As the weather heats up, so does Revolution Racing’s late model program. This weekend drivers Jessica Brunelli, Katie Hagar and Jason Romero head to Tri-County Motor Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway with their sights set on a race win.
Last weekend Romero set fast-time at Tri-County Motor Speedway, leading a one-two-three qualifying effort. His teammates, Megan Reitenour and Hagar qualified second and third respectively.
With two late model poles at Tri-County, Revolution Racing is now ready for its first late model win of the season.
Event Information:
Late Model Stock 50 laps
Tri-County Motor Speedway
Friday, May 14 at 8 p.m.
Late Model Stock 50 laps
Hickory Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
Jessica Brunelli
Team: No. 3 Late Model
Crew Chief: David Flynn
Brunelli on getting back in the car for Revolution Racing:
“It’s been a while since I’ve raced the No. 3 Late Model. We got a new crew chief, David Flynn, since the last time I raced, so I’m excited to get to work with him this weekend. The Revolution Racing Late Model program has been getting better every week, and, even though I’ve had limited seat time this season, I’m excited to go out there and contend for wins.”
Fast Facts:
- Brunelli finished third in her first late model race at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 20; she has just three starts in the No. 3 Late Model this season, all coming at Hickory.
- Brunelli is finishing her junior year of high school via online college prep independent study. She also works 20 hours/week at the race shop.
- At just 17 years old, Brunelli is the youngest of Revolution Racing’s late model drivers.
Katie Hagar
Team: No. 5 AirTight Late Model
Crew Chief: Danny Johnson
Hagar on her first top fives of the season:
“As a team we’ve made huge progress over the last few weeks, and it’s showing in our results across the board. I was out of the car for almost a month, so it was great to jump back in and come away with two top fives, especially coming from the pack of the field at Hickory.”
Fast Facts:
- Hagar finished fourth at Tri-County Motor Speedway last Friday night. She went on to finish fifth at Hickory Motor Speedway after starting 15th.
- Hagar has two top fives and five top 10s in six starts this season. She’s competed at both Tri-County and Hickory Motor Speedway this season.
- Hagar has raced late models in California for the last two seasons, competing at All American Speedway, Madera Speedway and Stockton 99 Speedway.
Jason Romero
Team: No. 2 MBC Group Late Model
Crew Chief: Brandon Butler
Romero on being ranked 35th in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings:
“We’ve had some good runs this season and we’re only getting better and that shows in our national ranking. There’s still a lot of season left to go, and we have goals that we’ve yet to accomplish. We won the pole at Tri-County last week, and now it’s time to go out there and win races.”
Fast Facts:
- Romero finished fifth at Tri-County Motor Speedway last week after setting fast-time and starting third in the main event. He finished eighth at Hickory after being spun out on lap 6 and restarting from the tail end of the field.
- Romero tied for fast-time at Tri-County Motor Speedway earlier this season.
- In his first full season of racing late models at All American Speedway, Romero won four poles and 11 races on his way to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championship.
It was a wild night at Hickory Motor Speedway Saturday, with two of the three Revolution Racing late models getting caught up in the on-track wreck fest. Becca Kasten was the only Revolution driver able to finish the 50 lap race, wheeling her wounded No. 5 AirTight Mechanical Late Model to a sixth-place finish.
“We were able to avoid the big wrecks and finish the race,” said Kasten. “Now we have a good baseline and we know what we need to do to make the car better. The No. 5 AirTight Mechanical car should be pretty good next week.”
The Revolution Racing team showed improvements in qualifying this week, with Michael Cherry starting fifth, Kasten starting eighth and Megan Reitenour lining up 10th for the 50 lap feature.
After a wreck-filled night in the support divisions, the late model feature went green until lap 27, when Kasten, who was battling a loose racecar, got tangled with the No. 36 car and both went spinning down the backstretch. Kasten avoided major damage and kept the No. 5 car in the race.
The race went green for 10 more laps, until a three car wreck involving the No. 19, No. 88 and No. 2 of Cherry brought the yellow out again. Kasten was able to avoid the wreck, but Reitenour wasn’t so lucky. The breaks on the No. 1 car locked up while she was trying to avoid the incident, sending her car sliding into the outside wall. The night ended early for both Cherry and Reitenour.
“It’s a shame we got caught up in the mess between the No. 19 and the No. 88,” said Cherry. “We had a good car and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in someone else’s mess.”
After a red-flag for another wreck at lap 39, Kasten’s goal was to bring the car home in one piece. Another spin nearly ended her night, but she hung on after the fourth and final caution, and picked up two spots to finish sixth.
The Revolution Racing late model team will make repairs to the three cars and prepare for a double-header weekend, with Cherry, Kasten and teammate Jessica Brunelli racing at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Friday and again at Hickory Speedway on Saturday night.
The Revolution Racing NASCAR K&N Pro Series East drivers will also be in action this weekend, racing at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon. 
