Jacob Perry To Run For Team Owner Gary Casella With Valenti Mod Series At Lee

The 2019 racing plans for Pawcatuck teenager Jacob Perry focus on having a solid season as a rookie with Granite State Pro Stock Series.

But it doesn’t mean Perry won’t take some time to moonlight with some open wheel action. 

And that will be the case this weekend when Perry returns to action with the Valenti Modified Racing Series at Lee USA Speedway. 

Perry, who competed full-time with the series last year and won the Rookie of the Year title in a family owned ride, will run the May Madness Valenti Modified Racing Series feature Sunday at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. for former series championship team owner Gary Casella. 

“I talked to Gary a little bit during the offseason trying to piece together something with him,” the 17-year old Perry said. “I knew he couldn’t do a full season because he has a bunch of good drivers lined. I’d kind of been hinting around to him that I was looking for a ride every once in a while. … I reached out to him and told him ‘If you guys are up at Lee I’ll bring some pillows’ kind of joking around and he was like ‘Alright.’ We just started talking from there and we made it happen.” 

Casella won a series title in a 2013 with Rowan Pennink and regularly fields some of the best cars in action with the series. 

“It’s super exciting when you consider the list of drivers who have driven that car,” Perry said. “You have guys like Todd Owen, Steve Masse, Rowan Pennink, Chase Dowling and Ronnie Williams. They’ve all driven that car and they’ve all run very very well with it. I’m super excited to get in a car that’s been a proven winner and has great finishes everywhere it goes.” 

The Valenti Modified Racing Series will run twin 50-lap features Sunday at Lee USA Speedway. 

“I’ve got to thank Racechoice and Town & Country and all the other individuals that came on board and helped me get into this car,” Perry said. “They came on with short notice and we were able to make it happen.” 

Landing the Valenti Modified Racing Series ride will mean a busy weekend at Lee for Perry, who will also compete in Sunday’s 150-lap event for the Granite State Pro Stock Series. 

Perry was 11^thin the Granite State Pro Stock Series debut on May 3 at Claremont Speedway. He was running near the front of the field late in the event before an failed alternator belt ruined his day. 

“We had a good showing at Claremont, unfortunately our finish didn’t really show that,” Perry said. “We unloaded and we were really really loose at the start of the feature. More sideways than I’ve ever been. We were persistent and we kept working on the car and we got the car back to where we needed to be and we drove. I was fourth at the final red flag with two laps to go, but the car actually lost an alternator belt.”