BUDDY EMORY, DRIVER

Buddy’s racing experience started at the age 18 with go-karts. Although Buddy started racing a little late, compared to some racers, Buddy was born with an interest in racing.  Although his father, Bernard Emory, did not drive a race car, he was a flagman at Dinwiddie Speedway and a scorer at Royal Speedway (now Southside Speedway) in the 1960’s.  Buddy’s parents (Bernard and Nita Emory) helped Buddy start to live his dream. 

With go-karts, Buddy had feature wins at several Virginia and North Carolina tracks in the Limited Light and Super Stock Light divisions, as well as a 1998 Championship in the Limited Light division at Amelia Motor Speedway. 

After the last banquet for the 1998 season, Buddy loaded all his go-karting equipment in his trailer and headed to Lake Gaston to make a deal for a Townsend modified race car.  Buddy began to rebuild the #44 car in his backyard from the ground up. Clifton “Tiny”, Ruby and Melinda Oliver kindly offered their garage and their help to get the #44 ready for the 1999 season.  Rick Eley built the first motor, which still gets to run a few races and has not officially retired! 

1999 was a good season, as Buddy finished 10th overall and Rookie-of-the-Year, and in 2000 he was awarded Most Improved Driver and finished 6th for the Year with the Mid-Atlantic Modified Racing Series, which is now the Rolling Thunder Modifieds ®.   

In 2002, Buddy purchased a Creech Motorsports modified, which he still drives today.  He has enjoyed wins at Southampton Motor Speedway, Coastal Plains Speedway, East Carolina Speedway and Shenandoah Speedway, and finished runner-up in the points in 2002 with the Rolling Thunder Modifieds and in 2006 at Langley Speedway.

Although Buddy has not earned a Championship with the #44 Modified, he wanted to try a new challenge in 2007.  The challenge was to drive the #02 Nascar Whelen Southern Modified for T and C Motorsports (Tommy & Connie Lythgoe).  Before Nascar gives you a license, you have to submit a racing resume to get approval to race and get approval for what size tracks you can race. Buddy received the call from Brett Bodine with the approval, and the winter of 2006/2007 was spent rebuilding a 2005 Troyer modified and learning about the new series. 

2007 would be a learning year for Buddy, as well as for the whole team.  The main focus was getting Buddy seat time.    Motor troubles seemed to prey on the team at Greenville Pickens, Caraway and Southern National.  Buddy’s highlight for the year (and probably since the start of racing) was to qualify at Martinsville Speedway for the Whelen 300.  Buddy qualified 26th, finished 21st overall and 9th for the Southern Division only, which was televised on SPEED ®.  The team’s goal was to make the race, finish the race and bring the car home in one piece.  Mission Accomplished!  (Before the Martinsville race, he had less than 120 race laps in the car.) 

The other highlight for 2007 was to qualify in the top 10 for the first time (9th at Southern National Speedway), but unfortunately was not able to start the race due to motor issues.   

In 2008, Buddy will run for the Nascar Whelen Southern Modified Rookie-of-the-Year.   

In Buddy’s spare time, he enjoys going to the beach and driving his Viper and remodeling his house.

 

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