Auto racing has largely kept Chase Purdy away from Meridian for the last few years, but during his absence, his buzz among his hometown fans has continued to build.

A trip back to home showed the former Lamar School student just how large of a following he’s accumulated over the years. 

“It’s been great, actually,” said Purdy, who also resides in North Carolina. “I didn’t realize I had a fan base until I came back home about nine months ago. They knew all about what I had been doing. I didn’t know they really kept up with me or (with) what I did. I saw a few things maybe that they had been doing, but I didn’t know they knew the extent of what all I was doing.”

Saturday night, Purdy will step into his red-and-black No. 8 vehicle and compete in the Primera Plastics 200 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. The 18-year-old Meridian native competes in the NASCAR-owned ARCA Racing Series, where he is currently listed at No. 4 in the points standings with 2,835 points. In 13 starts this season, Purdy’s tallied six top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes.

Purdy signed with ARCA last November, and his first race in the Series was the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire at Daytona International Speedway in February. It was Purdy’s first time racing on the iconic track. 

“The race went really well for us until the last lap,” Purdy said. “We were fighting for the win; I was pushing my teammate for first. There were two cars in one row, and we were in the second row — me and another guy — and we were pushing the cars out front and we were coming to the finish line to finish the race and wrecked each other.”

The experience further solidified Daytona’s mystique.

“It was a learning experience for me, and you know how crazy they say Daytona can be and what to do in the draft with other cars and stuff,” he said. “And just how intense that stuff really is.”

Purdy said his transition to ARCA thus far has been positive, and he’s eager to further his development as a racer.

“It’s been a big learning experience for me,” Purdy said. “We’ve had a lot of good runs, and we’re going a lot of places that the big-time NASCAR guys go to, and you get to race there and compete. So, everything’s a lot faster and things happen differently, and it’s a whole new way of learning. But it’s really fun.”

The racing circuit has taken Purdy to famous NASCAR venues such as Charlotte Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, which Purdy said have offered unbelievable experiences. Family and friends watched him race in April at the General Tire 200 in Talladega. 

“I really liked coming back to race at Charlotte, which is the hub of racing in NASCAR,” Purdy said. “And I really liked the race in Talladega, which is more of like grassroots, and just kind of where I was based out of. Those were really cool places for me, and it’s just something that I enjoyed.”

The ARCA season concludes on Oct. 19 with the Kansas ARCA 150 at Kansas Speedway, and Purdy will return to Meridian for the off-season. Although he’s left behind family members and friends in pursuit of his goal, he said he’s grateful for the opportunity and thankful for all of the support.

“It’s encouraging for me,” Purdy said. “As a kid, you grow up wanting to live that dream or that lifestyle, and I feel that for me to make it a reality, it’s all surreal.”

However, he said the road has offered a number of challenges.

“I think what I’m learning going through this is it’s all great and dandy and stuff, but at the end of the day, it’s a lot of mentally hard work in the business that I’m doing —  it’s draining,” Purdy said. “…You only have one shot at what you’re doing, and I’m trying to make the most of it.”