By James Essex
When Will Vaught announced in January he was going to run for the Quarter Master “Rookie of the Year” with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2010 it raised a lot of interest, but when he failed to show at the DART Winternationals at East Bay to kick off the new season the doubters came out and said he wasn’t serious about running the rugged schedule the series had ahead. Little did they know the reason why he didn’t make it to East Bay.
But since then Vaught has persevered through the trials and tribulations that running a series full-time throws at you. Coming home from Arizona where he competed in January the engine in his rig expired meaning a lot of work was ahead for the 23-year-old from Crane, MO and his car owner, Paul McKenna. While everyone worked feverously to get not only the truck running again, but prepare a new Warrior Race Car for the trip to East Bay it just wasn’t meant to be.
They just simply ran out of time and unfortunately were unable to compete at East Bay, many thought that that would do in Vaught and that he would have to wait until next year to compete for the Lucas Oil Series rookie honors. But when the series’ first scheduled races since East Bay took place at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN and Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC the first weekend of March Vaught was in the house ready go even though he was in the hole as far as points were concerned.
“We said in January we were going to do this, yes we ran into trouble coming back from Arizona, we figured right now we could be sixth or seventh in points if we had run East Bay, but there are a lot of races to go and we look forward to the rest of the season,” said Vaught who married his girlfriend Ashtin Hopkins back on April 10th and off weekend for the series.
Vaught made both shows at Bulls Gap and Cherokee and later in the month made his first ever start at Brownstown (IN) where he came home in 12th place. Nearly a month later at the next Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event he finished an impressive third at Bedford (PA) Speedway in his first start there. Even more notable was that Vaught led the first 12 laps of the main event until being overtaken buy eventual winner, Jimmy Owens.
“Bedford, that was a good run for us, if we hadn’t went too soft on the left rear, I think I could have held on for the win, the car was that strong and I really enjoyed racing there,” said Vaught who currently stands 14th in the series championship points standings and third in rookie points chase.
Vaught hooked up with car owner Paul McKenna last April replacing Jesse Stovall behind the wheel of the number 1 machine and since then the team has been competitive everywhere they have raced including this past Saturday Night’s Lucas Oil Series race at Wythe (VA) Raceway where he was running second until a ring and pinion broke in the rear end. “This is only our fourth year in Late Models and this is the best equipment I’ve ever had and Paul gives us everything we need to go out and run on the road, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me racing wise, we are still getting used to this Warrior car, Dale McDowell has helped us out a lot and we’ve been running good, we’ve learned so much with this tire deal that Lucas runs, we are just getting more comfortable with everything that’s involved in a race team, we know how the car will react to what compound we run,” said Vaught who has three career MARS Series wins and one MLRA Series win to his credit.
“People said Bedford would be the toughest track we’d go to this year, but we set fast time in our group and ran third in the feature, so yes we are real happy so far, we decided to run the Lucas Oil Series because we felt it’s the best series out there, they treat everyone fair, they are extremely professional, plus they have a lot of TV races, which helps with sponsors,” said Vaught who has sponsored from NASCAR driver Mark Martin’s Chevrolet dealership.
“If we can continue to run good, run up front and win some of the events, then depending on the funding we would like to run the Lucas Oil Series for years to come,” said Vaught who scored the biggest win of his career last August with a $5,000 win in a MARS/UMP Challenge race at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, MO.
This weekend Vaught and the rest of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series drivers visit for the first 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA on Friday Night and La Salle Speedway in Illinois on Saturday Night. Both events will pay $10,000 to win.
When Will Vaught announced in January he was going to run for the Quarter Master “Rookie of the Year” with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2010 it raised a lot of interest, but when he failed to show at the DART Winternationals at East Bay to kick off the new season the doubters came out and said he wasn’t serious about running the rugged schedule the series had ahead. Little did they know the reason why he didn’t make it to East Bay.
But since then Vaught has persevered through the trials and tribulations that running a series full-time throws at you. Coming home from Arizona where he competed in January the engine in his rig expired meaning a lot of work was ahead for the 23-year-old from Crane, MO and his car owner, Paul McKenna. While everyone worked feverously to get not only the truck running again, but prepare a new Warrior Race Car for the trip to East Bay it just wasn’t meant to be.
They just simply ran out of time and unfortunately were unable to compete at East Bay, many thought that that would do in Vaught and that he would have to wait until next year to compete for the Lucas Oil Series rookie honors. But when the series’ first scheduled races since East Bay took place at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN and Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC the first weekend of March Vaught was in the house ready go even though he was in the hole as far as points were concerned.
“We said in January we were going to do this, yes we ran into trouble coming back from Arizona, we figured right now we could be sixth or seventh in points if we had run East Bay, but there are a lot of races to go and we look forward to the rest of the season,” said Vaught who married his girlfriend Ashtin Hopkins back on April 10th and off weekend for the series.
Vaught made both shows at Bulls Gap and Cherokee and later in the month made his first ever start at Brownstown (IN) where he came home in 12th place. Nearly a month later at the next Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event he finished an impressive third at Bedford (PA) Speedway in his first start there. Even more notable was that Vaught led the first 12 laps of the main event until being overtaken buy eventual winner, Jimmy Owens.
“Bedford, that was a good run for us, if we hadn’t went too soft on the left rear, I think I could have held on for the win, the car was that strong and I really enjoyed racing there,” said Vaught who currently stands 14th in the series championship points standings and third in rookie points chase.
Vaught hooked up with car owner Paul McKenna last April replacing Jesse Stovall behind the wheel of the number 1 machine and since then the team has been competitive everywhere they have raced including this past Saturday Night’s Lucas Oil Series race at Wythe (VA) Raceway where he was running second until a ring and pinion broke in the rear end. “This is only our fourth year in Late Models and this is the best equipment I’ve ever had and Paul gives us everything we need to go out and run on the road, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me racing wise, we are still getting used to this Warrior car, Dale McDowell has helped us out a lot and we’ve been running good, we’ve learned so much with this tire deal that Lucas runs, we are just getting more comfortable with everything that’s involved in a race team, we know how the car will react to what compound we run,” said Vaught who has three career MARS Series wins and one MLRA Series win to his credit.
“People said Bedford would be the toughest track we’d go to this year, but we set fast time in our group and ran third in the feature, so yes we are real happy so far, we decided to run the Lucas Oil Series because we felt it’s the best series out there, they treat everyone fair, they are extremely professional, plus they have a lot of TV races, which helps with sponsors,” said Vaught who has sponsored from NASCAR driver Mark Martin’s Chevrolet dealership.
“If we can continue to run good, run up front and win some of the events, then depending on the funding we would like to run the Lucas Oil Series for years to come,” said Vaught who scored the biggest win of his career last August with a $5,000 win in a MARS/UMP Challenge race at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, MO.
This weekend Vaught and the rest of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series drivers visit for the first 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA on Friday Night and La Salle Speedway in Illinois on Saturday Night. Both events will pay $10,000 to win.
