JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – Teenage racing phenom Chase Singletary will make his pro late model debut on Saturday when the Carolina Pro Late Model Series makes its first appearance at Goodyear All American Speedway.
The 15-year-old from Burgaw, North Carolina, picked up his sixth win at the four-tenths-mile track last weekend in a Legend Car feature. This weekend will provide a new set of challenges for Singletary who has only competed in a V8 car once, a 50-lap race in a Late Model Super Truck at the same venue.
“Hopefully I can just get there, have a good practice session, have a good qualifying time and make it up front,” Singletary said. “I’m not having expectations to be running in the back. Whenever we were at practice, we were turning some good lap times. Hopefully just qualify good and finish the race. I’m not looking to win my first race but, yeah, it would be cool to win it.”
While Singletary has limited experience in the bigger cars, and has never raced a pro late model, he believes his experience at Goodyear All American Speedway will be an advantage in Saturday night’s Carolina 250.
“I haven’t heard of the pro lates ever going there and I don’t know of anybody that’s been there that races the pro lates,” Singletary stated. “I think that’s good for me because I’ve got laps, I know how to drive the track. I think it’s pretty good for me. Even though it was only 50 laps in the truck, that’s still 50 laps of street time.”
Singletary began racing Mini Cups in 2018, scoring seven wins in his rookie season. In late 2019, he made the move up to Legend Cars and began racing all across North Carolina and at national events the following year.
Singletary has recorded 22 career wins as well as a championship at Carteret County Speedway last fall.
Despite his past success in racing, Singletary knows he will have to overcome a learning curve with some of the technical driving aspects of a pro late model.
“Tire management, that’s definitely one of the biggest things,” Singletary remarked. “A little bit of throttle control too. Throttle control helps with tire management.”
While the teenager knows he has a lot to learn, he feels like the Legend experience will pay off since the cars are so difficult to drive.
“The Legend is like driving a Beamer and the Late Model is like driving a Cadillac,” Singletary explained. “Even in Legends, you’ve got to save your tires. Legends are really hard to drive. They’re fun but you’ve also got to be on the end of how much to save your tires and how much you’ve got to go to stay up front.”
While winning immediately in a pro late model is more of a goal than an expectation, Singletary does think he can get a win by the end of the season.
“I think I can,” Singletary commented. “I think I’ve got a really good chance at it since I’ve been racing the Legend for so long and they’re so much harder to drive than the pro lates. I’ve got a really good chance I think and everybody else seems to think that too.”
Singletary has his sights set on moving up the ranks even more – eventually into the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour or the ARCA Menards Series.