JACKSONVILLE, NC – Ronald Hill has been racing for nearly four decades and is ready to compete in against some of the toughest competitors in Late Model Stock Car racing once more as he approaches the twilight of his career.
Hill, 56, from Rougemont, North Carolina, has won an estimated 60 races, with most of those coming at his hometown track, Orange County Speedway. This weekend, he will face off against names like Bobby McCarty, Brenden Queen, Camden Gullie, and more – names he’s familiar with in the time he’s spent in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour.
“I’m expecting to be a big, strong field of Late Models,” Hill said. “It’s going to be a lot of real tough competition. Should be a fantastic race for the fans and, me personally, it would be the first time I’ve raced at New River. I’m looking forward, it looks like a challenging racetrack so I’m looking forward to coming down there and have us a good, competitive, strong run. I’ve ran just about every track there is on the East Coast from Virginia through Georgia but I’ve never been to that track. That’s one I want to get off the bucket list.”
While Hill has never raced at New River, he has done his homework, as much of it as he can anyway. New River has a unique configuration that challenges racers, old and new alike, along with a gritty surface that increases tire degradation.
“Turns three and four are unique,” Hill explained. “They’re similar to turns one and two at Concord Speedway. Looking at the track surface and tires that we had, we had used tires on practice, looking at how the track grated the tires, we’re going to have to be competitive. It’s going to be in the drivers’ hand to save equipment. We get two tires during the race, that’s going to come into strategy, how much a person thinks they saved their tires and can they go to the second stop or put them on at the first stop. I think most will put them on the second one, but that strategy can change in the first 20 laps.
“It’s going to be a tire management race so it’s going to be real interesting to watch,” he continued. “You’ll see a bunch of guys shoot to the front and drop knack, and then two more jump to the front and fall back. I don’t think you’ll see somebody get out there and lead every lap. It should be a lot of passing and excitement.”
New River has also been compared to Myrtle Beach Speedway, a legendary track in South Carolina that shut down in the summer of 2020 and has since been demolished.
“I hope it’s like Myrtle Beach,” Hill said. “We ran Myrtle Beach in the CARS Tour and led a majority of it except for the last six laps when Lee Pulliam got by me. We had him where we knew he couldn’t catch us but that last caution that came out, we just couldn’t pull it off, but we wound up second and we were pleased. I hope to come down and get a little redemption for that race but it’s going to be tough.”
After 40 years of racing, Hill finds his racing career approaching sunset.
“I’m pretty much semi-retired,” Hill remarked. “I try to keep my schedule down to 3-4 races a year for the last two years. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’ve done it for 40 years. It’s just got so competitive as far as the industry in getting engineers and hiring help for Late Models. It’s time to let the young fellows have at it.”
While many older drivers around Hill’s age lament the changing tide in Late Model Stock Car racing’s youth movement, Hill welcomes it.
“These young kids are coming in the sport and they’re wheelmen, they can get the job done,” Hill stated. “It’s amazing to watch how they keep coming in younger and how talented they are. I like talking to them and getting to know them and getting their perspective on their feel of the car vs. my old school feel of the car. There’s a lot of difference with what these kids do on sims and stuff. They’re very talented. I enjoy working with them and, if they have questions, I enjoy answering them and giving them my opinion.”
Throughout his 40 year career, Hill has seen generations of racers come and go, and watched former competitors move up into the ranks of NASCAR. He reminisced on some of those he raced against at South Boston (Virginia) Speedway and Orange County (North Carolina) Speedway.
“You can go all the way back to Ward and Jeff Burton and the Sadler brothers and the Labontes,” Hill recalled. “I’ve raced all them at Orange County and South Boston over the years. Scott Riggs lives right down the road. A lot of competitive drivers have come through this area and we’ve raced against all of them.”
Through the years, the veteran earned the nickname “Ronald ‘The Thrill’ Hill” from former CARS Tour series announcer Tony Stevens, a nickname he has embraced. Hill enjoys connecting with fans and recognizes the importance of diehard fans to the industry.
“I think it adds a little excitement for the fans,” Hill commented. “We do a lot of races and we camp at the track and stuff so the fans can come over after the race or the night before the race, get to see us, and meet us one on one. I’m not one to shy away from the fans and jump in the vehicle and leave. I think it’s pretty neat, the nickname, it adds a little character to the team.”
Qualifying for the Solid Rock Carriers Battle of the Stars will take place on Saturday, March 4, at 4:30 pm and the feature racing program will commence at 7:00 pm, with the 200-lap, $20,000-to-win Late Model Stock Car race expected to go green around 8-8:15 pm. Tickets are available online on MyRacePass and at the gate on race day for $25, and the event will be broadcast live on the FloRacing streaming platform, which is the official streaming partner of NASCAR Roots.
The complete weekend schedule and additional information about the Solid Rock Carriers Battle of the Stars is available online at newriverspeedway.com/battle.
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.
