JACKSONVILLE, NC – Aiden McConnaughey has set his sights on the Legends division championship at New River All-American Speedway with the playoffs beginning in Saturday night’s Furniture 4 Less Labor Day Classic.
McConnaughey, 17, from Jacksonville, North Carolina, locked himself into the playoffs with his two Legend Car wins during the regular season at New River All-American Speedway, and the teenager is riding a wave of momentum. While Raleigh, North Carolina’s Carson Haislip has six wins on the season, McConnaughey has been able to challenge the championship leader in recent races – a pace he will need if he advances to the winner-take-all final on Sunday, September 17, 2023.
“I’m very excited for this weekend and very happy with the progress we’ve made with our Three Sixteen Motorsports car so far, but now, with the playoffs upon us, that doesn’t matter anymore,” McConnaughey said. “Our goal now has to be to avoid any mistakes and run our best race to ensure we transfer. We have some very stiff competition all around from the Dillon Spain Motorsports cars, the Irvings, D.J. [Murphy] and Mike [Ridenour]. All of them are very respectable, quick competitors that you can’t count out and we will need to bring our A-game in order to make the final four and have a shot at this title.”
McConnaughey, who originally hails from Ohio, grew up going to races at the now-defunct Columbus Motor Speedway and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. After moving to Jacksonville in May 2022, Aiden and his father, Tyson, began attending races at New River All-American Speedway. In July 2022, they purchased a Legend Car and began racing at the 4/10-mile track.
“The biggest factor that made me have the passion for racing would be that my dad has always had the same passion as I do,” McConnaughey stated. “He started taking me to races when I was just a couple years ago back at Columbus Motor Speedway before it closed and at Mid-Ohio for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and IndyCar races there. I’ve always had a huge love for the sights, smells, and atmosphere that any kind of racetrack has to offer. It’s because of those things that I’ve wanted to race for about as long as I can remember.”
By the end of the 2022 season, McConnaughey was running consistently in the top half of the field and scoring podium finishes. However, the 2023 season has been a spark that has lit the fire for McConnaughey to become an elite-caliber driver in the Legends division at New River All-American Speedway.
On April 1, McConnaughey stormed past Phoenyx Kimball in the closing laps of a Legends race to score his first career victory. He picked up his second win on July 15 after scoring a handful of podium finishes.
“I really didn’t expect to be fighting for wins the way we are, but Willie Ridenhour has given us more help than I ever could have imagined just over a year ago, and has been an absolutely massive part of our program and allowing us to be as competitive as we are,” McConnaughey explained. “It means the world to progress this much. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to see the constant week-to-week improvement that we’ve had and all the hard work from all sides paying off as quickly as it is.”
McConnaughey also noted that the support from his family both in Jacksonville and back in Ohio and his marketing partners have cultivated “a great leaning environment that, thankfully, we’ve been able to make massive strides in.”
On Saturday night, six men and two very fast women will compete amongst each other in the penultimate race of the 2023 championship season for the INEX Legend Cars. Those drivers are McConnaughey, Haislip, Ridenour, Brenton Irving, Shane Irving, 2022 Bandolero champion Phoenyx Kimball, Raven Kimball, and Carsyn Gillikin. The top four finishes among those eight drivers will advance to the winner-take-all Championship Final on Sunday, September 17, 2023.
Having shown race-winning speed in recent races, McConnaughey believes in himself and his team and believes he can be the one hoisting the championship trophy.
“I think we can absolutely take a shot at this championship,” McConnaughey remarked. “I have a huge amount of faith in my equipment and team, and I know that, when the green flag drops for these last couple of races, we’ll be there with our A-game on and ready to go all in. It would mean a lot to me to be able to bring it home. It would be the exclamation mark on the statement year that we’ve had, and would give us monumental confidence and momentum as we look to go all out next year, in Legends and possible Late Models as well if we can get some funding and contacts together.”
Saturday night’s playoff semifinals for the INEX Legends is one of eight feature races that will make up the Furniture 4 Less Labor Day Classic. The Grand National Super Series will be in action twice as 10-time ARCA Menards Series champion Frank Kimmel hopes to remain undefeated at New River All-American Speedway and in the series. The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series will be in action with a Late Model doubleheader along with Bombers and Champ Karts.
Tickets for the Labor Day Classic are available online and through the MyRacePass mobile app or at the gate on Saturday for $10, while kids five (5) and under are admitted free.
New River All-American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about New River All-American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “New River Speedway” on Facebook, follow @newriverswy on Twitter, or follow the track on Instagram.
