Elko, Minn. (August 31, 2003) – Wisconsin veteran Chris Wimmer captured his first American Speed Association pole position for today’s running of the Greased Lightning Orange Blast 400 at Elko Speedway.

Wimmer captured the pole position in his 54th career ASA start and became the 91st different driver to win the top qualifying spot in the 36-year history of the Pendleton- based racing series.

Twenty-nine of the 41 drivers to make qualifying runs on Sunday at the .375-mile oval topped the track record of 14.18-seconds set in 2002 by Robbie Pyle.

Seven former ASA champions, probably a first in series history, will take the green flag on Sunday. Those champions include Bryan Reffner, Tim Sauter, Dick Trickle, Joey Clanton, Gary St. Amant, Kevin Cywinski and Butch Miller.

The Greased Lightning Orange Blast 400 will be telecast live on The Speed Channel starting at 1:30 p.m.

Winner toured the oval at 13.806-seconds (97.784 mph) as the 15th car to make a qualifying attempt and then held on as 2002 ASA champion Joey Clanton and rookie contender Travis Kittleson made runs at the top spot.

Clanton will start on the outside of the front row with a lap of 13.815 seconds (97.720 mph) with Kittleson starting third with a time of 13.824 seconds (97.656 mph) with Joey Miller and Reed Sorenson rounding out the top five.

“It’s real nice to finally get that first pole,” said Wimmer. “The car has been excellent all day. We made very little changes to the car during the two practice sessions. Here you have to try and not use a lot of brake and its important to get off the corner early.

“I didn’t know if the time would hold up,” he said. “I knew that both Travis (Kittleson) and Mike (Garvey) were fast all day.”

Clanton said the crew made adjustments on the Terry’s Automotive Group Chevrolet and got the car dialed in during the second practice session.

“We went back to the set-up we used to win the race here last year,” said Clanton. “The car got better as the temperatures went up. Coming back to ASA is a lot of fun and it’s a lot more relaxing.”

Clanton is driving a car that he drove to numerous victories in 2002 on his way to the ASA title and once purchased by Terry Koons during the off season. Clanton is now competing with the Busch Grand National Series.

Kittleson said his Bob Steele Chevrolet’s set-up really worked well throughout the day.

“This track is really easy to overdrive on,” he said. “I wanted to make sure we had two smooth laps. We have an awesome car for the race. This is a track where you can’t use up the brakes and have to get on the gas early.”

ASA BOX

American Speed Association
Greased Lightning Orange Blast 400
Elko Speedway
Lap distance: 0.375 miles
Race Monday

1) Chris Wimmer, Chevrolet, 97.784 mph
2) Joey Clanton, Chevrolet, 97.720 mph
3) Travis Kittleson, Chevrolet, 97.656 mph
4) Joey Miller, Chevrolet, 97.311 mph
5) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 97.297 mph
6) Butch Miller, Chevrolet, 97.171 mph
7) Kevin Cywinski, Chevrolet, 97.004 mph
8) Robbie Pyle, Chevrolet 96.927 mph
9) Toby Porter, Chevrolet, 96.802 mph
10) Chad Wood, Chevrolet, 96.518 mph
11) Todd Kluever, Chevrolet, 96.504 mph
12) Mike Garvey, Chevrolet, 96.491 mph
13) Rich Bickle, Chevrolet, 96.394 mph
14) Peter Cozzolino, Chevrolet, 96.318 mph
15) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, 96. 298 mph
16) Greg Stewart, Chevrolet, 96.257 mph
17) Glenn Allen Jr., Chevrolet, 96.236 mph
18) Scott Hansen, Chevrolet, 96.222 mph
19) Gary St. Amant, Chevrolet, 96.216 mph
20) Davin Scites, Chevrolet, 96.120 mph
21) Bryan Reffner, Chevrolet
22) Rick Beebe, Ford
23) Boris Jurkovic, Chevrolet
24) Ed Brown, Chevrolet
25) Rich Loch, Chevrolet
26) Dick Trickle, Chevrolet
27) Tim Sauter, Ford
28) Ronnie Hawley, Chevrolet
29) Kris Stump, Ford
30) Jonathan Eilen, Chevrolet
31) Paul Paine, Chevrolet
32) Darren Wolke, Chevrolet
33) Greg Williams, Chevrolet, provisional starter















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