Marketing and General Inquiries
Steve Pickens
1.866.307.0523
wonrace63@aol.com
February 1, 2010
Windermere, Fla. – Riddled with bad luck through most of 2009, Austin Pickens has his sights set on a brighter 2010 season and he began it with a late model feature win at New Smyrna Speedway on the final night of Speedweeks 2010. The win marked Pickens’ first since Speedweeks 2009 – a year ago almost to the night.
“It was a big win for us,” Pickens said. “It’s important to start the season off with a win after so much bad luck last year. I have to thank everyone who has made our racing efforts possible in the past. We have an exciting 2011 planned and we’re looking forward to it.”
Revisiting the ’09 season, the 16-year-old Pickens and his Pic’s Motorsports team had an array of bad luck and other circumstances set them back. Following Speedweeks 2009, the team set out to follow the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour with goals of gaining experience against many of the best late model racers in the South and proving that Austin could run with the top drivers.
Pickens and the team traveled to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., qualified 15th out of 36 but was involved in an accident halfway through the feature. The second stop was a trip to North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway, where Pickens tested for two days before the race was rained out. Watermelon Capital Speedway in Georgia was the team’s third ASA Southeast appearance, where a solid fifth-place run turned sour when a valve spring broke deep into the feature.
Pic’s Motorsports debuted a brand-new Howe chassis in their fourth race at Georgia’s Lanier National Speedway. Pickens finished on this day, although the new-car bugs were yet to be worked out. A 28th-place result in the affair wasn’t what they had hoped for, but after gaining laps and finishing the race, the team had high hopes headed into the rest of the season.
The rest of the ASA season wouldn’t happen, however, as the Southeast Tour was canceled following the event at Lanier. The cancellation left many teams scrambling for races to run, and the Pic’s team was not exempt. Instead of looking for races run, Austin and his father, Steve, decided to focus on the construction of a brand-new race shop and Hamke super late model, as well as the alignment of their team.
The team spent most of the summer and fall finishing the new shop and the new Hamke, and hiring Michael Kay as a new crew chief. The team went to New Smyrna Beach for the Nov. 21 Governor’s Cup race but a tech issue resulted in Pickens never getting on the track. The next stop was just a couple months ago for the Red Eye race at New Smyrna on Jan. 2. This was the first super late model race for Pickens, who qualified 11th out of 26 cars and was running sixth on lap 65 when he was taken out by another car.
Next up came Speedweeks just a few weeks ago, where again Pickens was running well on the first night of competition. Pickens had a fifth-place run going when the car in front of him spun and Austin had no where to go. The crash damaged the front clip of Pickens’ car, and the team’s super late model was out for the rest of Speedweeks. The Pic’s team focused on their limited late model for the remainder of Speedweeks, and came away with the win on the final night.
The team’s plans for the rest of 2010 are uncertain at this time, as the economy has resulted in the loss of a considerable amount of sponsorship. The positive news is that Pic’s Motorsports is launching a brand-new racing school in Windermere, Fla. Tagged Pic’s Motorsports Racing Experience, in conjunction with Dream Factory at Universal Studios the school will be marketed toward fans and racing enthusiasts who have little or no experience driving a racecar. Pic’s Motorsports will be working on the school for most of 2010 and it is planned to be launched in February of 2011 and funding for Austin’s racing in 2011 will depend on the school’s success and revenue.
Pickens and his team are going to continue their push toward the top ranks of auto racing. At only 16, Austin is still young and has a solid foundation under him to work from. He has a wealth of experience in many different racecars, and now he’s in need of some luck in order to showcase his talents.
If you are interested in sponsoring a talented, young and energetic driver, contact Steve Pickens of Pic’s Motorsports at 1-866-307-0523