Before Lee Ray’s first Street Stock race at Jackson this year, he faced a dilemma: He didn’t know how to set up his car for the track.
He was new to running the track as part of the Mississippi Street Stock Series, a series in which he’d never competed. Ray usually stuck close to the Golden Triangle, racing at Magnolia Motor Speedway and Columbus Speedway, so he leaned on the advice of Tony Bright, a close friend and fellow Street Stock driver, who advised him on what gears to run at the track. The two have relied on each other in one way or another this season, as both have competed on the 10-race state series and in the Golden Triangle. Bright is second in points, while Ray is third.
This weekend, they hope that teamwork helps them bring home the largest Street Stock purse of thee season, when Magnolia plays host to the $5,000-to-win Fall 40 Street Stock Championship.
“Lee is one of my favorite racers, one of the best guys in the deal that people don’t really know,” Bright said. “A lot of people didn’t know Lee outside of Columbus, and I knew he’d fit in so good with the guys on the series. When you get out and race the series, you have no choice but to get better. Me and him, we fit good together. If I need anything he’s got, he’s got me. I’ve borrowed gears from him after I broke a transmission. I help him, and he helps me, too. I’ve been glad to be a part of him running as good as he has.”
Their race schedules have differed greatly this season, as Ray has run upwards of 30 races, while Bright has run closer to 15. Ray opted to join the series and compete full-time — while still competing at Magnolia and Columbus — earlier this season when rainouts canceled nearly a half-dozen races. Ray finished first in track points at Magnolia and second at Columbus.
“It hasn’t been my most successful year, but it’s been a good one,” Ray said. “Definitely more races than I usually run.”
Ray’s faced more competition than he has in the past, not just in quality, but in quantity. At the Southern Street Stock Nationals on Aug. 22 at Whynot Motorsports Park, more than 96 cars attempted to qualify.
“I couldn’t believe it when I pulled in,” Ray said. “That’s a pile of Street Stocks. The division has grown a bunch. There are a bunch of big races this year. I finished fifth that night and fourth at another $2,000 show at Meridian.”
Ray and Bright expect a car count close to 60 Saturday. And while the numbers have signaled a rise in the division, the names on the entry cards suggest the division’s popularity is increasing, Bright said.
“I’ve seen it every year, progressively getting better,” Bright said. “But this year it seems like more of the upper divisions are starting to step down. You’re starting to see bigger names, but the last two or three years it’s been the same amount of growth. In Columbus, all three of the Rickmans are doing street stuff, and so is Shay Knight. I think that means a lot that the guys at the top want to come to this class. That can only help make the division stronger.”
While Bright, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has helped build the Street Stock division in Mississippi and support the development of other race programs, he has chosen to monitor the future growth from the sideline. Bright will leave racing in 2016, at least for the foreseeable future. Bright said he’s ready for a break after 13 years of racing.
“This year, I got a bittersweet start,” Bright said. “I came out, first of the year, really strong. I won $5,400 in four weeks of racing. But I lost three engines doing that, so I didn’t make any money. It kind of got me financially, and I didn’t really have the sponsors this year I thought I’d have. I just decided it was a good time to take a break.
“I’ve been burned out since midseason, but I didn’t want to give up on the series. I don’t think I gave 100 percent like I normally do, and it’ll take that to run with these guys.”
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