Craig Seeking Five Flags Glory and Strong Doubleheader Weekend Success

2025 didn’t get off to the best start for Matt Craig and his JCR3 Motorsports team.  Craig was in the mix among the leaders at SpeedFest in January, but a wreck ended his day early at Cordele Motor Speedway (GA) and since then he's been playing catch up until the Sunshine State 200 at Five Flags Speedway (FL).   

Craig qualified well and ran among the leaders all day long.  He led laps and poised a third-place finish, his best of the season and he tied a career best at Five Flags Speedway. 

“The first race was not a good start to the points but we got us a good finish at Five Flags,” said Craig.  “It helps the confidence and the momentum and hopefully we can finally get the season rolling now and on the right track.” 

After a stop at the ASA STARS event at Dominion Raceway this weekend in Virginia, the JCR3 team will be right back at Five Flags on April 11th.  With fresh notes from the first Pensacola race and a 100-lap shorter race, it could play right into the hands of the Kannapolis, North Carolina driver. 

“It's going to take us digging deeper and getting better to be able to get a little faster than the competition,” said Craig. “Having a car that doesn't fall off is key.”

Despite not having a Super Late Model win at Five Flags yet, Craig’s ability to complete laps has him in the conversation each time he races.  In his Blizzard career, he’s run all but four laps in 21 starts. 

“I think being patient and having a good sense of awareness where other people and who you're racing with is a good contribution to finishing all those laps,” said Craig.  The work we do at the shop, preparing the cars and making sure they're reliable also helps a lot.”

In each of the last two seasons, Craig has been second in the ASA Southern Super Series point standings as he and his JCR3 Motorsports team seek another Super Late Model championship.  Prior to running in the deep south, Craig was a champion in PASS South and CARS Tour at the Super Late Model level. 

“We just want to finish well and the points will come,” added Craig.  “We have a long season and the mentality is to go to the race and win when you can.” 

While Five Flags is familiar territory, the trip west on I-10 to Mobile International Speedway (AL) is still a mystery for Craig who only first ran there in 2024 when the series returned after a long hiatus. 

“I'm still learning that track and I don't know where we ended up last time,” said Craig.  “I think we may have ended up fifth but hopefully we can improve on that and now that we have one race under our belt maybe we know the track better.”

The ASA Southern Super Series Double Header will occur next weekend on the Pensacola-Mobile Gulf Coast. The Series Will be at Five Flags Speedway for the Pensacola Sports 100 on Friday, April 11th.  The next night they will cross the bay to race at Mobile International Speedway for the Mobile Sports Authority 100

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For more information log on to www.SouthernSuperSeries.com

(Ultimate Lap Photo)