East Wilkes junior Justin Hudspeth has been around auto racing for as long as he can remember.

He was just a toddler when he came to Friendship Motor Speedway to watch his dad and uncle, Tim and Mickey Hudspeth, compete on Elkin's four-tenths of a mile oval.

On Saturday, Aug. 16, the Hudspeth clan got to watch Justin win his first race.

Hudspeth took the checkered flag in Friendship's Coffee House Four Cylinder division.

The 16-year-old won the pole, fell behind but then rallied to beat Matthew Warden to the line.

"I had a little trouble on the start but we came back," said Hudspeth, who gave up playing football for East this fall to concentrate on racing. "We just worked our way up. It's all about the car."

Hudspeth's grandfather, Dallas Hudspeth, also is a Friendship alum. Tim and Mickey Hudspeth play a big role on Justin's crew.

He owns his own car, a yellow and red trimmed machine with the purple No. 27h emblazoned on the sides.

"He has been around racing all of his life," said his mom, Candy. "Even as a baby he sat up there and watched (his dad and uncle) run. I guess you could say it's in his blood."

Justin got his own start in go-carts around age eight, racing in Clingman. This is his first year competing at Friendship, which went back to dirt this season after a few years of being an asphalt track.

Hudspeth said he loves racing on the dirt surface.

"They say asphalt is for getting there," Justin quipped.

Hudspeth raced again this past Saturday night, taking sixth place in the Coffee House Four Cylinder division. He's currently tied for sixth-place in points with Tommy Zachary.

Dale Barneycastle won the Four Cylinder division this week. Sandy Martin placed second, followed by Derek Mathis in third, points leader Billy Robbins in fourth and Robbie Brown in fifth.

Other winners on Saturday night included Noel Tucker (GM Direct Automotive Crate Late Models), Andy Mathis (Basic Finance Super Street) and Andy Hickman (Southeastern Cars & Parts U-Car).

Tony Hicks holds the points lead in the Late Model division by 14 points over Keith Holder and 24 over Chris Cheek.

Daniel Moss has a slim two-point lead over Andy Mathis in the Super Street division. Matthew Barker continues to lead the U-Car class.

Friendship will be off this weekend but will return for week 15 of its season on Sept. 6. The next event is being bill as the "biggest show of the year" with the Carolina Clash Super Late Models Series coming to town, along with three regular divisions.

For more information on Friendship Motor Speedway, visit www.friendshipracing.com.