CONCORD, N.C. – After a successful USAC Speed2 Eastern Midget Ass’n debut at Dillon Motor Speedway in August, Alex Murray has taken the next step by acquiring an Eastern Midget of his own.
Murray, with the help of his family-owned team, covered a portion of the cost to purchase the car and plans to debut it on Oct. 6 at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, N.C.
The entry will be No. 22 – Murray’s number in Legend cars and late models – and will carry sponsorship from Shamrock Auto Care and CPG Graphics.
“It’s been a journey just to get to this point,” noted Murray. “The car came from Kentucky … it’s actually an old Tony Stewart Racing car, and it’s an awesome piece of equipment. It’s got pretty much everything we need with it, so we should be good to go with everything we need for the rest of this year and going into next year, as well.”
Saturday’s race will mark an important step for the 18-year-old North Carolina racer, who up to now hadn’t had a dedicated investment in his own equipment.
“This is big for me. It’s the first race car I’ve ever helped buy,” Murray said. “It’s hard to race hard when you’re renting a car, because you don’t want to have to pay the crash clause or tear up someone else’s equipment, but when it’s your car you can manage that a little differently knowing that even if you wreck, you can fix it yourself instead of having to give money to someone else.
“I guess it’s a different kind of risk, I’d say,” he continued. “It’s a bit comforting, though, knowing that we’ve got the equipment we need in our own race shop now.”
Though he earned a top-five finish in his series debut, Murray will openly admit that he’s never been an “open wheel guy,” and hopes to soak in the tools he needs to be successful over the races to come.
“This is going to be a lot of learning for me. I’ve been talking to my buddy Connor (Gross), who’s been helping me out and giving me some tips to help my learning curve a bit,” Murray admitted. “We’re really in a small group of people that sets up our own cars and make it work … and he’s the one I was racing the hardest with in my debut at Dillon.
“He’s got this thing figured out and hopefully I can get things clicking before long as well.”
As of now, Murray plans to compete in at least two of the final three races of the Eastern Midget season, with eyes on heading to Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C. on Oct. 13 after what he hopes is a successful outing this weekend.
Should all go according to plan, Murray’s goal is to make a run at the series championship in 2019.
“I’m excited to get back in the seat and to have the opportunity to do so, at least, a little more regularly than what I’ve had the past year or so,” stated Murray. “Next year will be tough, with working full-time and my dad not having a ton of time to do outside stuff, but we’ll see. I’m the main setup guy now, so it’s up to me to make it happen more than anyone else.
“I’m hopeful of running most of the year next year, if not all of the races,” he added. “If we’re in the points halfway through the season, I think regardless we’ll go for the championship, one way or another. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.”
After starting his career in quarter-midget racing, Murray said that heading into the Eastern Midget field brings back memories of “the old days.”
“I feel like we’re throwing it back to quarter midgets by doing this, really,” Murray laughed. “I’m racing with everyone, pretty much, that I raced with back then and I feel like I can run with them.
“Here’s hoping. We’ll see what happens.”
