NEWTON, N.C. -- Tony Ave Racing broke out their new short track cars at Hickory Motor Speedway in recent weeks, with both team owner Tony Ave and Minnesota dirt modified standout Alan Mondus running laps at the historic short track.

The team, based out of Maiden, N.C., ran current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Andy Lally in a three-race program in 2007, and looks to continue their driver development program with Mondus.

“Alan has proven to be a consistent front-runner wherever he shows up in the competitive dirt racing scene, and would like a shot in ARCA, so we are going to give him one,” said Ave. “He really surprised me with how few laps it took him to run competitive lap times, and his qualifying simulation laps were nothing short of amazing, which is critical now with the quality of entries in ARCA.”

The team ran several hundred laps to get the young dirt modified racer ready for his short track debut later this summer, although team owner Ave already has his eye on a different prize.

“I told him I would help him do some pavement races if he would race for me at DuQuoin, so we are both looking forward to Labor Day weekend,” said Ave. “I have seen a lot of younger guys come and go, and Alan is unique in that he lets his driving do the talking, which is refreshing from my standpoint. The entire team really enjoyed his attitude and the effort he put out for us. I can’t wait to get him to the track and turn some heads.”