Two of the most successful drivers in the history of Concord Speedway are teaming up 500 miles south of their home track this February.

 

Bobby Measmer, Jr., who ranks third in the all-time wins list at the now-closed Concord, North Carolina track, will battle in the Tour Modified division during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. Freddie Query, who holds the record for the most wins at Concord and has seen success at New Smyrna as both a Super Late Model driver and as a crew chief, will serve as Measmer’s crew chief on the No. 14 Hughes Motorsports Modified entry.

 

“I was hanging out at a little backyard go-kart track here locally that Freddie has been having some fun at lately,” said Measmer. “He heard I was going to New Smyrna and said he knew we’d need some help. My first reaction was, ‘Do you want to go?’ We talked a few times after that over the phone and it worked out. I wasn’t planning to go to the go-kart track and get a crew chief out of it, but there’s no better person to get than Freddie. He’s raced there, had some success there, and has helped a bunch of other drivers do well down there as a crew chief.”

 

For Measmer, teaming with Query for the 2021 World Series is an opportunity to work with one of the most prolific pavement short track racers of his generation.

 

“I’m looking at it as an opportunity to work with one of my racing heroes,” added Measmer. “It’s lit a big fire under me to get to New Smyrna and start off the season. Freddie is a guy I’ve looked up to ever since I started going to the racetrack. My parents took me to Concord Speedway when I was three, four years old and Freddie was there winning races. Until he quit racing at Concord and started touring, Freddie was my driver.

 

“The biggest thing is it’s going to be fun working with him. We’ve both got a Late Model background, which will help us communication-wise. We’ll just need to adapt that knowledge to what we can do with the Modified.”

 

Query has long been one of the most successful pavement Late Model personalities, both behind the wheel and on the pit box. As a driver, he has won the NASCAR All-Pro Series Championship, numerous track championships at Concord, and prestigious races such as the All-American 400, the World Crown, and the Myrtle Beach 400. As a Late Model crew chief, he has won races across the country. He also has made one career Tour Modified start, a top-10 run during the 2004 North-South Shootout at Concord.

 

Now, Query will apply his knowledge of New Smyrna to a whole new challenge helping Measmer and the Hughes Motorsports team battle during Florida Speedweeks.

 

“This whole deal is not just about working on the car, but it’s about helping Bobby out,” said Query. “I’ve seen him race a bunch over the years and he’s a good racer and a good guy. Plus I’ve always liked going to Speedweeks. I haven’t been in a few years, but I didn’t miss a year for probably 30 years between New Smyrna and Volusia. It’s a great chance to go down, do some racing, see some friends and help Bobby and his team out.

 

“I had an opportunity to rebuild a Modified for a guy and got to race it a while back,” added Query. “We had a good run and I was tickled to death with that because there’s a bunch of good cars that come down for that race. That’s pretty much my only experience with the Modifieds. But I’m a hot rodder – street cars, race cars, anything – and the Modifieds are just so cool looking. It’s going to be a lot of fun helping Bobby out down there.”

 

Measmer and Hughes Motorsports will compete in three Tour Modified events during the 2021 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna, including the John Blewett III Memorial on Wednesday, February 10 and the prestigious Richie Evans Memorial 100 on Friday, February 12. Upwards of 40 cars are on the World Series pre-entry list, meaning the Hughes Motorsports team will be kicking off their season amongst an all-star field of Modified drivers.

 

“This is the first big event of the season and it lets you get after it with a stout field of cars,” said Measmer. “It’s an amazing number of cars that are on the entry list. It’s a sign of people not being able to race that much in 2020 so that’s going to make an addition to New Smyrna’s fields. Everybody’s ready to race. With 40 cars, and good cars, on the entry list, it will definitely be tough. We want to win every time we go to the track, but if we can run top 10, that’s a huge accomplishment with the stout field they’re going to have there. Anything above and beyond that will be a bonus.”

 

Hughes Motorsports has the support of several loyal team partners for the 2021 World Series at New Smyrna, including zMAX, Boston Reid/Lead2 Real Estate, and Racing Electronics. Additional partner announcements are coming soon.