Sunoco National Tour driver Bryan Ortiz made quite a splash in his first stock-car race, finishing third last month at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.

Ortiz, a 21-year-old driver recently signed to a driver development deal by BD Racing with Sterling Marlin, will take to the historic one-mile oval of Rockingham Speedway today in the Rockingham 100, the second race of the season on the Sunoco National Tour.

Ortiz was at “The Rock” on Thursday for practice and qualifying. He qualified sixth based on points after developing clutch problems and being unable to complete a qualifying lap.

In between runs, the young driver talked about the chance to compete on a historic track like Rockingham.

“It’s just an awesome track,” Ortiz said.

“It’s very fast, but I’m getting more comfortable with each run.”

Ortiz watched videos of races at Rockingham and studied track maps to prepare for today’s race.

But actually getting out on the historic oval gave Ortiz his best look at what he’s up against at “The Rock.”

Ortiz is managed by David Morse of Performance Sports Partners, LLC. Morse is a Richmond Senior graduate.

Morse, whose mother still lives in Rockingham, will be coming back to “The Rock” for the first time since NASCAR racing left following the 2004 season.

n Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.