On any given weekend, young racecar drivers strap into racing machines with thoughts of one day getting into the top levels of the sport.  Today's racing heroes followed very similar paths to stardom; they competed in scale-car racing, continued on through the short-track ranks and into the big leagues.  The current crop of young talent eagerly chase victories and championships to hopefully one day have a chance to make it to the top.

This Thanksgiving weekend, the best young talent in the country will converge on one racetrack, South Boston Speedway in Virginia, to hopefully continue down the path to big-league racing stardom.  The prestigious Mason-Dixon Meltdown event November 24th and 25th will bring the best young talent from the INEX Legends Car ranks and the Pro Challenge Series to South Boston for big money and the pride of competing well as they work towards their goal of big-time racing.

"I really like the Pro Challenge cars and the Legends Cars are proven throughout the United States," said Mason-Dixon Meltdown co-promoter Tom Mayberry.  "They both put on some great racing.  The Pro Challenge division has been with us several times this year, and I've been able to see some kids with a lot of talent compete.  I think we'll have a lot of Legends Cars, and with some good money on the line for them, I'm sure we'll see plenty of side-by-side racing with some talented kids and veterans alike."

For years, the INEX Legends Car Series has been the place where young talent develops the skill that it takes to compete in a full-bodied stock car and open-wheeled Modified.  Some of the biggest names in motorsports started in Legends cars, as did many of the Super Late Model and Tour-Type Modified drivers that will also be competing in the Mason-Dixon Meltdown Thanksgiving weekend.  While many fans may not have heard of drivers such as Darrell Wallace, Jr., Paddy Rodenbeck, Tyler Green, Matt Bowers and Casey Roderick just yet, their accomplishments on the track, while not even being old enough to vote yet, are signs that fans may soon be hearing those names a lot more often.

Wallace has been one of the toughest forces in the Legends Semi-Pro Division this season and has a budding rivalry with fellow teenager Paddy Rodenbeck.  Tyler Green hopes to one day make it to the big-leagues like his father, former NASCAR Busch Series driver Mark Green, and a good run in the Pro/Masters event could go a long way to making that happen.  Matt Bowers heads into the Meltdown as the 2006 Lowe's Motor Speedway (NC) Semi-Pro Champion, while Casey Roderick also won a Summer Shootout title in the Pro Division and also earned a guaranteed starting spot in the Meltdown by winning at the Legends Asphalt Nationals at Lanier National Speedway (GA) in September.

Just like the Legends ranks, the Pro Challenge Series is developing young drivers for the higher ranks of racing.  Pro Challenge is gaining popularity all across the U.S. because it is an intermediate step to Late Models and other full-bodied machines.  The three-quarter scale cars feature 140-horsepower engines capable of speeds over 120mph.  Drivers such as USAR Hooters Pro Cup drivers Ken Butler III and Brett Butler, as well as NASCAR Southeast Series and former ASA and ARCA driver Michael Foy and ASA Late Model rookie phenom Jason Burchard, are all graduates of Pro Challenge Racing.

The new crop of young stars making a name for themselves in Pro Challenge racing includes 2006 Aaron's Pro Challenge Series National Rookie of the Year Zach Stroupe, who will be in South Boston with his #51 Pro Challenge racer as well as his #51 Legends Semi-Pro entry.  Corey LaJoie, son of two-time NASCAR Busch Series Champion Randy LaJoie, won a record number of events in the Pro Challenge Carolinas Region this season.  Also, Jason Treschl, a young college student at UNC Charlotte and Kenny Forbes, the 2006 Carolinas Region runner-up, have mailed in their entries for the 50-lap Pro Challenge event on Saturday the 25th.  Also expected to compete are Georgia-based "young guns" Kyle Mitchell, the Aaron's Georgia champion and up-and-comer Jonathan Chandler.

"From LaJoie and Stroupe to Mitchell and Chandler and everyone else in between, we are seeing some of the best rising talent come from Pro Challenge racing," said event co-promoter Bob Dillner, who is also a NASCAR television commentator for SPEED Channel.  "I am impressed with the caliber of drivers the series has attracted, and I think it is because the Pro Challenge machine is a great step in helping these kids mature to the higher levels of racing.  Plus, these kids mixed with the veterans put on a heck of a show."

The young stars of the INEX Legends Cars and the Pro Challenge Series get to show off their abilities in three separate 50-lap events Thanksgiving Weekend.  The Legends racers hit the track first on Friday, November 24th, as the Semi-Pro and Pro/Masters divisions practice, qualify and run their twin 50-lappers for $1,250 to the Semi-Pro winner and $1,500 to the Pro/Masters winner.  The Pro Challenge drivers practice and qualify on Friday, then hit the track for their feature on Saturday, November 25th.

The Legends and Pro Challenge teams share the stage during the Mason-Dixon Meltdown weekend with the Tour-Type Modifieds and the PASS South Super Late Models, which will each compete in 250-lap features on Saturday evening.  Both the Modifieds and Super Late Models will be racing for a $12,500 paycheck for the winner, plus lap money and other bonuses. 

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