One-Handed: Spencer Davis Finshes Seventh at Bowman Gray 

15-Year-Old Looks Forward to First Career NWMT Start at Waterford Speedbowl

Fifteen-year-old Spencer Davis, driver of the Hillbilly Racing No. 79 Modified, continued his busy stretch of racing by pulling double-duty at Ace Speedway (NC) and Bowman Gray Stadium (NC) this past weekend.

On Friday night in the KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series event at Ace, Davis was one of the fastest cars on the track throughout the event before a rear end issue ended his night early.  The driver from Dawsonville, Georgia rebounded the following night at “The Madhouse” by recording another top-10 finish and crossing the finish line in the seventh position.

Davis’ weekend got off to a hot start on Friday

evening when he turned in a blistering lap around

Ace Speedway that would start him on the outside

pole position after missing the top-spot by just 0.02

seconds.  Davis would stay within the top-three

during the early stages before making a charge

towards the leader, Burt Myers, near lap 25. 

As he was closing in on Myers, a pinion snapped in

the rear end of the No. 79 Hillbilly Racing machine

forcing Davis to the pit area and ending his night

early.

“We had an awesome car all day,” said Davis.  “We were right at the top of the charts.  Chris Kopec came down to help us out for the weekend at Ace and Bowman Gray.  We tried some new stuff and the car was really fast at both tracks.”

On Saturday, Davis returned to Bowman Gray Stadium for a 100-lap Modified feature.  After unloading with a very fast race car for the first practice session, Davis was prepared to make a run towards the front from the 13th starting spot in the feature.  He would quickly pick up a number of spots and move into the sixth position by lap 5. 

As the race neared the halfway point, Davis began to notice a problem with the transmission that required him to use his right hand to keep the car in the correct gear.  Because of this, Davis was forced to drive around the tight quarter-mile bullring with just his left hand.  Too add more adversity to his night, Davis had no communication with his spotter after the wire going into his helmet became unplugged during the race. 

Driving with one hand and without a spotter, Davis was able to cruise home to a seventh place finish.

“I had one-hand on the shifter trying to keep it in gear then I noticed the spotter had been real quiet, so when I got off the track I looked and the wire was unplugged from the helmet,” said Davis.  “I was like, ‘well, that was certainly interesting especially out of all the tracks it had to be Bowman Gray where it happened.’

“I’m real happy with the weekend considering that we had rear end troubles.  The team worked really well together and we ran very well up until that point.”

Next up for Davis will be his first career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start at Waterford Speedbowl in Waterford, Connecticut.  Davis and the No. 79 Hillbilly Racing team have filed an entry for the Mr. Rooter 161 in hopes of winning the race and qualifying for the NWMT/NWSMT All-Star Showdown at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. 

The 15-year-old Modified rookie competed against some of the stars of the NWMT during the Tri-Track Open Modified Series Bullring Bash at Lee USA Speedway (NH) and is excited to get back up North to do it again.

“It was a hard choice considering how far up we were in Bowman Gray Stadium points,” said Davis.  “Waterford will be our last chance to try to get a win so that we can get in for the big All-Star Race up at New Hampshire. 

“I like driving up North at lot and racing against the big boys.  They go hard from lap one and the racing, in my opinion, is more fun up there.  Not to say the Southern races or KOMA races aren’t fun, but there’s something different about actual NASCAR Whelen Modfied Tour races.”

After spending time in the Hillbilly Racing shop during the days this week, Davis plans to do some research on Waterford Speedway to prepare himself for Saturday’s event.

“We have been busy getting these cars ready since we have to leave late Friday night,” said Davis.  “After hours when I get home, I’m going to do a lot of research on it.  I know David (Hill) and the Hillbilly Racing crew will be on their A-game, but I’ll need to be on my A-game as well.”

For more information on Spencer Davis, follow him on Twitter at @SpencerDavis_29.