Rough Holiday Weekend for Epling

Rough Holiday Memorial Day Weekend may force Sammy Epling to take This Weekend (June 3-4th) Off

Perry, Michigan (Thursday, June 2nd, 2011): Motor problems plagued the entire Memorial Day Holiday Weekend for Sammy Epling and his SJE Motorsports / Doug Finley Motorsports team. After Qualifying second fastest out of 29 cars and finished second in his Qualifier Heat Race at Mt. Pleasant Speedway in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan on Friday, May 27th in the first of three scheduled Sunoco American Late Model Series events throughout the holiday weekend, it went all downhill from there.

Epling was involved in an early race incident in the beginning stages of the "Woof Classic" with Curtis Roberts and Matt Miller and the defending track champion was credited with a 22nd place finish. "We were the cause of that wreck!" Epling bluntly stated, "It was totally my fault. I feel bad for getting Curtis (Roberts) and Matt (Miller) involved."

On Saturday, May 28th, the car was fixed and ready to go for Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, but Mother Nature would be the winner as Sunoco ALM Series and Track Officials were forced to postpone the event. So it was on to the legendary Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on Sunday, May 29th and things only for the Perry, Michigan driver.

"We struggled bad at Eldora, then we got the motor hot in the heat race and it just wasn't doing anything in the second B Main, so we decided instead of hurting the motor even more, we pulled it in and called it a night." The disappointed driver continued. "We've since pulled the motor out and sent it to Dowker Racing Engines to be checked out and avoid further problems."

Despite the rough weekend, Epling only lost one spot in the chase for the 2011 Sunoco American Late Model Series Points Standings and is currently tied for seventh with Ryan VanderVeen and is only seven points out of the top five. The next time the series is in action is on Friday, June 17th at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio and then again on Saturday, June 18th back at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio.

In the meantime and with the motor still in the shop at Dowker, Epling and the rest of the team will be forced to take this coming weekend off from racing, which was originally scheduled for Friday, June 3rd at Mt. Pleasant Speedway in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan where Epling is currently seventh in points. Then on Saturday, June 4th at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan where he is sitting fourth in the points chase, only 21 points out of the points lead in the tracks' Tinney Automotive UMP Late Models division.

"Unless we can find another motor or someone's back-up car to borrow for one or both nights, we'll unfortunately be taking this weekend off." The 41-year-old added. "It's really unfortunate too. We're chasing after the Sunoco ALM Series points, so we won't miss those shows. But we have a pretty good shot at competing for a couple of Track Championships at Mt. Pleasant and especially at I-96." He ended.

Tentatively, the next event on the 2011 schedule for Epling and crew will be the 17th annual Dirt Late Model Dream back at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on Friday and Saturday, June 10-11th against some of the best Dirt Late Model drivers and teams in the world.

Epling's #29 Mastersbilt Chassis sporting a Pontiac GTO nose on his UMP Late Model will carry sponsorship decals throughout the 2011 season from; NorthsideTowing.net as well as SJE Trucking, Imaging Solutions, Shift Shop Transmissions, Mike Childers & Sons Excavating, Lane Automotive, Fusion Sign Company, Jeff Smith Home Improvements, NashCar Trailers, Huffy's Marathon, Hedrick Precision Engines, Dowker Racing Engines, M.P.H. Promotions, SJE Motorsports, and Doug Finley Motorsports.

For more information about Sammy Epling and the entire SJE Motorsports / Doug Finley Motorsports Team and to inquire about additional sponsorship opportunities for the 2011 racing season, log onto the teams' website at: www.sammyepling.com You can also follow the entire 2011 season with Epling by becoming a fan on his Facebook Fan Page. Just go to: www.facebook.com and search "Sammy Epling / SJE Motorsports" then click on "Like" today.