Eddie Vecchiarelli
Eddie Vecchiarelli Jr. has submitted his entry for the 2020 Winter Showdown at Kern County Raceway on March 21st. The Brighton, CO, Spears Srl Southwest Tour Series Rookie-of-the-Year Contender will be making his first start in the series. Eddie has participated in several partial Super Late Model seasons at Colorado National Speedway (CNS). He has scored a victory, as well as five top-five efforts in ten events, in the highly competitive division. Vecchiarelli is the current Track Record Holder in the division, which says a lot for the team and driver.
Vecchiarelli has been equally impressive in the CNS Modified Division. He was the championship runner-up in 2017, won his only two starts in 2018 and scored two wins, two seconds and a fourth in five 2019 starts. He hopes the success he has had, in both the Super Late Model and the Modified, as well as his association with Preston Peltier, will help him at Kern County Raceway, against some tough competition.
“The SRL drivers are amongst the best in the country, so managing my expectations through the weekend will be important”, Vecchiarelli explained. “As a car owner, and being a part of big races with Preston behind the wheel, I’ve learned that there is a lot more to racing than laying down a fast lap. Conserving energy, tire management, driver feedback, etc., all play into what it takes to producing good results. Guys like Preston, Derek Thorn, and Linny White are crafty veterans, so I feel like if we can finish up in the top 10 with them, and learn a thing or two along the way, it’ll be a successful weekend.”
Vecchiarelli has never turned a lap at Kern County Raceway. That circumstance could be a difficult hurdle to overcome for many competitors. But Eddie has learned from one of the best Super Late Model competitors in the country. That knowledge accumulation began back at the original running of the SRL Winter Showdown, and it is something he wants to take advantage of in 2020.
As a fan, I attended the inaugural Winter Showdown at KCRP” Eddie recalled. “We had just purchased a Hamke Race Cars & Parts Inc car from Preston, but I had never met him or seen him race. Watching him in the Heat Race, he was running a totally different line than anyone else. It was fascinating to watch. I walked over and introduced myself afterward, and when I asked him about his line, he simply said “you have to go where they won’t”, and that stuck with me. Heading into the ’20 Showdown, and being his teammate, I’ll definitely be leaning on him for advice. He’s helped me as a driving coach at our local track, and hopefully, I’ll be able to parlay his experience with David (Vecchiarelli) and Bond Suss’ expertise, to get us dialed in.”
With Eddie’s success behind the wheel, his knowledgeable crew behind him, and the coaching of a Super Late Model star, he will be eager to finish all the laps in the Winter Showdown. If he can do that, he would consider the event a success, as Vecchiarelli explained.
“Ultimately, I want to run all 200 laps and finish the race. If we can keep the nose clean, and stay on the lead lap, we’ll finish in the top 10, and that is my goal.”
Story from srlsouthwesttour.com/
