RANDLEMAN, North Carolina (January 19, 2011) – -Ryan Wilson, ”Top Driver” of Richard Petty’s Driver Search II will appear this weekend at the fourth annual Driver Advancement Marketing Summit at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Sunday, January 23, 2011. Wilson, who currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series (NWAAS) at Caraway (N.C.) Speedway, will be one of several speakers on-hand to discuss his climb up the ladder and how driver development on and off the track has proven to be beneficial to him.
In the fall of 2010, Wilson was one of twelve drivers from across the country who participated in Richard Petty’s Driver Search – a unique four day training camp and competition which included stops at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Concord (N.C.) Speedway and a road-course at Carolina (S.C.) Motorsports Park. Wilson and his fellow drivers took the track in High Performance Karts, USAC Midgets, a NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) stock cars, completing 10-modules which, using high-tech digital scoring systems, ultimately determines the “Top Driver”.
Wilson also worked with an instruction staff that included racing icon Ken Schrader, Sprint Cup driver Marcos Ambrose, nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel, legendary crew chief Dale Inman, NASCAR media personality and former driver Kyle Petty, ESPN track reporter Jamie Little and Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo on a variety of topics that surround the territories of being a professional race-car driver.
Through the trial and tribulations, Wilson outdueled his other competitors awarding him a shot to qualify in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at the historic Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway. Having never sat in an ARCA car before tackling the track nicknamed “The Rock”, it was easy to see why Wilson beat out his competitors.
After starting 19th, Wilson in the No. 15 Richard Petty’s Driver Search Dodge Charger kept his nose clean, earned the respect of his competitors and took the checkered flag in a respectable and noteworthy 14th position.
“I’m very honored and humbled about being asked to speak about my career and what I’ve learned through the Richard Petty’s Driver Search,” said Wilson. “It was an incredible opportunity and it introduced me to a lot of different areas of the racing scene that I had never had the chance to experience before. I’m thankful to everyone at Petty Holdings and Performance PR Plus for the opportunity to attend.”
The driver of the No. 12 Randolph Bank Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series is preparing for what he is expecting to be a busy but also a winning 2011 racing season.
“We’re going to continue to run at Caraway, but we’re also going to run a couple races in ARCA,” sounded Wilson. “It’s our goal to go and try to win a championship at Caraway but also begin my advancement to the heavier stock cars through the ARCA Racing Series. It’s a great series and I enjoyed myself immensely at Rockingham. I’m looking forward to this year and I cannot continue to thank everyone from my team, my family, my friends and our marketing partners for their support in Ryan Wilson Motorsports.”
In addition to racing at Caraway (N.C.) Speedway and a limited ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule, Wilson will also compete in Late Model stock car events at Ace (N.C.) Speedway and other selected Late Model contests.
Stay tuned for a newly-designed Ryan Wilson Motorsports website. However, in the meantime for more input on Ryan Wilson and his organization, please visit RyanWilsonMotorsports.com.
