Ray Cook
Few people are more invested in the sport of dirt racing than Ray Cook. The Brasstown, NC resident is the owner of his hometown Tri-County Race Track, driver of the No. 53 Late Model, and promoter of the Spring Nationals and Southern Nationals. And in each endeavor, the 43-year-old serves as an ambassador for the sport.
This Monday(July 20) at Virginia’s Wythe Raceway, Cook will embark on his 11th Southern Nationals tour. And according to the mini-series leader, the stage is set for one of the most exciting two week runs in the history of the circuit.
“We’ve got the most drivers ever, I think it’s thirteen, that have given us a verbal commitment to run the full series,” Cook declared in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “That’s the most pre-series interest that has ever been shown from drivers, nine has been the most we’ve ever had to go to all of the races, so thirteen showing interest this early is exciting for us. If we can bring that many guys as regulars and maybe fill the fields with about 18 to 20 other cars when we get there, it should make for good racing. I think last year we averaged about 32 cars per night, which was up from the previous year.”
And to draw those drivers, the Southern Nationals is posting awards that will allow for money to be dispersed throughout the field.
“We’ve got bonuses in place for 525 drivers and steelhead drivers plus a lot of good money on the line for the open engines,” Cook pointed out. “There’s a wide variety of things to offer for the racers. It’s an opportunity for people to come out and see a good show. The thing about our Southern Nationals is that it gives a chance to drivers that nobody expects, even myself.”
While the promoter certainly looks forward to the running of his series, he understands that his ultimate purpose is to achieve success for other people. Without drivers, promoters and fans, the series could not survive. Cook hopes to do what is necessary to see that each of those groups will be happy at the end of the thirteen day run.
“I get excited and nervous too,” he admitted. “You want to make the right decisions and do the right things for the racers and treat them fair. I just always try to do it the way I’d like it done myself. You’ve got ten promoters that you hope make some money so they’ll invite you back next year. You want it to be a win-win for everybody. That’s the main goal.”
But even with the pressure of conducting so many races in such a short period of time, Cook finds moments of joy during the run.
“You get to go to Victory Lane every night,” Cook joked. “There’s generally not too many mad people in Victory Lane. It’s fun to see the different people come along. I look at Donald McIntosh, who came along two years ago in the Spring Nationals. Nobody had ever heard of him and I hadn’t either, but everybody knows how the story went from there.”
Cook with longtime Southern Nationals PR director Chris Tilley
However, the most worrisome aspect of what he does is actually out of his control.
“The stressful thing is the weather, trying to make the right decisions and trying to make it at the right time.”
The 2015 edition of the Southern Nationals will feature the most lucrative race in series history when the tour makes its final stop in Tazewell, Tennessee. That track is celebrating an important milestone and chose the Southern Nationals finale as a moment in which to commemorate the success of the series at Tazewell Speedway.
“That’s all Gary Hall,” Cook said. “He was the very first one to step up and do a $5,300-to-win on the Southern Nationals when we first started it. To celebrate Tazewell’s 50th anniversary with a $10,050-to-win show is exciting and I appreciate him doing that.”
2015 Southern Nationals Schedule
July 20- Wythe Raceway(Rural Retreat, VA)
July 21- 411 Motor Speedway(Seymour, TN)
July 23- Modoc Raceway(Modoc, SC)
July 24- Swainsboro Raceway(Swainsboro, GA)
July 25- Screven Motor Speedway(Sylvania, GA)
July 26- Rome Speedway(Rome, GA)
July 28- Boyd’s Speedway(Ringgold, GA)
July 30- Tri-County Race Track(Brasstown, NC)
July 31- Smoky Mountain Speedway(Maryville, TN)
August 1- Tazewell Speedway(Tazewell, TN)
