MOORESVILLE, Nc — The month of March holds a special place in Brandon McReynolds’ heart. In years past, the month of March normally marks the start of racing season for 18-year-old North Carolina driver. But this season is a little bit different for the youngster. With a focus on “big cars”, racing is starting a little bit later for McReynolds. However, if things go good in March, as they often have in the past, race season will be just around the corner.
McReynolds is currently planning to partake in the ARCA Racing Series open test at Texas Motor Speedway on March 9th with Eddie Sharp Racing. If all goes well, the combination of McReynolds and ESR would like to return to the track for the 100-lap event on April 16th at the 1.5-mile track.
Of course, much of it hinges on finding a sponsor for the Rattlesnake 150.
“We are really looking hard to put together a deal to run the Texas race because I honestly think we can go there and be a contender to win the race,” said McReynolds. “We are hoping to put together a multi-race deal with a company out there, but we would even do a one-race program for the Texas event. Texas is going to be a huge weekend since the ARCA event is a companion race to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. This is going to be the first race at Texas Motor Speedway for the series since 1998, so there will be a lot of hype for the event.
“It’s really the perfect opportunity for a company to come on board with myself and be teamed up with a top-notch team like Eddie Sharp Racing. Eddie has the best team in ARCA hands down. They won the championship last year and haven’t been outside of the top three in the point standings since they started running the ARCA Series full-time.”
It won’t be the first time McReynolds and ESR have teamed up. The two parties worked together during an open test at Daytona International Speedway back in December with hopes of running the season opening event for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards at the famed 2.5-mile oval. McReynolds was one of the fastest cars at the test, consistently finding himself in the top-five on the speed charts in both single-car and drafting runs.
However, sponsorship never got lined up for Daytona and McReynolds had to postpone his ARCA debut to the Texas event.
“We are really working hard to get something put together and get Brandon in the Texas ARCA event,” said Brandon’s father Larry McReynolds. “As a program, we have a lot to offer a company who might want to team with us for this event or a number of others during the remainder of the year. We have a full-service website, along with a public relations program that will help that sponsor get their name out there. Sponsors will also have the ability to use myself as a marketing tool, which is an added bonus. We just need to get the right people interested and we can build a winning program together.
“I have the utmost confidence in Brandon, not only as a father, but as a learned observer of the motorsports world. Between Brandon’s ability behind the wheel and the quality equipment that Eddie Sharp always brings to the track, I think we have a race-winning combination. We just need to get a company on the hood and quarter panels of the car and get them onboard to help us get to Texas and contend for the win.”
Should sponsorship get lined up, McReynolds and the Eddie Sharp Racing team will have a leg up on the competition based off of the upcoming Texas open test session.
“I’ve never been to Texas as a driver, but I’ve grown up watching plenty of races there and even run there on the computer simulators before,” added Brandon. “But nothing will compare to when we get there for the open test. Based off how good our Daytona sessions went, I think we will be a strong contender. Once we take some laps and get used to the track, we will be able to dial in the Toyota and see where we rank. I don’t see anything but good things coming out of the test, which means we would be that far ahead of the game when we came back for the race weekend.
“We just need a little bit of help to get it done.”
Brandon is coming off the most successful season in his young racing career. Brandon piloted his #28 Team McReynolds Dodge to three wins and three poles in 16 UARA-Stars Series starts, coming home third in the final point standings. Brandon also had seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes along the way. In addition to his UARA accomplishments, McReynolds finished second in the annual Bailey’s 300 at Martinsville Speedway in early October.
Team McReynolds hopes to move to the ARCA Racing Series or USA Racing Pro Cup Series for the 2010 season, along with continuing to run a handful of UARA events. The biggest challenge to accomplish any of this is to secure sponsorship. With the package of a talented young driver, a championship caliber race team and the likes of Larry McReynolds, any company would benefit in a relationship with Team McReynolds to help promote their product or company. Please contact the shop office at 704-799-9170 to discuss the opportunities available.
