JACKSONVILLE, NC – Brandon Clements is returning to the track that served as the launching pad to his successful racing career this weekend to compete in the Carolina Mini Stock Summer Nationals at Goodyear All American Speedway.
Clements began racing at the Jacksonville, North Carolina track, then called Coastal Plains Raceway, back in 2004 and won a Mini Stock championship in 2007, followed by a Late Model championship in 2013. Since then, he’s gone on to have success all across the region in Mini-Stocks and Late Models – including a Late Model championship at Carteret County Speedway in 2018. This weekend, he’s returning to where his career began.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Clements said. “We ran the Late Model a couple of times this year with not much luck but the Mini Stock, hopefully, we can get back on track. We won two races there back in 2018 in Mini Stock. I feel like we’ve got a pretty good handle, but it’s hard to beat Travis Miller and a lot of those guys running up front, but I feel like we’ve got the car turned around and got a shot. We should be a contender with it.”
Clements was in attendance for the grand opening of Goodyear All American Speedway, spotting for Late Model driver Gerald Benton and for Street Stock driver Kevin Benton. The opener left a positive impression on Clements.
“It was pretty amazing to see the stands full,” Clements remarked. “I haven’t seen the stands full like that since the early-2000s when they first opened up. The place looks really good. I’m happy to see the Goodyears and Goodyear All American Speedway employees turning it around and hopefully, it’s booming for years to come.”
Clements has raced in his Late Model a few times in 2021 and plans to return to Goodyear All American Speedway at some point this season with it, but right now, his main focus is on preparing for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 – the annual crowned jewel Late Model Stock Car event held at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway in September.
“We’re just not running as much as we would like to and fell behind a little bit,” Clements explained. “I think we picked our program back up, just haven’t had results because of parts failures. We’re going to start running more and getting ready for Martinsville. We fell behind setup-wise but I think we’ll get it turned back around. Kind of not sure what we’re going to do between now and Martinsville, but after that, we’ll definitely run some races at Goodyear All American Speedway.”
Away from the track, Clements owns and operates Left Turn Designs, a screen-printing shop based in Swansboro in Onslow County.
Clements will join other regional Mini Stock standouts, such as Joseph Pittman, in Saturday’s 50 lap Mini Stock feature. The Summer Nationals will also feature racing for Super Trucks, Legends, Champ Karts, and Bombers, as well as the debut of V8 Pure Stocks and Spectator Street Legal races.
Tickets are available for the Summer Nationals at the gate on race day for $15 for adults, $12 for seniors/military/students (with ID), $5 for kids ages 6-12 while kids five and under get in free. Grandstands open at 5pm, racing begins at 7pm.
Goodyear All American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about Goodyear All American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “Goodyear All American Speedway” on Facebook, or follow the track on Instagram.
