Faulk drivers getting
experience at HMS
By Tom Gillispie
When Hickory Motor Speedway opened its season a few weeks ago, Lee
Faulk Racing was well represented.
Three of the LFR racers were in the 24-car Late Model field. Justin
Bolton finished seventh, Bret Holmes 10th and Kate Dallenbach 20th
in the 100-lap Big 10 Race Challenge.
Last week, two Faulk drivers raced at Hickory. Holmes finished seventh
in the 11-car Late Model race, and Marcus Lambert was seventh in the 18-car
Limited race.
Faulk’s returning racers are Bolton and Enrique Baca Amador in Late
Models and Lambert in Limiteds.
Michael Faulk says they chose HMS partly because it’s relatively close
to their shop in Denver, N.C.
“We’ve been racing there since we started,” said Michael Faulk, 32.
Owner Lee Faulk, 57, says the track’s illustrious history is an
attraction, but he adds, “It’s a NASCAR-sanctioned track, and that’s important
for the kids. It’s attached to the NASCAR banner.
“Hickory’s also the hardest track we’ve been to,” he added. “We test
there a lot, and it’s a neat place to race, really. There’s good Saturday-night
racing there.”
On race days, Michael and Lee act as crew chiefs or spotters. In the
season opener, Michael Faulk was the crew chief for Dallenbach.
Dallenbach, the 17-year-old daughter of former Cup driver Wally
Dallenbach Jr., is in her first year in Late Models. She plans to run the 10
Paramount Kia Big 10 Racing Challenge races, and she’s also doing some dirt
racing.
Bolton has moved up to Late Models after running Limited Late Models at
HMS last year. He ran just six races but won twice and posted one second-place
finish, one fourth-place finish and a sixth-place finish. “He's a natural,” Lee
Faulk said. “Very few drivers have caught on as immediately as he has. He listens
well.”
Bolton is a freshman at UNC Charlotte, majoring in Mechanical
Engineering with an emphasis in Motorsports.
Holmes says his plans are to run a full season at HMS and also run 15
to 20 dirt Super Late Model races. He might run the All American 400 at
Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn., and the Snowball Derby in Pensacola,
Fla. Those come at the end of the year, after he gets more asphalt experience.
Lambert, 18, is a high-school senior in Woodbridge,
Va. He’ll attend the University of Northwestern Ohio this fall and
take the High Performance Motorsports and Automotive Technology
programs.
One of the most notable past LFR racers at HMS was Pietro Fittipaldi,
who won a Limited title at Hickory in 2011; then he raced a season of Late
Models before going to open-wheel cars last year.
Venezuelan Christian Calvo won a Late Model race late last season for
LFR, but he’s moved elsewhere this year.
Both Faulks have racing backgrounds. Lee won races
in the All-American Challenge Series, and he ran three Cup races in 1982,
finishing 23rd at Richmond, 20th at Charlotte and 32nd
at North Wilkesboro. He started six Busch (now Nationwide) Series races, one in
’83 (finishing 26th at Charlotte) and five races in 1989 (with a
best of 18th at Charlotte in Florida).
After retiring as a driver, he built cars and then started LFR in 2006.
Michael raced various divisions in Florida before trying the NASCAR
All-Pro Series in 2003 and the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series in 2005. He still
races Late Models on occasion, but he says he won’t race against LFR’s clients.
He might race this fall at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway or somewhere when the
clients are idle.
He says LFR has four full-time employees and one part-timer, and they
add more part-time help for weekends.
Michael says the worst thing about the job is watching their drivers
get better during the season, win once or twice, then move somewhere else the
next season.
“The best thing is working with my dad and working in my hobby,”
Michael said. “It doesn’t seem like a job.”
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