Cappello and Naake-Klauer Motorsports Reunite for the All-Star Showdown
Two-time Spears Modified Series champion Dylan Cappello will team up with Naake – Klauer Motorsports to compete in the “All-Star Showdown 200” at Irwindale Speedway on February 3rd. Cappello, who was recently named the Crew Chief for Layne Riggs and Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will compete with the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series for the fifth time, but the first with Naake-Klauer Motorsports.
The “Hitman” teamed up with Mike Naake and Naake-Klauer Motorsports for the ARCA Menards Pro Series West race at the Bullring at LVMS last October. The driver and team had a memorable debut, after Cappello drove their Ford Mustang to victory over a 21-car field. That debut led to Cappello’s Super Late Model debut in the “All-Star Showdown 200”.
“This deal was put together a couple weeks after our ARCA West win at the Bullring”, Cappello recalled. “Mike and I were talking about ways that we could do some more racing together in 2024, and the “All-Star Showdown” was the first race that came to mind. I love racing at Irwindale, and the event that Tim (Huddleston) and everybody puts on is something that we want to be a part of. Mike has proved that he has equipment capable of racing for wins in multiple series, and I hope we can put together a good run in a couple weeks.”
Cappello has had success at Irwindale half-mile in the past, winning the Pro Late Model portion of the “All-Star Showdown” in 2022. He has two victories in the Spears Modified Series and hasn’t finished worse than fourth in his last six starts over multiple series. One of those starts was with the Spears SRL Southwest Tour in 2021, where he battled back and forth with eventual winner Derek Thorn. He ultimately finished third in a Garcia Racing Super Late Model, giving Cappello confidence heading to the fifth annual event.
“Garcia Racing gave me a great car to drive that year”, Cappello began. “I feel a good amount of confidence knowing that the balance that I was looking for proved to have speed during the race. It will just come down to making good changes and putting together a clean race.”
If the 13-time Spears Modified Series winner can make the right changes, both Cappello and the Naake-Klauer Motorsports team have proven they have what it takes to win, in the Quick Response Garage Services Super Late Model.
Celebrating its twenty fourth season in 2024, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race”.
