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SOUTHERN
SHORT TRACK RACING NEWS
| Wednesday, November 12, 2008 | | Sean Murphy races for $100,000 Bonus at Memphis | The ASA Kings Ransom 300 from Memphis Motorsports Park will be round three of the O’Reilly’s Triple Challenge event and will close out the 2008 season for the ASA Late Model Series. Many teams across the country are coming to the Memphis to race in one of the year’s biggest short track events. The O’Reilly’s Triple Crown Challenge is a three event Challenge that offered any ASA Late Model team a chance at $100,000 payout and with two down and one to go SS Green Light Racing’s Sean Murphy is in line to challenge for the big payday.
Sean won the first two events of the O’Reilly’s Triple Challenge; O’Reilly Raceway Park in April and Salem Speedway in July driving the #32 ASI LIMITED; Akzo Nobel; Spectrum Metal Chevy. A win in the Kings Ransom 300 would give the 22 year old racer one of the largest payouts in short track racing history.
Current NASCAR drivers Stephen Leicht and Erik Darnell will join a field of some of the best short track drivers in the country including Steve Carlson and Eddie Hoffman along with the rest of the ASA Late Model stars who will be among the 31 other drivers standing in Murphy’s way.
Murphy finished third in the ASA Late Model point standings 128 points behind Peter Cozzolino and tied with Brian Campbell for the most wins (three) in the series this year. There was a tight battle for third in the standings as Murphy, Travis Dassow and Campbell finished within ten points of each other.
"We are bringing the same car that we won the three races with earlier this year," Murphy said. "The competition will be good, but I just look at that as more of a challenge, it’s more cars to pass. I really thrive on the competition and I think we have as good a chance as anybody to win this race and take home the big check."
“We are doing everything we can to be sure the car is prepped the best it can possibly be,” Murphy continued. “Once we get to the track we will all give 110 percent and we’ll do our best to get to the front.”
Three-time ASA champion and SS Green Light Racing crew chief Butch Miller believes the team is ready to race for the big prize, “Other than some of the races at Eldora, this is the first time that I can remember the chance for a payday like this in all my years of short-track racing. We didn’t win the championship, so at this point to win this race and to say we were able to take home this bonus would be the biggest thing I have ever been part of and that’s my goal.” Miller continued, “We have a really good race car, a very good driver who listens well and even though he’s never been there before, Memphis is Sean’s type of track. I believe we have an extremely good chance at winning this deal.”
• Sean has three ASA Late Model Series wins this season; O’Reilly Raceway Park in April, Iowa Speedway in May, and Salem Speedway in July. • Sean finished 3rd in the 2008 ASA Late Model driver point standings and 4th in the 2007 ASA Late Model driver point standings. • Sean scored a top-10 in SS Green Light Racing’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Mansfield on May 26th, the teams best finish of the year. • 36 cars are pre-entered for the Kings Ransom 300.
Sean’s thoughts on Memphis Motorsports Park: “I’ve never been to Memphis before, but I’ve watched some races there and tried to study the track some. Butch has done everything he can to make sure the car is perfect and we’ll be able to find the speed we need to get the #32 ASI LIMITED; Akzo Nobel; Spectrum Metal Chevy into victory lane.” Practice for the Kings Ransom 300 is Friday, Nov. 14th from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. and 3:00-4:30 p.m. with final practice at 8:00 am on Saturday. Qualifying will be Saturday, Nov 15th at 10:00 a.m. and the ASA Kings Ransom 300 will run at 1:00pm Eastern time. For more on Sean Murphy and SS Green Light Racing visit www.ssracingonline.com
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