(HOPE, INDIANA) Following a steady eleventh place performance in Saturday night’s annual ‘Pittsburgher’ at the sprawling Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, PCC Motorsports and driver Spencer Hughes have announced today that this season will be their last year together. Citing a sharp rise in operating expenses, owner Craig Sims has recently made the decision to scale back his racing operation following the completion of the upcoming ‘Dirt Track World Championship.’ The Hope, Indiana-based Super Late Model team still has two events left on their schedule in 2023 – the ‘Coors Light Fall Classic’ at Whynot Motorsports Park in Spencer’s hometown of Meridian, Mississippi on October 13-14 and the aforementioned $100,000 to win DTWC at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on October 20-21, which will wrap up the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series slate of events.
“First off, I think of Spencer (Hughes) as a son and all of the guys that have worked on the car as part of our family,” quoted Craig Sims today via telephone. “It all comes down to the rising cost of our sport. It costs twice as much now as it did when we started this team three-and-a-half years ago with Hudson O’Neal driving the car. When it comes down to it, it just doesn’t make any financial sense anymore. Hopefully, everything works out for Spencer and he lands on his feet somewhere that can help him keep progressing in this sport. I greatly appreciate his dedication and talent behind the wheel, the hard work of each of our crew guys that we had this year and in the past, and of course all of our great sponsors. PCC Motorsports would definitely not have been possible without each one of our valued sponsors and our product supporters.”
Spencer piloted the #11 PCC Motorsports machine in seventy-six (76) different events so far in 2023 and racked up eight (8) Top Fives and twenty-nine (29) Top Tens throughout the year. In ultra-competitive Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action, Spencer accumulated six (6) top five efforts and twenty-two (22) top ten performances, which currently puts him twelfth in the latest version of the national series point standings. The Meridian, Mississippi hotshoe has found victory lane twice in 2023 – both aboard different racecars at Whynot Motorsports Park, as he won in an Open Wheel Modified back on March 4 and in a 604 Crate Late Model on August 5.
“It’s disappointing, but when Craig (Sims) broke down the numbers and showed me the budget – I don’t blame him one bit,” said Hughes recently. “The costs have just skyrocketed and we didn’t have the type of season that we wanted to have, but that wasn’t from lack of effort I can promise you that. There were a lot of late nights and sleepless nights trying to put our heads together to find that extra speed, but we just couldn’t hit on anything. I’ll always think of Craig and Shannon (Sims) as family and can’t thank them enough for allowing me to live out my dream of racing full-time with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series the past two years!”
With the announcement today that he will be without a ride for 2024, Spencer Hughes will be returning back home to Mississippi following the completion of the ‘Dirt Track World Championship’ and is looking to put a program together for next season. If you are interested in supporting Spencer and his racing efforts in any way, please don’t hesitate to call or text at 601-692-8778. You can also email him at spencerhughesracing2911@gmail.com or follow him across all social media platforms. His website – located at www.SpencerHughesRacing.com – will be redesigned and updated with any breaking news leading into the 2024 campaign!
Media Contact: Ryan Delph – Delph Communications
www.DelphCommunications.com