August 26, 2013 – By Jacob Seelman for Speed 77 Radio and RaceChaser Online – Charlotte, N.C. – For Cason Werner, 2013 has been nothing short of a dream season.
After watching his older brother Seth roll to a Bandolero Outlaws championship last season, Cason set out to match records this season, and ran strong out of the gate, collecting five wins at Concord Speedway in the spring and putting himself solidly in the top five in INEX Bandolero Bandits National Points.
Unfortunately for the young driver, however, the Werner Racing team had to forgo the Winter Heat Series at Charlotte in late January, keeping Cason’s win total short of the double-digit tally he would need to do battle for the National Title, but it didn’t stop him from going after a prestigious points championship all the same.
Waging on-track war with his longtime friend and rival Dawson Cram, Cason would storm to three wins in the prestigious Summer Shootout at Charlotte, claiming the summer points championship in the Bandits division at Charlotte and raising his season wins total to eight at the end of July.
Add to that an additional win in an INEX National Qualifying race at Bowman-Gray Stadium on August 2nd, and teams finally started to take serious notice of the young talent behind the wheel of the orange and white #01.
Though they were guaranteed a spot in the National Championship race just last weekend in Bethel, New York, Werner did not make the trip north to compete, being too far out of the National Championship lead to justify making the trip. Giving up their shot at a national championship did not mean that the team was rolling over, though. It meant they had much bigger plans in mind.
Per a team announcement provided exclusively to Speed77 Radio and Race Chaser Online:
Werner Racing is pleased to announce that after electing not to participate in the Bandolero Nationals last weekend, we will move to test Cason Werner in a Legends car in the fall of 2013 with the intention of racing Cason in the Legends Car Young Lions division for 2014. We are looking forward to this new chapter in Cason’s climb up the racing ladder, and appreciate all our supporters who have assisted us thus far.
“I’m excited to be moving up to the next level in my racing career,” Werner said in an interview with Race Chaser Online correspondent Jacob Seelman. “I hate that we can’t battle for the National Championship in Bandits this season, but I’m looking forward to the opportunities to come.”
With Werner’s rise to the next level in the INEX ranks, it leaves Chandler Smith, Zachary Dabbs, Caden Carlin and Dawson Cram as the final four contenders for the 2013 Bandits National Championship.
Though he may not win championship hardware this year, from what he’s shown on the racetrack in 2013, you can bet on seeing Cason Werner’s name in the racing headlines come 2014. He’s already left a pretty impressive act to follow.
PHOTO CREDIT: Charlotte Motor Speedway
