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Inaugural Southeast Limited Late Model Weekend Leaves Joyce in Disbelief
Preparations for the SLLMS show were in full swing a week prior to the opening events at Florence this weekend, as the Cory Joyce Racing team scrambled to put together a brand new racecar. Working long nights all week proved worthwhile as the car was wicked fast in the first practice session on Saturday afternoon. Though he reported a slight loose condition through the turns, Joyce was very happy with the setup underneath his new hot rod and Crew Chief Kevin Caldwell decided to stay with the original setup and a few minor adjustments. Qualifying was tight on Saturday night, as the spread from the pole to the final qualifier was only a half of a second difference. Cory placed his No. 20 Chevy Impala towards the middle of the field with a time of 18.090 seconds, good enough for the 15th starting spot. From the drop of the green flag, Joyce began to methodically pick off cars one by one, trying to stay out of trouble and just log laps to get to the finish. Trouble would start early in the race as the first of the day's many caution flags came out on lap 9 for a spin off of turn four. Though he was able to dodge many of the accidents that occurred throughout the afternoon, Cory was tapped from behind, sent for a spin, and had to restart at the tail of the field five times before the day was done. Caldwell and the rest of the team assured the young driver that he was doing a fantastic job and that the car was still fast enough to get a good finish.
"What a long day- I'm pretty much speechless right now. I felt like I was in a demolition derby out there to be honest, and it's a really disappointing way to end the weekend," Cory expressed after getting cooled off and rehydrated following the event. "We had a really fast racecar and I'm proud of the team for putting such a great piece together. I can't thank Kevin Caldwell, Billy Hess and everyone at PVW for all the work they did to this car, and NOS and Weekend Warriors TV for being here this weekend. The new car was bad fast all weekend and I'm thankful for that." After all of the mayhem to end the day, Cory would wind up finishing the inaugural SLLMS event in 14th position. Driver and team plan to recharge their batteries and are looking to compete at South Boston Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway in the weeks ahead. Media Contact: |
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Sparks flew and tempers flared on Independence Day at Florence Motor Speedway for the inaugural Southeast Limited Late Model Series (SLLMS) event. The afternoon began with 25 drivers lined up for a 100-lap feature event that would end with a pile of torn up racecars and disappointment. Among those left disappointed was 18-year-old Cory Joyce and his entire race team, as he would end the day in the pits after a strong showing all weekend.
After starting from the rear once again and avoiding another big wreck just past halfway, Cory moved his way up to the seventh spot but began to complain about the heat inside of the car. Preparing the new racecar as fast as they did, the team didn't have enough time to put the cooling unit in the car for Cory, and the scorching summer heat at Florence on Sunday proved to be a bigger problem than his body could handle. With 25 laps to go, Cory pulled down pit road and was forced to step out of his car due to heat exhaustion and dehydration.
