Beginning your racing career as an 8-year-old is certainly a way to reach your dreams.  Buddy Perkinson, the 19-year-old from Prince George, Va., will be driving a 2009 Ford Mustang Pro Stock car (Jerry Haas chassis) for Cunningham Motorsports throughout the 2011 Full Throttle Drag Racing season.

Perkinson has quickly moved up through the ranks in drag racing, from Junior Dragster champion in 2007 and now racing Pro Stock. This opportunity, complete with a whole new challenge of racing a clutch car, is quite the accomplishment for a 19-year-old.

The team has gone through several recent changes including the departure of former race car driver Bob Glidden from the team in early January.

Beginning your racing career as an 8-year-old is certainly a way to reach your dreams.  Buddy Perkinson, the 19-year-old from Prince George, Va., will be driving a 2009 Ford Mustang Pro Stock car (Jerry Haas chassis) for Cunningham Motorsports throughout the 2011 Full Throttle Drag Racing season.

Perkinson has quickly moved up through the ranks in drag racing, from Junior Dragster champion in 2007 and now racing Pro Stock. This opportunity, complete with a whole new challenge of racing a clutch car, is quite the accomplishment for a 19-year-old.

The team has gone through several recent changes including the departure of former race car driver Bob Glidden from the team in early January.

“We have a lot changing in the team this year as far as someone new building motors for Cunningham and a new crew chief. My goal is to finish in the top ten; of course Pro Stock is a hard class in general. I think as far as a team goal it would be mainly to improve from last year,” said Perkinson on personal and team goals.

“I met Jim (Cunningham, team owner) when I was still running Super Comp. Of course he knew that I wanted to one day get to Pro Stock, everybody has known that,” Perkinson says of his relationship with Cunningham, “I’ve known Jim now for well over a year. It was more of just a friendship before it was a business deal, but we’re just as good of friends as we were before.”

George Lark, General Manager of Cunningham Motorsports, feels that Buddy’s seat in the car this year is definite and they are looking forward to continuing with him throughout the course of the 2011 season.

Not only has Perkinson made an obvious great first impression on Cunningham, Lark and chassis builder Jerry Haas, but he has high hopes in becoming a good candidate for rookie of the year as well.

 

---

{source}
<div style="float:left; padding:5px;"><script type="text/javascript">
google_ad_client = "pub-8044869477733334";
/* 300x250, created 4/3/09 */
google_ad_slot = "2028912167";
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 250;
</script>
<script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</div><div style="padding:5px;">

<script type="text/javascript">
sr_adspace_id = 2000000613807;
sr_adspace_width = 300;
sr_adspace_height = 250;
sr_ad_new_window = true;
sr_adspace_type = "graphic";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.afy11.net/srad.js?azId=2000000613807">
</script></div>
{/source}