(Pensacola, FL) Consistent speed is what Jett Noland has found with his race program over the past few months. Even at 20-years-old, the Orlando, Florida driver is no rookie. With already 45 starts under his belt in the ASA Southern Super Series, he has been contending for wins for the last few seasons.
However, 2024 is different. Noland started the year off with a seventh-place run at SpeedFest, after starting third. Noland backed it up with a strong runner-up finish to Bubba Pollard in the Clyde Hart Memorial 200 at New Smyrna Speedway. With those two runs under his belt, several teams are taking notice that the number 50 Nolands Roofing /Cohen Law Group /Cypress Ridge Preserve machine will be a contender each week.
“We had a great race car,” explained Noland. “We got the car pretty well dialed in. We saved our stuff for about three-quarters of the race. We didn’t have much for Bubba (Pollard). It was still a great finish.”
Pollard passed defending ASA STARS Tour National champion Ty Majeski and Noland was closing in on Majeski, but knowing if he would have caught him was a mystery as he fell off the pace giving up second to Noland.
“It’s hard to say what we had for Ty Majeski, ” added Noland. I feel like I was gaining on him after he fell to second, and maybe with a restart we could have gotten by him before he had his trouble.”
Nevertheless, the fact that Noland was racing two of the best in the series and in Super Late Model racing leaves so much promise for the season ahead. Of the 59 drivers who have earned points in the first two contests, Noland sits third in the ASA Southern Super Series behind Pollard and Casey Roderick.
“You know, we’re a new team,” explained Noland. I’ve worked with Nick Manville a lot throughout the years, but everybody else that’s on the team makes this a fresh group. I’m stoked at the results that we’re getting. We’re still learning, and I believe if we have a few more races we’ll get the car dialed into where we could show up almost anywhere and be a top-five car. I can’t thank those guys enough for putting in the hard work.”
As focus turns to Pensacola for the Sunshine State 200, the quest for that first series win continues as the team looks for success one race at a time. They plan to run as many races as they can in the Southern Super Series and being an early title contender should keep him around all season.
“The expectation is always to win, obviously,” said Noland. “You always want to be the best car there, but with realistic expectations, we’d love to be in the top five and contend for the win at the end of the race.”
The next race for the ASA Southern Super Series will be the Sunshine State 200 on Sunday, March 24th. The combination event with the ASA STARS National Tour and the track’s Deep South Crane Blizzard series will be a part of a three-day event. On Friday the local divisions at Five Flags Speedway will run. Saturday will consist of practice for the ASA STARS National Tour combination event. Also, the ARCA East Series will run with a handful of drivers from the ASA ranking pulling double duty. For more information log onto www.STARSNationalTour.com or www.SouthernSuperSeries.com
