CARNESVILLE, GA – The field is set for the $3,000-to-win 40-lap Georgia State Championship Race this Sunday afternoon at Lavonia Speedway in Lavonia, GA for the Fastrak Pro Late Model Series. Jensen Ford of Piney Flats, TN set fast time for the race last Saturday with a time of 17.300 seconds, but the main event was postponed due to rain last Sunday.

This Sunday afternoon, Ford will start the Tim Byrd Motorsports TNT on the outside of the front row of the 20-car field. Ford won the second ten-lap Heat Race last Saturday, and Trent Ivey of Union, SC won the first ten-lap heat race and will start the Georgia State Championship Race on the pole position in the Ivey Construction MastersBilt.

“We did some daytime testing a few weeks ago, so that helped us out a lot last Saturday and we were fast all day,” Ford said. “For me, the key to the race is going to be to try and get the lead at the start. Trent Ivey is a good racer, so it’s going to be a good race. I think we’ll be O.K. because I love racing on daytime slick tracks.”

Fastrak officials have announced that any competitors that were not in attendance this past Saturday, but can make it to the track this coming Sunday, may enter the race in their respective Division and tag on the tail of the feature race.

Ford, who drives a Fastrak Pro Late Model powered by an economical Chevrolet Performance 604 Short Track Engine, has been around the sport of dirt late model racing all of his life, as his parents Tony and Teresa Ford own TNT Race Cars, a longtime sponsor of the Fastrak Racing Series. The 29-year-old’s uncle, is well-known East Tennessee dirt late model pilot Randy Ford.

“Like any kid over the last 20 years that has grown up around dirt late model racing in East Tennessee, I wanted to be a race car driver like Scott Bloomquist,” Ford said. “Even though I like to watch Bloomquist, my hero as a driver growing up was my Uncle Randy Ford.”

Competitors nationwide have known Jensen Ford for entire life. Those going to the trade shows during off season in the mid-1990s may remember that cute little boy at the TNT Race Cars parts table, or sometimes, underneath it taking a nap. Well, that cute little boy has grown up to be a top dirt late model driver in his own right, not to mention a husband and father.

“Growing up in the TNT Race Car shop, I wanted to be a car builder and a setup man,” Ford said. “I didn’t really have a desire to be a driver until I was 15 or 16-year-old. I told my Dad I think I can do this, and he thought I was crazy. John King had an old MastersBilt with a crate engine they put me in and I finished second in my first two races at Wythe Raceway in Wytheville, VA. I must have got a little too over confident because I didn’t win my first race until my seventh race at Wythe! I still think I’m a better set-up man than I am a race car driver.”

Now there is another cute little third-generation kid running around the TNT Race Cars shop with Ford’s 20-month-old Hudson. According to Hudson’s dad, the youngster can be whatever he wants to be.

“I’m going to let him decide what he wants to be, and there will be no pressure for him to build and/or drive race cars,” Ford said. “But having said that, he’s always running around the shop with a wrench in his hand trying to work on something.”

Race organizers promise a quick running show for the eight feature races in eight different classes of race cars this Sunday afternoon with time limits put on the events. Gates open at 11 a.m. with the Drivers Meeting at 12:30 p.m. and Racing is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Along with the $3,000-to-win Fastrak Pro Late Model main event, the 602 Thunder Series, the Monster Mini Stocks, and the SE Limited Late Models will race for $2,000-to-win. The Modified Streets will battle it out for $1,000-to-win, while the Stock 8, Front Wheel Drive and Rookie 4 Divisions will race for $500-to-win.

Lavonia Speedway is located five miles south of Lavonia on Lavonia Highway. For more information, call 706-491-4493, or visit the Lavonia Speedway web site at www.lavoniaspeedway.net. You can also Like the Lavonia Speedway Facebook page.

Check out the official website for the FASTRAK Racing Series at www.fastrakracing.com and continue to follow our social media networks for the FASTRAK Racing Series. Like and Follow our Fan Page on Facebook plus follow @FASTRAK_SE and/or @FASTRAK_MOV on Twitter to get up to the minute news and details as they become available.


THE 2016 MARKETING PARTNERS FOR THE FASTRAK RACING SERIES ARE CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE, HOOSIER RACING TIRE, VP RACING FUEL, BEYEA HEADERS, ROCKET CHASSIS, TNT RACE CARS, ARIZONA SPORT SHIRTS, ROCK AUTO.COM, AND THOMAS CLARKE PERFORMANCE.