Casey Roberts
Casey Roberts had not exactly opened the 2017 season to his liking until he made his way to Southern Raceway this past weekend for a pair of Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series races on the Milton, Florida track. By the end of the night on Saturday, the Georgia native had collected two feature wins and a total of $9,000 in earnings.
After a somewhat disappointing time at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, GA during the season opening weekend for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and a pair of decent runs with the World of Outlaws Late Models at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, GA, the No. 101 team was looking for an opportunity to turn their fortunes around.
“We had some issues there at Brunswick when we had a battery go dead on us,” Roberts explained in a telephone interview with InsideDirtRascing.com. “Then we went to Screven and had a couple of decent runs, but not really what we wanted to do. At North Georgia(Ultimate Super Late Model Series) we didn’t fair too well. Up to this weekend, I guess you could say we had been pretty mediocre.”
But recover they did as the Jimmy and Anne Cushman owned team found the key to success in the Sunshine State. And the driver who will turn 40 years old this weekend hopes to carry his newfound momentum into the upcoming Spring Nationals races to be held this Friday and Saturday at Georgia’s Senoia Raceway.
“We had a good weekend this past weekend for sure,” Roberts declared. “It was good medicine for us to get back into victory lane. Hopefully we’re back on track now and we’ve got a good track coming up for us this weekend at Senoia. Maybe we can have a couple of good runs there and things will work out well.”
Roberts, a former Ultimate Super Late Model Series champion, had never visited Southern Raceway prior to his two victorious efforts there. But with an eye on the forecast, he decided that the pair of Southern All Star events offered the best chance for a successful outing.
“We definitely knew there was some weather coming around these other tracks,” Roberts said. “Lancaster got rained out and County Line called their’s off, but we had planned on going to Florida anyway because the weather looked better and it’s definitely a lot warmer. I had never been to that track but it worked out for us. We usually just look at what’s paying pretty good money and we see what the car owner wants to do and then we make a plan.”
Roberts’ No. 101 Longhorn
Not only did his recent wins deliver trophies and prize money, but another added benefit came from being the first to the checkered flag on consecutive nights.
“It don’t matter what sport it is -baseball, basketball or football- when you get some wins it builds your confidence and makes things a lot easier,” the Longhorn Chassis driver insisted. “The ride back home seems a lot better and wash day seems to not be as bad when you win. It’s good medicine for everyone and makes you look forward to the next week.”
As for now, Roberts and his team do not plan to follow any particular series. Rather, they just play each week as it comes and try to do what makes the most sense for them.
“We just kind of do it week by week,” Roberts pointed out. “The car owner is real good to me and lets me go pretty much where I want to then we just do the best we can. When we get some wins, it’s definitely a plus. That’s what we go for, of course, to win. We’ve been together for 14 years and he’s been around it long enough so he understands that it’s tough. It’s tough to win these races no matter where you go, whether it’s a local show somewhere or a sanctioned race. We were blessed this weekend and hopefully we’ll get some more wins in the future.”
