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SOUTHERN
SHORT TRACK RACING NEWS
| Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | Make way for Memphis – ASALMS, November 14th and 15th Lexington, MI (October 29th 2008)- The ASA Late Model Series presented by GM Performance Parts is planning and preparing for the season Grand Finale at Memphis Motorsports Park on November 14th and 15th. This will be part three of the O’Reilly’s Triple Crown Challenge for the 2008 season.
The series and track will host the inaugural event “The King’s Ransom 300” This full scale invitational event will name the ‘2008 King of Short Track.’ There is no better place than Memphis itself to name a king of champions; the birth place of the king of Rock and Roll.
The ‘Kings Ransom 300’ comes at the tail end of the season following The NASCAR Nationwide Series ‘Kroger On Track For The Cure 250’ that was held on October 25th.
The ASA Late Model Series was fortunate to work with Memphis Motorsports Park and be a part of the October 25th event with a midway display. It was a great place to meet many of the fans and also see some of our past teams have so much presence in the ‘Kroger On Track For the Cure 250.’ Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 5 National Guard/39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Chevrolet, finished 13th on Saturday at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Landon became the youngest winner in ASALMS history when he won at Lake Erie Speedway on June 9, 2006. He went to the next Northern Division race at Berlin Raceway and finished second. On July 3 Cassill won his second ASALMS race, this time in a Southern Division race at South Georgia Motorsports Park near Cecil, Georgia.
The win made him the first driver to win in both the Northern and Southern Divisions. He won his first Challenge Division race at I-70 Speedway on July 8 to become the first driver to win in all three divisions. He finished second in the Challenge Division points behind Kelly Bires, and eleventh in the Northern Division despite starting in half of the races.
Kelly Bires finished 18th in the event at Memphis on October 25th. “The last thing we expected were a lot of long green-flag runs,” Bires said after finishing 18th. “Last year there were 25 cautions. This year there were eight. We came prepared for short runs, so we got behind at the beginning of the race.” Kelly turned plenty of heads when he showed up in the ASA Late Model Series in 2006. His stunning performance speaks for itself—seven wins, four poles, 15 top-five finishes and none out of the top-10 in seventeen starts. Without question, he was the run away winner of the Rookie of the Year Title.
James Buescher returned to the seat of the No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota this weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park for his sixth and final Nationwide Series start this season. Having had impressive performances in his previous starts for the team, including one top-five and four top-20 finishes, Buescher came to Memphis hoping to shine. Saturday morning, the 18 year-old from Plano Texas, did just that when he captured his first career Nationwide Series pole putting him in the first starting position for the afternoon’s 250-lap race.
James teamed up with Turner Motorsports to tackle the ASA Late Model Southern Division in 2006. Competing for both the championship and the Rookie of the Year title, he didn’t flinch once, earning his first ever ASA Late Model win at Florence Motor Speedway (SC) in September.
In the middle of the title hunt all season long, that win propelled James to the top of the standings and inevitably, the division championship. Mission accomplished: in his first year in the ASA, James captured both the division title, the Rookie of the Year title, and brought home the “Most Popular Driver” Award.
Joey Logano scored his best NASCAR Nationwide Series finish since his 2nd place effort July 19th at Gateway International Raceway in Madison IL, by driving the number #20 GameStop Toyota by Joe Gibbs Racing to fifth place in Saturdays Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park.
In 2004, Joey participated in the ASA National Touring Series and the ASA Late Model Series where he earned five top fives and eight top ten finishes.
John Wes Townley was also debuting at the Memphis Motorsports Park this past weekend in the Kroger on Track for the Cure 250 presented by the Southern Dodge Dealers.
John Wes Townley began his racing career in go-karts at the age of nine. From there he has successfully competed in the INEX Bandolero Division, NASCAR Camping World Series, USAR Pro Cup Series, and in the ASA Late Model ranks, where he took home a victory at New Senoia Raceway (GA) in September 2007.
The ASA Late Model Series November 15th event will once again produce some of the hottest talent in short track racing. The Kings Ransom 300 is the one event of the 2008 season where you will see the most talented drivers that short track has to offer.
For information on the Kings Ransom 300 at Memphis Motorsports Park on November 14th and 15th, call the ASA Late Model Series home office at 1-800-385-2503. Tickets are available through the ASA Late Model Series Office, Memphis Motorsports Park and also at participating O’Reilly’s Auto Parts stores in the Memphis area. O’Reilly’s a proud partner in this event has discounted tickets available now until November 15th.
To find out more about our upcoming season check back to our site at www.asalatemodels.com, www.asalatemodelsnorth.com, www.asalatemodelsnorth.com. We are working towards once again having the best teams, partners and tracks as part of our 2009 program and will continue to grow as ‘America’s Premier Short Track Series Have an opinion on this story? E-MAIL KARNAC to send a letter to the editor!
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