Story By: RYAN DELPH / RAY COOK RACING – BRASSTOWN, NC – Brasstown, North Carolina native Ray Cook picked up his first checkered flag in 2024 on Friday, January 5 during the Sportsman portion of the 33rd Annual ‘Ice Bowl’ at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama!
Piloting a brand-new #85 Capital racecar for Joe Denby and Richard Austin, Ray swept the Sportsman show by also earning Fast Time honors during Thursday’s qualifying session and recording a heat race triumph. He then led all 30 circuits in the headliner to pocket the $2,500 first place prize money over a top five that included runner-up Brandon Brown, Tod Hernandez, Anthony White, and Oliver Gentry!
Behind the wheel of his own #53 Super Late Model, Ray was gunning for the $7,500 winner’s check and his fourth career ‘Ice Bowl’ trophy. In preliminary action on Friday, Ray clicked off the fourth quickest time in Group A during qualifying prior to placing third in his heat race. After rolling off from the inside of the sixth row in Saturday’s 50-lap grand finale, the “Tarheel Tiger” was able to race past seven competitors to leave TST with a strong fourth place performance behind only victor Ryan Gustin, Oakley Johns, and Christian Hanger.
“For rolling out of the box for the very first time, the new Capital Sportsman car was dialed in all weekend long,” quoted Cook this week via telephone. “I have to thank Joe Denby, Richard Austin, Vinson Race Engines, and everyone at Capital Race Cars for their hand in providing me such a great piece to drive. Then in the Super, I really think we had a chance to go for the weekend sweep. We went from 11th-to-4th and then the car really fell off towards the end of the race. I wasn’t sure what had happened with the change of speed, but when I got back to the pit area, we had a tire completely down on the rim. Still a great way to start our year and really looking forward to Screven here in a few weeks!”
Next up for the Ray Cook Racing team will be a trip to the Peach State on February 2-3 for the running of ‘Winter Freeze XIV’ at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Georgia. The Southern All Stars Dirt Racing Series (SAS) will preside over the Super Late Model action and a $3,000 top prize will be up for grabs in Friday’s weekend opener. On Saturday evening, Ray will vie for a $12,000 payday in the ‘Winter Freeze’ finale.