Class is in session at Hickory

Hickory Motor Speedway has been turned into a .363-mile schoolyard this year, with teenagers and young adults everywhere.

In fact, Lee Faulk Racing and Development, based nearby in Denver, is fielding several developmental race teams at HMS.

Lee Faulk, 56, and son Michael, 29, both were competitive racers. Michael was racing Hooters Pro Cup and was dabbling with ARCA when money ran low and the two Faulks decided that racing development was the way to go. Lee handles the business side, and Michael helps build and work on the cars.

The Faulks handle nearly everything, but the drivers must bring their own sponsors with them, Michael Faulk said.

Among Faulk’s drivers at Hickory are 15-year-old Pietro Fittipaldi in Limited Late Model, 17-year-old Shawn Sharkey (sixth in points) and 33-year-old Venezuelan Nelson Canathe Jr. (16^th in points) in Late Model, and 26-year-old Tyler Hudson (fifth in points) in trucks. Sharkey lives in Middletown, N.J., and Hudson’s home is Brandon, Miss.

“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to do in a short time,” Michael Faulk said.

The rest of Faulk’s stable includes Tyler Brown, Jennifer Crossman, Mario Fernandez and Chrissy Wallace. Wallace, the daughter of NASCAR driver Mike Wallace and niece of former Cup star Rusty Wallace, has raced at Hickory in the past.

Michael Faulk is also listed in the stable of drivers.

Fittipaldi, the grandson of famed Formula 1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi, is one of those acing the course so far. He has three wins and is leading Limited Late Model points.

“We felt like Hickory was the most competitive place for (Fittipaldi) to race his first year, but didn't want bite off more than he could chew,” Michael Faulk said. “We wanted him to grow as quickly as possible but not put him into a failing situation.”

Michael says that the plan was to race some of the developmental drivers at Tri-County Speedway on Fridays and the rest at Hickory on Saturday.

“But Tri-County closed down, and Hickory is our only option,” Faulk said. “We have five cars at Hickory, and we put them out there every Saturday. In fact, we’re a little overextended on Saturday.”

Fittipaldi says his Florida-based family found Hickory in roundabout fashion. They were in Miami early in the season and have since moved to Davidson to be in the heart of NASCAR.

“We contacted Lee Faulk, and he said the toughest track to learn on was Hickory,” he said. “It has the most competition. There are a few other drivers in my situation, of course.”

As for HMS, “I really like it,” he said, “but I can't compare it to other oval tracks (since he hasn’t raced stock cars elsewhere). I like it; it’s very competitive.”

He said there’s no problem racing with older drivers. “I like racing with older drivers,” he said. “I can feed off their experience.

“You always need to learn, even at the Cup level,” he added. “I’ve always have been open to learning.”

But Pietro Fittipaldi isn’t patient.

“My goal for this year,” he said, “is to win the championship, to win the Limited Late Model championship.”

Michael Faulk, Pietro’s race-day spotter, said that Fittipaldi’s early success is no surprise.

“Honestly, no, we expected it,” Faulk said. “We don't cut corners in our program, and Pietro's an extraordinary talent for his age. He just turned 15 recently, and he’s more mature than a grown person. He’s more focused than other drivers, and his success wasn't surprising, just because of the way he was brought up.

“He eats and sleeps racing. He doesn't care about anything else but racing, and he likes coming to the shop. He’s a perfect specimen.”

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Track promoter Kevin Piercy says that some drivers struggle with the variable banking and multiple grooves at HMS.

“But once they figure Hickory out, other tracks become easier,” he said.

He says that, yes, he’s seeing more young drivers at HMS than in the recent past.

“A lot of fathers see the value of a place like Hickory,” he said. “They can get more experience before they run ARCA, Nationwide, Trucks, whatever. Hickory is a great steppingstone to those places.

“I’ve been coming here since I was 9 years old, and I’ve traveled to a lot of other tracks, and there’s nothing like watching a Late Model race at Hickory Motor Speedway.”

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Two 16-year-olds, Annabeth Barnes and Amber Colvin, have raced this year in Limited Late Models. Barnes has run the full season, and Colvin planned to run five races. Barnes, who is under scrutiny for a Great American Country TV reality show, already has a win. Colvin quickly got her first top-10 and top-five finishes at HMS.

They aren’t driving for the Faulks. Neither is Matt Piercy, 17, son of the track promoter.

“At a lot of tracks, horsepower is big,” Matt Piercy said. “You need it at Hickory, but it’s mainly a handling track. It doesn't matter how much horsepower you have here if you can't get through the corners. There’s a fine line at Hickory as far as setups. It’s hard to get going in all four corners.

“This track separates the average drivers from the rest.”

And that makes HMS a perfect teaching tool.

Piercy is third in Limited points, 50 behind Fittipaldi, 28 behind twentysomething Tyler Church and 24 ahead of Barnes.

“Tyler is a great competitor. He’s the most experienced of us,” Piercy said.

As for Barnes, “She’s just another competitor on the track,” he said, his way of complimenting her. “She kind of races everybody the same. She’s probably more of a finesse driver, but she’s a good little driver, and she will get better with more seat time.

“Like I was last year, every now and then, the rookies will make mistakes.”

Michael Faulk, though, hopes the mistakes are kept to a minimum.

“Our first priority is to develop the kids,” he said. “We require our drivers to do the right thing.”