will have a shot in a Pro Late Model in one of the biggest short track races in the country.
And he’ll be doing it with the help of one of NASCAR’s biggest stars.
McReynolds, a winner in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and several big Late Model Stock Car events in recent seasons, will look to make his first-ever Pro Late Model start in the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 at Pensacola, Florida’s Five Flags Speedway on December 1st. He will drive a No. 12 car owned by NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton in the event.
“It’s going to be something new, but I’m really looking forward to it,� said McReynolds, son of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship-winning crew chief Larry McReynolds. “I’ve never driven a straight-rail (chassis) car ever before. It’s a lot lighter and I’ve been told you really have to hustle those cars more than a Late Model Stock. But at the same time, you have to take care of your tires at a place like Pensacola.
“Overall, it will be a great opportunity for me being that I work on those cars for a living and being able to run for someone like Jeff Burton to try and open some people’s eyes up. It gives me a little more of an edge racing for someone like Jeff because I can go to him for advice. He’s driven pretty much everything with four wheels on it.�
Burton, a winner of 21 races in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, selected McReynolds earlier this season to take Burton’s 12-year-old son Harrison under his wing as a driver coach. The younger Burton, a multiple-time champion in the Quarter Midget ranks, has been getting experience this season behind the wheel of a Late Model Stock Car and will look to make a move to the Pro Late Model ranks in 2013.
That’s Jeff Burton's long term plan for the race team, at least. For the short term, the NASCAR star-turned-car owner for the Snowflake 100 weekend is focused on success for his team in Pensacola.
“The first goal is to go down there and win,� said Burton. “We know that we’re going to be competing against a lot of really good race drivers. It’s going to be tough sledding, there’s no doubt about it. Just making the race is going to be hard. We’re going to do everything we can to give (McReynolds) the kind of car he needs to let him show his stuff and win it.�
The Snowflake 100 will bring in many of short track racing’s most decorated drivers to Five Flags Speedway on December 1st. Competing against such a talented field will be a measuring stick for the Burton team as they look to take young Harrison up to the Pro Late Model ranks in 2013.
“I’ve been working for Jeff since Daytona in February and he wants to evaluate where we are,� said McReynolds. “It’s all about Harrison and I think it will help Harrison a lot to have a radio on, watch the race, watch how his car runs and watch how the race as a whole plays out.�
“We’re trying to put (Harrison) in a position to continue to learn and continue to improve,� added Burton. “Going to the Snowflake is all about competing on a high level. That’s going to be the best test of us as a team. We’ve got a real young team that we’ve put together. We’re taking Quarter Midget guys and taking them Late Model racing. It gives us a chance to go learn and to be better as a team in a high-pressure environment where the best of the best are there. That’s what makes you better; competing against the best.�
McReynolds will have his work cut out for him if he is going to put the Jeff Burton Autosport No. 12 to the front of the field on Snowflake 100 night, but it’s a task he’s ready to tackle.
“It’s going to be tough,� said McReynolds. “I think the past few years, the Snowflake has become just as hard to make as the Snowball Derby because just about everyone runs both races. I think there’s going to be a lot of good cars down there. I talked to Jeff and our expectation is to win the thing, but we have to put all of this in perspective.�
The Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100 will go green on Saturday, December 1st at Pensacola’s Five Flags Speedway. The Pro Late Model feature will be a prelude to the 45th Annual Snowball Derby on Sunday, December 2nd.
For more information on the 45th Annual Snowball Derby Weekend or for tickets, visit www.fiveflagsspeedway.com. Speed51.com is once again the Official News Website of the Snowball Derby.
