After making his first dirt start in 14 years 2 weeks ago, grizzled dirt veteran (1 race) Thomas “Moose” Praytor of Hixson and his Realtor team are ready for ARCA’s return to dirt this weekend.
“I really had no idea what was going to happen with our Realtor car on the dirt in Springfield. Mr. Wayne’s (Hixson, car owner) experience on the dirt really made my learning curve easier.
I definitely have a better idea of what to expect this weekend and feel good about us having a good day,” offered Praytor.
“It’s opening weekend of college football and I want to wish AJ McCarron and the Tide good luck this weekend in Atlanta. We already have a “4 In A Row” tag from Alabama Tourism on our car, we’d like to make that a “5 In A Row” tag next year.” (Praytor and McCarron won a Football State Championship as teammates in High School)
The Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds is a 1 day event with practice, qualifying and the race all on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2. The green flag flies at 1:30 p.m. with live radio broadcast, timing and scoring on ARCAracing.com.
High hopes were dashed early for Praytor with a motor issue at Madison. He said, “We’ve been working really hard on our Realtor cars at the shop, making big structural changes to our cars. Madison gave us a look into what we’ve been able to accomplish and we’re looking forward to taking the reworked cars to the final asphalt tracks on the schedule. This sport is always changing and evolving, competing at this level you never stop working. Our guys have done a tremendous job.”