#44 Car Era
2001-2008
When racing operations began, there was the #44 modified. Since it's creation almost a decade ago, the #44 mod has almost always been a threat to win at any given event. Most notably, the car was a fixture on the Rolling Thunder Modifieds circuit for several seasons until 2006 when the team's primary focus shifted to the #02 Whelen Modified.
When #44 car was racing full time with the RTM Series, Buddy Emory managed to build quite an impressive resume:
2005 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (3rd in Points)
2004 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (3rd in Points)
2003 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (4th in Points)
2002 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (2nd in Points)
2001 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (7th in Points)
2000 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (6th in Points) - Named Most-Improved Driver
1999 - Rolling Thunder Modifieds (10th in Points) - Named RTM Rookie of the Year
Aside from the touring series, the #44 car also made its presense known at the local short tracks in Eastern Virginia.
Some of these accomplishments include a 2nd place finish in points at Southampton Motor Speedway in the 2002 season and another 2nd place in points at Langley Speedway during the 2006 season.
#02 Car Era
2008-Present
After much success in the #44 car and Emory Racing, In 2007, the focus was then turned to competing in the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds Southern Tour. With this, T and C Motorsports was formed and the #02 modified was born.
The Lake Gaston-based team had a shaky rookie year, plagued with motor issues and growing pains the #02 team only qualified for 5 races in 2007. However it was all not bad, through the trials and tribulations, the entire team gained valuable experience which will benefit them as they return to the tour in 2008 and will compete as a rookie of the year candidate. The 2007 season, although filled with troubles, was also filled with much success as well.
One of the biggest successes of the season came in September when at Martinsville Speedway. The Whelen 300 was an event which consisted of competitors of both Norhtern and Southern divisions of the series with the top 35 teams qualifying for the race. Tthe #02 team qualified 26th after only 10 minutes of practice under them. For the race, Emory finished a respectable 21st overall finish as well as finishing 9th of the cars from the Southern tour.
Another success for the team in '07 came at Southern National Raceway Park where for the first time ever, Emory qualified the car in the top-10. Unfortunately the car's engine went sour very early into the race and the evening ended early for the team.
2008 was much nicer to the #02 team. Buddy competed in 9 races two of which were top-10 finishes. As an additional honor, Buddy was named the 2008 Rookie of the Year.
2009 Season
T and C Motorsports was very busy over the winter with the first item on the list: looking for a second race car. The team purchased a 2006 Troyer out of Pennsylvania and Hirschman's Speed helped with a few updates to get it ready for the season. Unfortunately, we lost a couple of crew members and added Doug Paasch, Daniel Paasch and Ryan Jallick. Bob Whiting (#7 team) also helped while his team delaying their season start.
The first part of our 2009 season was filled with some "firsts" for the team--first time qualifying in the Top-5, first time starting on the front row of a race and first time leading a race! The season started on March 15th at Caraway Speedway with a rain out; then it was on to Concord Speedway on March 21st. This was our first trip to Concord's 1/2 mile tri-oval. After practicing 100 laps and adjusting on the car, it was pretty consistent by the end of practice. Buddy qualified 14th and rode and tried to save the car until the end, but he still had a loose car the last 50-60 laps, and came home with a 12th Place finish.
The next two races (March 27-28) at Ace and Caraway were rained out, and then it was on to South Boston Speedway in Virginia on April 4th. We were excited and looking forward to this track, as we had run well there over the years with the #44 Rolling Thunder Modified. Again, the car was really consistent on old tires, and Buddy qualified 5th and would start on the outside pole after the redraw. He rode second for about 20 laps until he got a shot at the leader. Once out front, he put a straightaway lead on the second place car for about 30-40 laps. With several cautions and the double-file restarts, Buddy would lose the lead and drop to 5th. Unfortunately, the day would end with Buddy getting loose coming out of turn 4 and making contact with the wall and would post a 15th Place finish.
The next weekend (April 10-11) would be back at Ace and Caraway. The Ace race would be rained out, but the rain managed to hold off the next day for the Caraway race. This race was a struggle for the team. After adjusting on the car all day, Buddy started the race 16th and ran mid-pack until getting caught up in a wreck and finished 20th.
Then the team travelled several hours to Georgia to Lanier Speedway on April 18th. We were looking forward to going back to Lanier after posting our first top-10 finish last year. During practice the car stayed consistent on old tires. After bolting the stickers on for qualifying, we made our best qualifying effort to date--4th! The redraw went against us, and we would start the race 8th. On the drop of the green, we would lose a few spots, but we were able to race our way back to a 6th Place finish--our best finish to date! Buddy was awarded the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award for the race (improving 14 positions from his last race). NASCAR presented the award on July 3rd at Caraway Speedway along with the Grand Marshall of the race, the legendary Junior Johnson.
After a two month break, we would return to Caraway Speedway for the Firecracker 150 on July 3rd. We practiced middle of the pack all day, and made several changes after practice. Buddy did a great job qualifying the car 11th. It was a very exciting race with several cautions, and we were able to stay out of trouble all night and the car was still strong at the end and brought it home 7th. The team has been working hard and improving each race. With top-10 finishes for the last two races, Buddy moved to 9th in Points for the year. Next race: Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, NC on August 1st (practice and qualifying July 31st).
