West Park, NY- ZTO Motorsports prepping for Big Week at Hamlin
by Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

ZTO Motorsports, with thirteen year old driving talent Zach "Z-Man" O'Connell at the controls, will swing back into action this coming weekend, August 4th, at the action track in the Poconos, Hamlin Speedway. A full schedule of racing is on tap and Round 2 of the Nextel Crew Challenge will take place at the speedway on Saturday night. The "Z-Man" will be piloting the same car he won with two weeks ago, but this time around a new color scheme and artwork will be the order of the day as Ron Malec, the new acting crew chief on the Lowes Team, will return to the seat once again to do battle at the 1/5 mile speedbowl.

In an agreement worked out with Lowe's Home Improvement of Kingston, New York, a new body has been fitted to the race car and the Lowe's race car color scheme will adorn the car when it takes to the track on Saturday night. An extensive amount of work has gone into the project headed up by Paul O'Connell and the ZTO Motorsports Team, with Chip Gross of Gross Graphics doing his wizardry at creating the slingshot version of the Lowe's racecar.

In a conversation with Malec today from the Lowe's Race Shops he remarked, "I look forward to racing the ZTO Motorsports car once again at Hamlin. This is a great group of people to work with and they have gone out of their way to add to the spectacle of the evening's races by making the car look like a Lowe's car. I hope I can bring the machine to victory as I know Zach won recently and he is one up on me."

ZTO Motorsports and Lowes will have a booth located near the grandstand area for the races and encourage all race fans to stop in and say hi. It is hopeful Ron Malec will arrive early enough to spend some time with the fans.

O'Connell, who earned the 2006 Rookie of the Year honors at the Hamlin facility, first became interested in racing when his parents, Paul and Brenda, took him to the Accord races. He fell in love with racing in a heartbeat and his parents made the decision to purchase a car for the "Z-Man," even though Mom was a little hesitant at first. Racing at both Hamlin and Accord, the young driver is earning high marks for his racing endeavors.

The "Z-Man" has maintained Honor Roll status for every semester and will enter the 8th grade this coming year at the Highland Middle School, situated in Highland, New York. The Honor Roll status is an agreement worked out by his parents for the capacity to drive the race car. Zach will start his 5th year in the school band this year as he plays the jazz trumpet. Zach is heavily involved with the school newspaper, "The Blue Review" as an at large reporter.

He is also a member of the Ski Club and the Mile Club.

Racing isn't the only sport the "Z-Man is involved with. Competing in the Port Ewan Athletic Basketball Association, Zach's team, the Nets, won the league title in 2006 and were the runner-ups last year.

ZTO Motorsports would like to thank the great supporting cast of sponsors who have come on board with the relatively new racing team. The list includes, Apple Greens Golf Course, Lowes Home Improvement of Kingston, D&D NAPA of Highland, Stock Car Fantasy, John J Pezzo, CPA, P&Z Rental Management Inc, Northern Dutchess Archery, Trailer King, Frozen Rainbow, Jim Young Photography, Gross Graphics, Hig-Fab, Ulster Motorsports, Escopus Sportsman Club, Big Hick Wood, Dynamic Impressions Ink, GA Motorsports Media, and Tri State Studios.

The "Z-Man" will be in action this Thursday evening July, 26th, at the Orange County Fair Speedway for a Special Fair Week event. He will be in action every Saturday at Hamlin for the remainder of the 2007 season. For further updates regarding Zach O'Connell and the ZTO Motorsports team log onto their website at: www.zacharyoconnell.com