Catchfence

Twelve racers from eight states, Canada, and Barbados descended upon the Charlotte area this week to display their racing talents, but Richard Petty only needed to look a few miles away to find his guy.

Ryan Wilson, an eighteen year-old late model racer from Randleman, NC, was named “Top Driver” of Richard Petty’s Driver Search II, following four days of intense competition at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord Speedway, and Carolina Motorsports Park.

Wilson’s performance earned him the opportunity to race the No. 41 Richard Petty’s Driver Search Dodge in the upcoming “American 200” ARCA Racing Series event at historic Rockingham Speedway on October 9th, 2010. His car, crew, and equipment will be provided by Petty Holdings LLC. “I can’t believe this,” said Wilson. “For a kid who grew up just down the road from Level Cross, it’s a dream come true to have the opportunity to race one of Richard Petty’s cars.”

“Now that’s a pretty neat deal,” said Richard Petty. “My guys said Ryan was a very smooth, very good all-around driver, but it’s the computers that mostly determine who wins this thing. I’m really glad for him and his family.”

Richard Petty’s Driver Search, a unique training camp and competition for aspiring race car drivers looking for an opportunity to advance their careers, was designed to focus on the core skill sets necessary for success at the highest levels in motorsports. Competitors demonstrate their abilities and learn from experts in the areas of car control, endurance, track management, adaptability, race practices, passing exercises, car knowledge/feel, mechanical knowledge, speed, communication and marketability. The driving modules take place on two short tracks, a road course, and a superspeedway in equipment that includes High Performance Karts, USAC Midgets, Dodge Viper SRT10®, Nationwide-style and 850hp Sprint Cup Series stock cars.

The “Top Driver” is determined, primarily, by the use of state-of-the-art computerized timing/scoring and video/data acquisition technologies. In addition to the Petty instructional staff, guest instructors and speakers included Marcos Ambrose, Ken Schrader, Dale Inman, Frank Kimmel, Kyle Petty, Jamie Little, and Miss Sprint Cup-Monica Palumbo.