Clayton News Daily

By Anthony Rhoads

arhoads@news-daily.com

Last season at Thursday Thunder, Daniel Moore was the top Young Gun.

Moore won the Bandolero Young Guns points title and on top of that, he was voted as Atlanta Motor Speedway's Most Popular Bandolero Driver - not too bad for a teen-ager who is still in high school.

Now, Moore is moving up in the Outlaws, the elite division of Bandolero racing and is looking to challenge defending points champion Trey Maughan.

"I feel good," Moore, a Lovejoy High School student, said. "It's going to be tough because I'm racing with Trey. He's good; he's fast. It's going to be a good show between me and him."

Last season, Moore proved that consistency can pay off. He won one race but recorded three seconds and three thirds to take the season points championship.

"I'm hoping to win more than one race," Moore said. "I'm hoping to get a chance; if (long-time Outlaw competitor Tina Johnson) runs, it will be tough. It will be hard for me."

Regardless of how the points race turns out this season, Moore is looking to have run and to get more racing experience.

"It's a great experience," Moore said. "It gets you a lot of exposure. It gets my name out there. There's a lot of people who know me."

Moore wants to move up to Legends or Thunder Roadsters but it depends on sponsorships. His ultimate goal is to become a NASCAR driver.

"My goal is to go to the Truck Series but if anyone offers me a ride, I'll take it," Moore said.

Moore's brother Dwayne is involved in NASCAR behind the scenes as he is a pit crew member for Joe Nemechek's Nextel Cup team.

Daniel Moore File

Age: 16

Birthday: Nov. 23, 1988

Resides in: Griffin

Attends: Lovejoy High School

Hobbies: Racing, playing his PS2, working on cars, hunting, fishing, playing pool, skating and spending time with his family

Racing accomplishments: 2004 AMS Thursday Thunder Young Guns Champion, 2004 AMS Most Popular Bandolero Driver, 2005 Georgia Winter Series Outlaw Champion

On the web: www.danielmooremotorsports.com