Trey Bright remembers when area Street Stock drivers were lucky to have one $1,000-to-win race a year at their respective home tracks.
Those purses typically still go to drivers in higher divisions, like Super Late Models. Slowly but surely, though, in his 13 years behind the wheel, Bright has built his racing career from the ground up, investing each small purse back into his operation.
He has gone from starting his career with a small loan from the company he worked for to competing in regional Street Stock series, including the Mississippi Street Stocks Series, a five-state series in which he finished second last year.
Bright has won more than 75 feature races and more than 20 major races. He won the NeSmith National Championship in 2013.
He is only getting better now that payouts and competition in the Street Stocks division are higher than they’ve ever been.
Bright will compete for as much as $3,500 this weekend at Magnolia Motor Speedway in the inaugural Golden Egg Classic tonight and Saturday night. Street Stock drivers will compete in a $1,000-to-win feature tonight and a $2,000-to-win race Saturday. If a driver wins both features, he or she will collect an additional $500.
“My goal this year … there’s enough races that pay over $1,000 that that’s all I’m going to run,” said Bright, who drives the No. 82 car. “I’ll try to save my equipment for those shows. It’s to the point now where sometimes you’ll have races that pay that or more two or three times a month. And there’s always been those races, like in Arkansas, where it’s a $10,000 race each year.”
Bright earned a win last week at Columbus Speedway ($1,200) and a second-place finish at the “Battle of the State” at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian.
“I was leading before my motor went down,” said Bright, who is from Coker, Alabama. “We were on a back-up motor at Columbus.”
Bright’s introduction to racing didn’t happen like many of his Street Stock counterparts. He didn’t come from a racing family, and doesn’t have a father, brother, uncle, or close family friend in the game. It was a cousin of one his friends who gave him the bug after he accepted an invitation to a race nearly 19 years ago.
“I knew right then that I wanted to race,” Bright said. “I grew up on dirt roads and was mechanically inclined, so it just made sense.”
He had to wait until he was 17 to get into the game … because he needed a car.
“At that time, I was going to church with a guy who used to race,” Bright said. “He had an old stock car, and he wanted to sell it. I didn’t have the money, so I borrowed it and bought that car. From there, though, I eventually met people who helped me along, but I had to learn a lot on my own. I didn’t come from money, so I had to learn as much as I could and make smart decisions.”
Bright’s dedication has paid off. Outside of a few years competing in Late Model Stocks and open-wheel Modifieds, Bright has found his niche in Street Stocks, where he has gone from racing primarily at Columbus Speedway to winning series races in multiple states.
The Street Stock division’s growth wouldn’t have happened if track owners and managers didn’t reach a consensus on rules, said Johnny Stokes, track manager at Magnolia. Until recently, tracks had their own specifications for tires and suspension, which made it difficult for drivers to travel with the same setup to each track.
“I think Whynot, Jasper, Hattiesburg and a lot of tracks got into the NeSmith series, which has one set of rules that are all the same and are enforced,” Stokes said. “But the class is now starting to get national recognition, and you’ve seen some good-looking cars and more money. It’s really growing.”
NOTES: Factory Stocks and 602 Crates also will run during this weekend. It rain, which is in the forecast tonight, washes out racing, drivers won’t make up the races Saturday. Instead, they’ll compete in events currently scheduled.
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