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Joyce Comes Home From Myrtle Beach with Experience The return to Myrtle Beach Speedway last weekend was a long awaited one for 18-year-old Cory Joyce after spending four months away from the steering wheel of his No. 20 Cory Joyce Racing Chevy Impala. After a good run was cut short last year in the Limited Late Model 100 at Myrtle Beach due to mechanical failure, Joyce was looking to find success in his first career start in the Late Model Stock division. Following his last performance at Florence Motor Speedway in July, Cory and his team spent countless hours at his race shop repairing damage done to his late model at the South Carolina short track. With a well prepared crew led by Crew Chief Johnny Allen and a fast machine underneath him, Joyce carried all the necessary tools for a solid run at the NASCAR Sanctioned half-mile track. "We spent a lot of time getting this car ready for Myrtle Beach and we almost didn't get all of the pieces in place on time," Joyce commented. "Johnny Allen was a huge factor in getting this car setup and ready to go, and with some support from Eddie Sharp Racing we were able to make it to the track with a fast racecar for my first late model stock start." Unable to lock himself into the field as one of the fastest 20 cars out of the 59 entries, Cory would have to race his way into the Late Model Stock 250 via the first of two heat races on Sunday afternoon. NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Scott Wimmer took an interest in Joyce earlier in the weekend, and offered to spot for the young driver for the 25-lap heat race to see if his coaching could aid Cory in his efforts to qualify into the big show later in the day. An uncharacteristically calm 25 laps of racing ensued following the drop of the green flag just after 12:30 pm, and Joyce followed Wimmer's instructions, keeping his nose clean and taking care of his tires for the first 10 laps. Never losing sight of the rest of the pack, Cory continued to try and roll the car through the turns and gain on the cars in front of him. Without a caution flag, Joyce rode solidly near the tail of the field without any incidents, but couldn't gain any track position he had lost to the leaders in the first few laps. Though he wasn't able to make his way into the transfer spot by the end of the heat, he was able to gain a wealth of knowledge from an experienced fellow driver coaching him through the event. "I can't thank Scott Wimmer enough for offering to help me on Sunday," Cory expressed after the event. "I wish we could've made it into the main event, but I learned a lot from Scott and I'm excited that we're leaving the track without a scratch on the racecar. Now we can go back to the shop and actually work on things to move forward instead of repairing the car." Though the team wasn't able to qualify and run the 250 lap feature, they gained valuable knowledge that they will take back to their Mooresville, North Carolina shop to make improvements to their car. Coaching from Allen and Wimmer all weekend gave Cory something to work on as well in the off season, and the anticipation for 2011 has already begun at Cory Joyce Racing. Media Contact: |
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