Osgar will also compete in the API 200. He was the 2007 GM Performance Parts Shootout champion in the ASALMS and is a longtime MMP veteran competitor. It was his desire to race at his home track that was the impetus for the event.
“I followed the ASA Late Model Series for the first time in 2007 and really thought it would be great to race these cars at my home track here in Mansfield,” Osgar said. “I made some calls to the ASA and to API and we were able to get them together with everyone at MMP. It’s going to be great to be able to race in front of our friends and family.”
API is a distributor of automotive paints body repair products, tools and specialty items. The company is based in Butler, Pennsylvania and has one location in Mansfield. Other locations in Ohio include Akron, Canton, and Barberton.
Tickets for the API 200 are just $25 in advance and can be purchased online at www.mansfieldmotorsportsonline.com.
ASA Midwest Tour – It’s not difficult to say that Nick Murgic has his future planned out. His goal is to get a degree in Mechanical Engineering with the hopes of working as an engineer for a race team, be a crew chief or a driver. And he is hoping that the ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment will be a stepping stone towards that goal.
The junior at Rosemount (MN) High School is ranked 8th in his class with a 3.98 GPA. He is the youngest Super Late Model competitor at Elko Speedway and Raceway Park in Shakopee. This season he plans on competing for Rookie of the Year in the ASAMT.
“It would be very cool for me to compete for the full season in the ASAMT. I love to travel with racing and it will help me learn a lot,” Murgic recently stated. “The competition in the ASAMT is very good so if a driver does well in the ASAMT races it shows that he can do well anywhere at any level. At the moment my plans are just to run the ASAMT for this year and hopefully find a driver development program somewhere that would pick me up, but that is a long shot.”
Last season, Murgic became the youngest competitor to start an ASAMT event at the opener at Elko. He was named Rookie of the Year at Elko and Raceway Park. He finished 9th in points at Elko and 3rd at Raceway Park. He picked up one feature win and two heat wins at Elko and had six heat wins at Raceway Park. And he would finish fourth overall in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series Minnesota State Standings.
Late Model Roundup - Presented By Five Star Racecar Bodies
A Compilation of News and Press Release Including All of the Tours From A to W
ACT Late Models – The American-Canadian Tour stock car racing season begins in less than a month at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway. The fast 3/8-mile oval has been home to some great racers over the years, including champions Paul Richardson, Buzzie Bezanson, Scott Bonney, Ricky Wolf, Jr., and J.R. Baril. Past and present Lee USA drivers that will be more familiar to ACT fans include Joey “Pole” Polewarczyk, A.J. Begin, Mark Anzalone, and the last ACT runner-up at Lee, Jeremy Harclerode of Newmarket, NH.
So, if Wolf were to win the NH Governor’s Cup 100 on Sunday, April 20, how would it be regarded? Is it a case of hometown-boy-makes-good, or is he now an “outsider” with ACT?
“Figuring that out would be a great problem to have,” Wolf laughed. “I think for now we’re just going to concentrate on qualifying for the show.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Wolf expects a few growing pains during his first couple of months with the Tour, but is excited about racing against the rookie crop that has entered the 2008 season.
“I’ve raced against Tyler Cahoon once at White Mountain. That kid has this Late Model deal figured out,” Wolf said. “I’ve been to watch at Thunder Road a couple of times, and I was impressed with Nick Sweet and Matt White, too. It’s going to be fun battling them all for the rookie title. If I have one thing going for me to offset my inexperience at tracks other than Lee, it’s that I’ve got a great team behind me that has raced at almost every track on the schedule, and I’ve got a irreplaceable resource in my teammate, Bobby Dragon. He’s already flooded me with information, and I’m going to be asking a lot more questions.”
Wolf was recently on the first-ever iMassRacing internet radio/podcast talk show with host Marc Lemay, and he had an entertaining discussion about his racing background, his outlook for the 2008 season, and other interesting topics.
To hear Wolf’s interview, visit www.iMassRadio.com, and check into the site often – Lemay has big plans for the show in the future.
ACT Quebec Series – Were it not for Patrick Laperle and Sylvain Lacombe, Jean-François Déry (he says you can call him “Jeff”) might have been remembered as the man with the best record in Série ACT Castrol racing in 2007.
Déry posted five-straight Top 5 finishes to open the year, and four-straight Top 10s to finish the season. Two 18th-place runs (at Chaudière and St-Eustache) were the low points, but they were split up by a 4th-place showing at Ste-Croix. All told, Déry had seven Top 5s, ten Top 10s, and an average finish of 6.8 over a dozen starts.
in the North central region, meaning they sell more parts than other dealers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and Iowa. They are also one of the largest GM Engine & Transmission dealers in the country and every day they ship parts from North Dakota to Pennsylvania.
They offer free overnight delivery of any GM part in stock with over $3 million in inventory. “We really just started in Performance Parts about 2 years ago and it has been growing ever since then for us,” Slack stated. “We carry both the 602 & 604 crate motors in stock as well as spring kits, rocker arm kits and other parts. We just want to support the racers, have some fun, and maybe sell a few motors along the way.”
“We are very excited to have Gandrud Chevrolet as the presenting sponsor for the Big 8 Series,” McKarns stated. “This can be attributed to the success we have had on and off the track with our great racing and how our competitors support those who support racing. We are happy to have Gandrud on board with us.”
Slack already has ideas about how their involvement in the Big 8 Series can be a win-win for everyone. “We also sponsor GM Powertrain
Clinics which teach independent service shops and body shops about new technology such as Hybrids in various cities around Wisconsin and thought it would be a great idea to have a clinic on Thursday and sponsor a race that weekend in the same city.”
The Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet season opener will take place on Sunday afternoon, April 13th at Rockford Speedway’s 31st Annual Spring Classic. The “Weekly Warriors” will get together to battle in a 100-lap feature race. The Mid-American Series will also battle the high-banked 1⁄4 mile oval in a 50-lap feature event that afternoon.
Blizzard SLM Series – The Blizzard Super Late Model Series starts its 2008 season on April 11th at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
Carquest Maritime Pro Stock Tour – As it enters its 21st year of high-octane family entertainment Scotia Speedworld can rightfully advertise a facility where drivers can hone their talents - and fans can watch motorsports stars develop - right before their eyes.
A fact never more apparent than this week as three of the tracks racing fraternity have entered the Pro All Stars Series South division season opener at one of the cornerstone landmarks in NASCAR history – the Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Murgic feels that competing in the ASAMT will help achieve his goal, “The reason that I want to run the full ASAMT is because of the great competition and exposure the Tour offers,” Murgic explained. “It gives me a better chance of being noticed by larger and better funded race teams and the fact that the ASAMT has good racing and puts on a great show for the fans and I want to be a part of that.”
Murgic also sees that the ASAMT is a great series for sponsors looking to support a race team like his, “I could provide a potential sponsor with many promotional items. Anywhere from T-shirts to graphics on the side of the stacker trailer, promotional appearances with the car at Midwest locations, crew uniforms, graphics and paint on the car and driver suit and more,” Murgic stated. “Also the sponsor will be provided with a race team that is on the cutting-edge of racing and engine technology.”
His team recently purchased a new Lefthander Chassis and will have two cars ready for the season which begins on Saturday, April 19th at Elko. Entry forms are now available at www.asamidwesttour.com.
Turple, a two-time C&R Auto Supply Sportsman division champ, moved to pro stock racing full-time in ’05 winning CARQUEST Tour Rookie of the Year title. In ’06 he captured the checkered flag at the series grand re-opening race at Riverside Speedway.
Other Speedworld graduates who went on to earn significant accolades beyond their home track include - in alphabetical order: Scott Alexander (two-time winner of the pro stock Forbes Chev Olds 150), the late Scott Fraser (two-time MASCAR champ, IPSC champ, and inductee in both the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame); the late Scott Kelly (IPSC champ and second-place in the highly competitive Oxford 250); Gordie Ryan (multi-time CARQUEST Tour winner), and Wayne Smith (three-time MASCAR champ and inaugural CARQUEST Tour champ.)
In 2008 Scotia Speedworld will continue setting the stage for the motorsports stars of tomorrow with 22 shows planned between May 24 and September 6 – with a division available to meet the skill level and desire of most aspiring drivers.
Weekly racers can start as young as eight years of age in the Bandolero division, and move through “the ranks” to the four-cylinder Miller Tire/BFGoodrich Thunder & Lightning Cars, the six-cylinder Hobby Stocks, the 5/8-scale Legends Cars, and the eight-cylinder C&R Auto Supply Sportsman division.
Several special events will supplement the ‘08 schedule at Scotia Speedworld including three stops by CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour, the return of the ground-pounding Monster Trucks, and the Atlantic CAT 250 – the only Canadian stop this year for the hard-charging Pro All Stars Series.
Regardless of the show – weekly racing on Friday nights or special event Saturdays - fans will be entertained all season long at Scotia Speedworld with exciting racing action in every division featuring the cars and stars of regional racing – for today and tomorrow.
The 2008 season opener at Scotia Speedworld is May 24 with the Lucas Oil 100 – round one of 11 on the 2008 CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour.
CRA Super Series – Five Star RaceCar Bodies has announced an additional award for this weekends CRA Super Series event at the Music City Motorplex at the Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee. Five Star Racecar Bodies will award a $250.00 Product Certificate for a Hard Luck Award that will be awarded to the driver with the most body damage to his racecar that occurred while competing in the All American 150 this Saturday night.
Five-Star RaceCar Bodies, located in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, has been a proud sponsor of the CRA Super Series since 1998. Five-Star RaceCar Bodies is the leading provider of Racecar & Race Truck Bodies as well as body installation tools, molded Lexan windows and graphic kits. Five-Star RaceCar Bodies as helped spearhead the development of the ABC Body Approved Body Configuration and also produces the ABC Body Rules and the Referee-Body Inspection Device used by the CRA Super Series. For more information about Five-Star Racecar Bodies, check out their web site at www.fivestarbodies.com.
ISCARS Dash Series – Much of the 2008 ISCARS Dash Series schedule has been decided upon and is available on the ISCARS website.
Georgia Asphalt Series – The GAS Series kicks off the 2008 Season on Saturday,
March 29th at Peach State Speedway in Jefferson, Georgia, Home of the World Crown.
Goodyear Challenge Series - The next race for the Goodyear Challenge Series is
April 5th at Columbia Raceway Park (FL).
Late Models – Tim Jordan says he’s looking forward to a “no-stress” season at the
Waterford Speedbowl. That is not to say, however, the 2006 Late Model champion is
planning on becoming any less competitive.
“Last year was kind of an unusual deal for us, leaving the Speedbowl for a while,”
Jordan says. “We took in some shows at other tracks and traveled a little. This season
we’re getting back to some old-school weekly racing at the Bowl and I’m looking
forward to it”
It begins at the 12th annual Budweiser Modified Nationals April 12-13. The Late Models
are one of 10 divisions on the busy agenda headlined by the $20,000 SK-150. The weekend also includes the Speedbowl’s Sportsman, Mini Stock and Legend divisions as well as the NEMA Midgets, NEMA Lites, AllStar Race Trucks, Pro4 Modifieds, and Allison Legacy Cars.
“We’re taking a more light hearted approach this year,” Jordan says. “We plan on racing hard and being competitive, but we want to enjoy racing the same way we always did. Sometimes when you set unrealistically high goals at the start of a year, it burns you out and removes some of the enjoyment. If we’re in a position to win another championship at the end of the year, that’s great. If not, that’s OK also.”
Jordan ’s 2007 resume included five victories in only seventeen Speedbowl starts. The team placed seventh in the final point standings.
Jordan, 23, virtually grew-up at the shoreline oval watching drivers like Phil Rondeau, Matt Kobyluck, and his uncle Tom Fox, battle it out in the ultra-competitive late model division.
The Easter Bunny 150, round one of four for the inaugural PASS National series, saw Speedworld graduates Dean Clattenburg, John Flemming and Shawn Turple among the entrants. Flemming and Turple both recorded top 10 finishes in the race.
All three racers honed their talents on the 1/3-mile course called Scotia Speedworld.
Clattenburg blazed Speedworld in the late 80s and early 90s spending time in the Open Wheel and Sportsman divisions before moving to MASCAR in ’92 – when he won the series Rookie of the Year title. Dean, a Dartmouth native, moved to North Carolina in ‘96 to pursue a full-time career in racing which he has accomplished as a top fabricator while still racing the southern short tracks; Dean finished fifth overall on the highly competitive 07 PASS South series.
Flemming raced at Speedworld for 10 years in the street stock division before moving to MASCAR in 1994, when he earned the series Rookie of the Year title, going on to become a three-time CARQUEST Pro Stock Tour champion. He has made a full-time move to PASS competition this year, hoping to contend for both the PASS North and National titles.
Harclerode used his home-track experience in July 2006 to finish second to winner Ben Rowe, beating multi-time ACT race winner Mark Lamberton, seven-time ACT Champion Jean-Paul Cyr, and ageless veteran Joey Laquerre. The Lee USA Late Models run under a rulebook nearly identical to ACT’s, and have always been very competitive both at home and away.
But, they’ll be looking to settle a score and finally take their first ACT win at home. In addition to Rowe’s 2006 victory, Cyr, Cris Michaud, Patrick Laperle, and Ontario pro D.J. Kennington have been ACT winners at Lee.
As a sidebar, Vermont’s Ryan Nolin also won a pair of weekly events there last season.
Ricky Wolf, Jr. is one of the Lee veterans looking forward to breaking through and taking the first win, but his is a sticky situation. Wolf has called Lee USA Speedway home since the early 1990s, and was the 2004 Track Champion and the NASCAR New England Regional Champion. In 2008, though, he’ll be competing as an ACT Late Model Tour rookie for the Willoughby Motorsports team, running as a teammate to the legendary Bobby Dragon.
ARCA Trucks – Bill Withers is the 2007 ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series champion.
ASA Late Model Challenge Series – The final racing date of the 2008 season at Mansfield Motorsports Park has been confirmed with the addition of the Autobody Products Inc. 200 for the ASA Late Model Series Challenge Division.
The weekend schedule calls for a 200-lap main event for the ASA Late Model Series, a 50-lap race for the USPRO Cup Series late models, and a 50-lap event for the ShortTrackTrucks.com Challenge Series. An open test will be held for the teams on Friday June 27, while official practice, qualifying and the races are scheduled for Saturday June 28. The final event schedule with starting times for practice, qualifying, and the three races will be released by ASA Late Model Series officials in the coming weeks.
“We have been working on the details for this event for several weeks,” said MMP general
manager Bill Conn. “We are grateful that API came on board to sponsor the event. We
also owe our thanks to Mike Osgar who was a big help in bringing everyone together.
Mike used to race here locally and is now racing with the ASA Late Model Series. He
owns a pretty successful auto body repair business in Mansfield and his body shop
does a lot of business with API.”
The event will mark the return of “tour-style” late model cars to MMP after a one-year
hiatus.
“Fans will recognize this style of car very easily,” said MMP public relations manager
Charles Krall. “It’s the same basic style of car that we raced weekly here at Mansfield in
2006, and it’s also raced in a variety of series and tracks across the Midwest. The neat
thing about the ASA Late Model Series is the crate engine under the hood. It really levels
the playing field and keeps costs under control. That gives a lot of independent drivers and
teams with somewhat limited resources a chance to come out and compete at the front with some of the bigger teams.”
Osgar will also compete in the API 200. He was the 2007 GM Performance Parts Shootout champion in the ASALMS and is a longtime MMP veteran competitor. It was his desire to race at his home track that was the impetus for the event.
“I followed the ASA Late Model Series for the first time in 2007 and really thought it would be great to race these cars at my home track here in Mansfield,” Osgar said. “I made some calls to the ASA and to API and we were able to get them together with everyone at MMP. It’s going to be great to be able to race in front of our friends and family.”
API is a distributor of automotive paints body repair products, tools and specialty items. The company is based in Butler, Pennsylvania and has one location in Mansfield. Other locations in Ohio include Akron, Canton, and Barberton.
Tickets for the API 200 are just $25 in advance and can be purchased online at www.mansfieldmotorsportsonline.com.
ASA Late Model North Series – In two weeks, the ASALMS Northern Division and the return of the USPRO Cup Series have a date with one of the most tradition laden tracks in the entire United States.
In what is widely regarded as the Official 2008 Season Opening Weekend in the Great Lakes Region of the United States, the cars and stars of the ASALMS Northern Division as well as the much anticipated return of the USPRO Cup Series will share the spotlight in the Buckeye State.
The Glass Breaker 200 Weekend is set for Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, 2008 at the famed 0.500 Mile High-Banked Paved Oval of the Toledo (OH) Speedway, located just across the Michigan / Ohio state line in Toledo, Ohio.
The ASALMS Northern Division will run in the Glass Breaker 125 while the highly awaited return of the USPRO Cup Series will run the Welcome Back / Glass Breaker 75. Joining the ASALMS Northern Division and USPRO Cup Series will be the O'Reilly Auto Parts USA Modifieds Series.
Both the Glass Breaker 125 and Welcome Back / Glass Breaker 75 Entry Forms are available and both are due at the ASALMS Home Offices in Lexington, Michigan by Monday, April 7, 2008 to avoid the late fees.
The ASA Late Model Challenge Series is headed to Mansfield.
ASA Late Model South Series – The final racing date of the 2008 season at Mansfield Motorsports Park has been confirmed with the addition of the Autobody Products Inc. 200 for the ASA Late Model Series Challenge Division.
The weekend schedule calls for a 200-lap main event for the ASA Late Model Series, a 50-lap race for the USPRO Cup Series late models, and a 50-lap event for the ShortTrackTrucks.com Challenge Series. An open test will be held for the teams on Friday June 27, while official practice, qualifying and the races are scheduled for Saturday June 28. The final event schedule with starting times for practice, qualifying, and the three races will be released by ASA Late Model Series officials in the coming weeks.
“We have been working on the details for this event for several weeks,” said MMP general manager Bill Conn. “We are grateful that API came on board to sponsor the event. We also owe our thanks to Mike Osgar who was a big help in bringing everyone together. Mike used to race here locally and is now racing with the ASA Late Model Series. He owns a pretty successful auto body repair business in Mansfield and his body shop does a lot of business with API.”
The event will mark the return of “tour-style” late model cars to MMP after a one-year hiatus.
“Fans will recognize this style of car very easily,” said MMP public relations manager Charles Krall. “It’s the same basic style of car that we raced weekly here at Mansfield in 2006, and it’s also raced in a variety of series and tracks across the Midwest. The neat thing about the ASA Late Model Series is the crate engine under the hood. It really levels the playing field and keeps costs under control. That gives a lot of independent drivers and teams with somewhat limited resources a chance to come out and compete at the front with some of the bigger teams.”
Colt James
“Those were the guys I cheered-for. I loved the division,” he states. “After a few seasons in a Mini Stock, I was able to graduate to the late models. We were incredibly fortunate, winning both rookie of the year and the championship in our first season.”
Jordan savors the thought of a trip to victory lane on Nationals weekend. He “really enjoys” the challenge of a long-distance event.
“If it were up to me, we’d have more longer races during the season,” he states. “In those events, everybody has more patience, which leads to better racing. It seems that you don’t have all the beating and banging, and you’re not constantly getting drilled from behind.”
He’d love longer races every week. “With that said, I guess you can deduce I’m really looking forward to the opener,” he sums up.
Late Model Stock Cars – Two-Time Caraway Speedway (NC) track Champion Jason York of Reidsville, known as “The Reidsville Rocket” blasted into victory lane after leading every lap of the 100 lap feature. He also broke the qualifying track record by posting a 16.815 second lap, winning the BUDWEISER pole award. Defending track champion Randy Benson of Rockingham held off Lucas Ransone of Madison to bring home second. Ransone, BJ Mackey of Rock Hill, SC, Travis Swaim of High Point, Brad Brinkley of Sanford, Alex Kennedy
Tim Jordan's #47 Late Model (51 Photo)
“Nick is a third generation driver with lots of racing talent in his blood,” Tim Olson, ASAMT President stated. “His drive and determination that he shows already in the classroom is something he can also prove on the racetrack. His family’s racing history is well known in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest. And soon could be well known to the rest of the racing world.”
With Murgic working on his class studies which includes math and science honor classes, he is also busy working on the cars, its simple to say that he is a busy young guy but he realizes that the hard work is necessary in order to achieve his ultimate goal. He should be one driver to watch this season.
ASA Northwest Tour – ASANWT Officials are proud to announce that Echo Outdoor Power Equipment will be the presenting sponsor of the ASA Northwest Tour in 2008. The series will be called the ASA Aero Exhaust Northwest Tour presented by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment.
Jerry Kobza, Marketing Manager of Golden Eagle Distributing stated, “The return of a premier touring series in the Northwest is a perfect vehicle to market the full line of Echo outdoor power equipment. The fans, teams and our network of dealers are very excited about the relationship. Echo is proud to be the presenting sponsor for the ASA Northwest Tour for 2008, and we look forward to building more excitement about the Echo brand with new venues in the Northwest.”
Fans will easily recognize Echo for their participation in the “Cutting Through the Competition” award, where each fast qualifier will receive an Echo chain saw and kit in association with Oregon Chain Saws. Fans also will recognize Echo for their open houses at their dealers that will feature stars of the ASANWT.
“As part of each ASA Northwest Tour Event, our participating dealers will hold open houses featuring the ASA race cars and drivers,” Kobza said. “Fans are given the opportunity to meet the touring stars in a relaxed and fun environment, while learning more about the great new products from Echo. We will continue to bring fans to each dealer event, and this year the ASANWT show race car will be at dealer events.”
“We are excited to have Echo and its dealers become a presenting sponsor in 2008,” Ron Bennett ASANWT Series Director stated. “Golden Eagle and the local dealers are great to work with; they have great enthusiasm for our series as we do with their products. It’s a win-win for everyone. Echo is helping with our associate marketing program with the race tracks by providing Pocket Schedules, Season Schedule Posters, Show Car Wrap and Event Posters.
The 2008 ASA Aero Exhaust Northwest Tour season will open on Saturday, March 29th with the Speedway Chevrolet 125 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. BJ Tidrick will be back to defend his 2007 title against the ASANWT Touring Stars along with the best asphalt Super Late Model Drivers in the Northwest.
The dealer event will be on Friday March 28th at the Coast to Coast Hardware in Monroe, WA from 11:00am to 2:00pm. This will be a great opportunity for the fans and media to meet some of the 2008 stars of the popular traveling late model stock car racing series of the ASNWT. There will also be the chance to get hands on demonstrations of the great Echo Outdoor Power Equipment products.
BJ Tidrick was the 2007 ASA Aero Exhaust Northwest Tour Champion.
ASA RC Cola/Moon Pie Southeast Asphalt Tour – Preston Peltier won the inaugural ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour event at Mobile International Speedway (AL).
Big 8 – Big 8 Series officials are proud to announce that Gandrud Chevrolet, located in Green Bay, WI, will be the presenting sponsor for the 2008 Big 8 Series season. The series will be titled the Big 8 Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet.
“We have been getting out and talking to some of the racers and promoters for a couple years now to promote the GM Circle Track Crate Motors and met Gregg (McKarns, Big 8 Series Promoter) last fall while in Rockford,” Chris Slack, Parts Manager at Gandrud stated. “Gregg and the rest of the crew in Rockford gave us some names of other guys to talk to and we had a booth at all 3 of their racers auctions this last year and met a bunch of them in person. We deliver parts including engines overnight to Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Eastern Minnesota, and the UP of Michigan and this series covers a large part of that area so we wanted to get involved in some way.”
Gandrud Chevrolet, located at 919 Auto Plaza Drive in Green Bay, is the largest GM Parts dealer
Ricky Wolf (#38) raced in the Late Model division at Lee last season. (51 Photo)
Peltier in ASA SAT victory lane. (51 Photo)
Shawn Turple's #0 at the Easter Bunny 150. (51 Photo)
of Axtec, New Mexico, Dan Moore of Bear Creek, Robert Tyler of Greensboro and Tommy Lemons Jr of Troy rounded out the top ten finishers.
After a week off for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour to visit Caraway, the Late Model Stock Car division returns to action at the track this Saturday night.
Mid-American Stock Car Series - The 2008 MASCS season will kick off with the 31st annual Spring Classic at Rockford Speedway on April 13th.
Northwest Pro 4 Alliance – Rumsey Racing returns to the Alliance Series in 2008 with Bud Rumsey in his #11r and younger brother Johnny in the #2. The Prosser, Washington based teams main mission this season is to get both cars in the top ten in the championship points. Ford 2300c.c. engines will once more power the all Ford teams.
Teams from as far south as California are registering to compete in this years Summer of Excitement Series as the Garrett Doyle Performance Honda based in Palmdale, California will lead the way with five time Utah Late Model Lite Champion Kurt Madsen at the wheel.
The 2008 Northwest Pro 4 Alliance season will start on May 24th at South Sound Speedway (WA).
PASS Outlaw Late Models – Despite the weather, the calendar says spring is just around the corner! Soon Mother Nature will let loose her grip on northern New England and the 2nd annual Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Motorsports Extravaganza will celebrate the upcoming racing season with a healthy dose of race cars on display from most every form of motorsport.
Expect plenty of cars and your favorite regional racing stars to be on hand at Your Space (formerly Gorham Sports Center) March 28th and 29th. Located on Route 202 in Gorham Maine, the bright and roomy sports facility will be filled with race cars of all shapes and sizes, from go-karts and legends to dragsters and restored racers from bygone eras. Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, Wiscasset Raceway and all five PASS racing divisions will be out in force, giving racers and race fans alike an opportunity to preview the upcoming season.
The 2008 PASS Outlaw Series will kick off on May 3rd at Maine’s Speedway 95.
PASS North SLM – Five Star Stock Car Bodies of Twin Lakes Wisconsin will provide awards for super late model racers that compete in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North and South divisions in 2008. It’s the eighth consecutive season that the well known manufacturer of race car bodies and accessories has provided awards for PASS points competitors.
Five Star will provide award certificates for a complete ABC body package (less windows and spoiler) and an ABC reskin body package to two racers in both the PASS North and South super late model divisions. All drivers that attempt to qualify for 85% of each series events are eligible for a random draw at their respective 2008 banquets.
“We appreciate the important role Five Star Stock Car Bodies has played in our sport for almost thirty years now, “said PASS President Tom Mayberry.” In recent years they spearheaded the move to the ABC body for super late model racing, one of the most significant developments in short track racing in a long time. The fact that we had racers from Colorado to Canada entering our March 22nd PASS South opener at Hickory Motor Speedway is a testimonial to the effectiveness of that program.”
Five Star Race Car Bodies is dedicated to providing the racing community with quality after market body panels specifically designed for racing from the short tracks to Daytona. Nearly 150,000 square feet of floor space is dedicated to the design, manufacture, and distribution of body panels and accessories used in oval-based series.
PASS South SLM – Corey Williams won the season-opening Easter Bunny 150 at
Hickory Motor Speedway (NC) on Saturday.
PASS Sportsmen – Dan McKeage is the 2007 PASS Pullen Heavy Industries
Sportsman champion.
SRL – The 2008 Flashco SRL season starts on March 28th-29th at All American
Speedway (CA).
Sunbelt SLM – Tim Russell in the 2007 Sunbelt Series champion.
Super Late Models – Tim Russell won Saturday’s Brighthouse Challenge Series
feature at New Smyrna Speedway.
Superpro – To visit the website of the Rivernut Superpro Late Model Series, PLEASE CLICK HERE
UARA-STARS – Winter preparations should be near completion for drivers and crews to begin the UARA-STARS season opener on March 29, 2008 at Concord Motorsports Park in the Whitley Truck Equipment 150 late model stock race.
Local favorite and defending UARA Champion Ross Furr will be on hand to try a repeat championship. This has not been done in the UARA history to date. Furr comes to his home track with an outstanding 2007 run behind him. Furr received his first UARA win at Concord Motorsports Park in 2007 and has hopes of repeating that to begin his 2008 UARA run.
A host of other drivers will be on hand to try their best to keep Furr from achieving his goal.
Second place 2007 championship contender B.J. Mackey has joined forces with a new team and has his heart set on having another great run with the UARA. Roger Lee Newton, Clay Greenfield and Jake Crum will be just a few of the 2007 top ten to be on hand to make the challenge. Several of these drivers will be running new numbers with different teams this year.
Second place 2007 rookie challenger Daniel Pope II has his sites on moving up in the excitement and obtaining his first win.
Jamey Caudill will be doing his best to increase on his UARA record of having the most individual wins. Caudill will bring along with him his JR Motorsports teammates.
Maybe like the first UARA race at Concord last year a Melling Select Rookie will grab the pole and bring home the checker. Matt DiBenedetto did just that to the surprise of many in his second UARA start. Darrell Wallace, Jr. will be one of the 2008 contending rookies with winning on his mind. Wallace made an impressive pre-rookie show with the UARA in the last few events of 07.
Maybe a female can pull off the ultimate surprise for the UARA-STARS. Young Tiffany Daniels will be making her debut with the UARA.
The Fast & Furious drivers along with the Grand Stocks will be on hand to help complete the program.
USPRO – The 2008 USPRO season starts on April 11th-12th at Toledo Speedway (OH).
V8 Stock Car Series - Few race tracks anywhere in the world have the rich history of Sebring. The circuit where sports car racing legends like Jimmy Clark, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Mark Donohue, Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss and Pedro Rodriquez, just to name a few, made racing history, A track where great marques became greater, like the Ferrari GTO's and 512, the Porsche 917, 935, and 962, Jim Hall's Chaparral, the Bird cage Maserati's, the Group 44 Jaguar, the Toyota and Nissan GTP's and the recent Audi R8.
But on February 23rd and 24th these hallowed grounds for sports car types were invaded by two classes of stock cars running with the V8 StockCar Road Racing Series. The V8 SPO cars are super late model types or ex Nascar Cup and Busch Series cars and the V8 GTA cars are ex ASA Delco National Tour cars or late models with about 500 horsepower.
Some thirty racers in V8 SPO's, V8 GTA's and the Trans Am type V8 GT-1's were on hand in fast, well prepared machines, and they came to race.
Charles Wicht, a refugee from the old Speedvision GT series was on hand in his ex Kevin Harvick South West Tour car. A car that Harvick won at Sonoma in, in it's only Nascar appearance. Wicht took the stock car pole with a blistering 2.10.9 lap, breaking his own track record, and topping sport car racing legend Gene Felton in his ex Kasey Kahne Dodge cup car and Lee Arnold in his ex Boris Said South West Tour car.
Tony Amico, owner of Lakeland Speedway, was on the V8 GTA pole in his "Caddy's on the Beach" Monte Carlo by a tenth over "Fast Phil" Tapia, who has been showing surprising speed everywhere he races lately.
Sunday's race was spared the inclement weather that caused V8SC officials to draw Saturdays race points from qualifying. None of the stock cars had anything for Wicht in his red and black rocket still emblazoned with the Snap-On Logo's of it's past glory. Charles, the son of long time IMSA and SCCA racer Al Wicht, never put a wheel a wrong on his way to victory over Paul Breehne, in his similar South West Tour type racer. Lee Arnold, usually seen at the front battling with Wicht, had some suspension breakage and retired.
In V8 GTA, Tapia had gotten away to about a six second advantage over 2007 V8 GTA champ Jay Marshall, but half way through the event, Marshall in his MIKE COPE RACING prepared Monte Carlo had worked his way through some traffic and now was closing on Tapia at about two seconds a lap. Marshall, driving as though possessed caught and passed Tapia on the last lap.
The Central Florida Region SCCA did their usual outstanding job of hosting the event with some 375 cars in all their groups in attendance.
The V8 StockCar series moves to the newly improved and reconfigured Carolina Motorsports Park March 29th and 30th for the Buck Muse Memorial Double SARRC event.
Wisconsin Challenge Series – Nathan Hassleau is the 2007 Wisconsin Challenge Series champion.
GAS heads to Peach State to start their season this week.
Nick Murgic (ASA MWT Photo)
Corey Williams' winning #47 from Hickory. (51 {Photo)
