Chase Elliott Crowned Georgia Asphalt Series Champ after Fairgrounds Speedway Cancellation
Roderick Misses Out on $25K Bonus while Reaid Loses Opportunity to Dethrown the Bill Elliott Team Drivers
By Jason "Stix" Buckley
The All American 400 weekend at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee, was being billed as one of the biggest racing events in the country, and even more so, for the Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS). It was going to be their final race of the season in a tight points battle that saw two of the young, emerging stars in the Late Model world battling hard for the title with one trying to collect a $25,000 bonus in the process. On the outside looking in was a third driver looking to steal the thunder from the top two drivers, quieting the critics that said the two teammates in the top-two spots couldn’t be beat.
Then, what no one wanted to hear, happened.
After weather forced the event to be postponed to a later date, news broke a few short weeks from the event that the whole weekend’s activities at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway was being cancelled, amid the rumors that racing at the Fairgrounds had come to a close for eternity. As the news spread, the Georgia Asphalt Series drivers were wondering if their final points event was being cancelled or moved to another venue. The answer came under 24 hours after the word got out – the 2009 season was over and Chase Elliott was crowned the champion.
“I had got the word that it was cancelled, and I didn’t hear anything more about it,” said Terry Roberts, who runs the Georgia Asphalt Series, just moments after the news hit the headlines on the cancellation of the event. “I am disappointed because it was to be our last GAS race of the year. We had three guys in the top three in points that all had an opportunity to win the championship. Our guys had got in the position all year, and it was taken away from them.”
Sitting second, an unofficial 15 points out of the title chase (official points have not been posted on the GAS website as of press time), is Casey Roderick, teammate to Elliott. Roderick, who won the Super Six Series, had a chance to take home a cool $25,000, which was a bonus issued to any driver that could win both series’ points titles. The cancellation of the event cost him a chance at the title and the bonus money in the process.
“I was really disappointed,” said Roderick. “I was looking forward to running at Nashville. It’s one of my favorite tracks. We ran there once last year, but I was really looking forward to that race. I thought we had a pretty good chance at winning and a chance at that $25,000 bonus, but it doesn’t look like we’re going to get it now, but that’s alright. We had a good year and I’m glad I was able to get those two wins that I won at Lanier and we’ll just have to move on with it.
“You know, maybe we could have put that back into our racing team and maybe try to make some future races with that money, especially since I was only a few points behind him,” said Roderick of what he would have done with the extra $25K. “We really had a shot at it, so that was the main thing we were going up there for was to win the race and win the championship and we just weren’t able to do that.”
TJ Reaid, who is not a teammate to the top-two drivers in the points standings, was looking forward to his first trip to Nashville and maybe pulling out a victory and the championship, but just like Roderick, that opportunity never happened.
“It was going to be my first time there at the Fairgrounds, so I was really looking forward that,” said Reaid. “We’ve got Chris Gabehart working with us and of course he won the All American 400 there last year, so we had some good chassis notes there. I felt like we had a good shot at it. I think it would have taken a win or a top three to wrap up the championship. I’m just really disappointed. We left to go up on Wednesday to go test and we got to Chattanooga (TN) and the guy from the track called and said that the weekend had been cancelled, so it was kind of a down weekend, but you know, it is what it is.”
Even knowing that the cancellation gave him the GAS championship without having to turn another lap on a track, Elliott was disappointed he wasn’t able to race his way into the title during that final event.
“We ended up coming home with the championship and I’m really excited about that, but we didn’t get to run that last race, and I was really looking forward to it,” said Elliott. “I thought we had some really good stuff going into it that we were going to try some stuff. We had some different set-up packages we were going to give a shot up there and we were decent up there in the Super car in the CRA Series, so a lot of that would carry over and I was really looking forward to it.”
Despite not being able to take a shot at the top-two drivers, Reaid was pleased with his third place in the points, and was happy for the two Bill Elliott Driver Development racers that finished ahead of him for the 2009 GAS title.
“They’ve been strong all year,” said Reaid. “We were strong at the first part of the year and then kind of missed it a little bit towards the end, and that seems like when they’re program kind of picked up was towards the end of the year. But they’re in top-notch equipment. You know Bill (Elliott) puts them in some of the best, so every time they roll in a track they are a threat to win. But I’ve got to give it to Chase; he’s 13 years old and got his first championship. He can drive; he’s a wheel man. And Casey, I grew up racing Legends with him, so its fun racing those two and I look forward to racing them next year and hopefully next year will look better for us championship-wise.”
Roderick, although a bit disappointed at not having his wallet fattened by the bonus, still couldn’t be too disappointed. In a break-out year, he won multiple Late Model races and the Super Six Championship at Lanier National Speedway (GA), something that he will remember for a long time.
“It was good,” said Roderick of his season. “It started off pretty decent. We kept getting top fives and we needed something else to get that win and we just never could get it and I feel like with this new car that we got back when I won that first race, it really helped us out. We’ve got something to work with now and we had something to work with before, but we just couldn’t get it done. I appreciate Bill [Elliott] helping us out there and that Hometown Community Bank put up some money for us for Lanier. It just all came together there, and we won three races in a row, but one was taken away from us so we had a good overall year.”
The driver that had the best year overall in the Georgia Asphalt Series was Elliott, who, no matter how you look at it, put himself in position to win the championship, despite not racing the final event.
“We were going into the race with the lead, so that’s definitely a little bit on your shoulders there, but I mean, at the same time, I felt like we still had a really good shot at it you know, even pretty much almost tied up in the points,” said Elliott. “We had just as good of a shot at it if we were running second in the points or anywhere else. I was relieved so at the same time I was looking forward to running it.
“I’m really excited. I never would have guessed to have run as well as we did in the GAS Series. Most places we went I thought we ran pretty decent and I can’t explain (the feeling), that’s just awesome. My first season there and I come home with that championship. It’s a heck of a feeling.”
Chase Elliott won many races in many series in 2009. Now he has a GAS title to his credit. (51 Sports Photo)
Casey Roderick was hoping he would be able to race towards a $25,000 bonus check that ended up not happening. (51 Sports Photo)
TJ Reaid went to victory lane during the season, but he was hoping for that one last shot at the GAS title. (51 Sports Photo)
Chase Elliott has something else to cheer - a GAS championship. (51 Sports Photo)
