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Many years ago there was another who turned out pretty well. Thought I'd dig up a male up and comer to watch for in the future.
He's just 18 and already turning heads. If he's not already turning a bunch back home, he's certainly turning them in Talladega town. The story gets even better.
With a background in dirt track racing and no superspeedway experience, Jeremy Clements, in his first look at Talladega Superspeedway, qualified 6th for Saturday's Food World 300. "This is a whole new rodeo for me," said Clements. "I'm not here to prove anything. My goals are clear-cut: stay out of trouble, try and stay with the lead pack, learn as much as I can and get experience. Beyond that, I just want to finish the race. I've got great people around me; my car owner Ken Appling brought a real nice car and Ricky (Pearson) has helped me a ton."
"We tested him at Charlotte last week," said Pearson. "He's one of the more talented kids I've seen come along in awhile. For having no superspeedway experience, and comin' straight from the dirt, he's really picked it up quick. When I saw how well he did at Charlotte, I got all excited and wanted to help even more. He's a good kid and he listens well. And I think he's extremely talented with ability far beyond his years. We're going to enter him at Charlotte next week; I think he'll do really well there. I really think he's got everything it takes to be successful in racin'. He's definitely got me believin'."
The ability and talent part is certainly understandable considering what Clements has already accomplished.
In his first year in dirt late model competition this year, Clements is the point leader at Cherokee Short Track in Gaffney, South Carolina. Cherokee is a high-bank 3/8th dirt bullring where the Spartanburg, South Carolina driver has also posted 6 wins in 2002. That's impressive for sure.
And prior to that, Clements won 3 World Crown 4-cylinder National titles at Cherokee and Thunder Valley Speedway.
"I don't think for a moment, I'm gunna go out there and win this thing," added Clements. "But with all the people I've got here supporting me, I believe a top-10 or 15 is real possible. I just want to race, learn, stay out of trouble and roll Ken's car back on straight at the end of the day. If we can just finish with a clean race car, I'll consider it a victory for the team. But I'm really excited. This sure is big for a kid like me."
Everything's big at Talladega; and quite possibly, so is Clement's future in motorsports. Keep an eye on this kid. Really knowledgeable/important people are saying big things about Jeremy Clements. Hey Jeremy........
He's just 18 and already turning heads. If he's not already turning a bunch back home, he's certainly turning them in Talladega town. The story gets even better.
With a background in dirt track racing and no superspeedway experience, Jeremy Clements, in his first look at Talladega Superspeedway, qualified 6th for Saturday's Food World 300. "This is a whole new rodeo for me," said Clements. "I'm not here to prove anything. My goals are clear-cut: stay out of trouble, try and stay with the lead pack, learn as much as I can and get experience. Beyond that, I just want to finish the race. I've got great people around me; my car owner Ken Appling brought a real nice car and Ricky (Pearson) has helped me a ton."
"We tested him at Charlotte last week," said Pearson. "He's one of the more talented kids I've seen come along in awhile. For having no superspeedway experience, and comin' straight from the dirt, he's really picked it up quick. When I saw how well he did at Charlotte, I got all excited and wanted to help even more. He's a good kid and he listens well. And I think he's extremely talented with ability far beyond his years. We're going to enter him at Charlotte next week; I think he'll do really well there. I really think he's got everything it takes to be successful in racin'. He's definitely got me believin'."
The ability and talent part is certainly understandable considering what Clements has already accomplished.
In his first year in dirt late model competition this year, Clements is the point leader at Cherokee Short Track in Gaffney, South Carolina. Cherokee is a high-bank 3/8th dirt bullring where the Spartanburg, South Carolina driver has also posted 6 wins in 2002. That's impressive for sure.
And prior to that, Clements won 3 World Crown 4-cylinder National titles at Cherokee and Thunder Valley Speedway.
"I don't think for a moment, I'm gunna go out there and win this thing," added Clements. "But with all the people I've got here supporting me, I believe a top-10 or 15 is real possible. I just want to race, learn, stay out of trouble and roll Ken's car back on straight at the end of the day. If we can just finish with a clean race car, I'll consider it a victory for the team. But I'm really excited. This sure is big for a kid like me."
Everything's big at Talladega; and quite possibly, so is Clement's future in motorsports. Keep an eye on this kid. Really knowledgeable/important people are saying big things about Jeremy Clements. Hey Jeremy........
