Over the course of the offseason, we will go back and recap each race of the 2023 ASA STARS National Tour season. The inaugural season featured seven different winners in ten races at ten different tracks, with a points battle that went down to the wire.
Race No.6 – Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway
Super Late Model racing’s best went from the biggest track on the schedule at Milwaukee Mile to the smallest track at Anderson Speedway for a 400-lap knockdown dragout fight at the high-banked ¼-mile. Also held in conjunction with the Redbud 400 was the 50th Anniversary ASA Racers Reunion featuring drivers, crew members and employees from the American Speed Association’s past. Bob Senneker and Mike Eddy were presented with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their accolades and contributions to ASA.
Teams received an open practice date on Friday, July 14 before raceday on the 15th. Canada’s Cole Butcher earned his first Go Fas Racing Pole Award during qualifying ahead of teammate Gio Ruggiero and Scotty Tomasik, a local favorite making his ASA STARS National Tour debut. For the second time in six races, Bubba Pollard and Ty Majeski graced the front row after the redraw.
It was a continuation of dominance from the previous race for Majeski, who led all but seven of the first 290 laps in his Redbud 400 debut. For the second-straight race, he swept the stages; winning the first one over Butcher and Ruggiero and the second one over Ruggiero and Dalton Armstrong. However, the race would be far from over as the final 120-lap stage went caution-free.
Majeski’s dominating run slowed down on lap 290 when he was passed for the lead by Ruggiero, then falling to third soon after. Ruggiero’s run up front was short-lived, when he was passed by Butcher on lap 307. The Wilson Motorsports teammates battled for the lead for the majority of the final stage, but Butcher pulled away late to win the Redbud 400. By virtue of his victory, he became the third Canadian driver to win an ASA race and the first to do so since 1992, while becoming the first Canadian to win the Redbud since 2004.
Redbud 400 – Anderson Speedway Entries: 19 Started: 18 Go Fas Racing Pole Award Winner: Cole Butcher Stage Winners: Ty Majeski x2 Lead Changes: 4 Leaders: 3 Most Laps Led: Ty Majeski (284) Winner: Cole Butcher
For more information on the ASA STARS National Tour, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: ASA STARS National Tour | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).
ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced in October 2022, many of the best drivers in America will compete in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.
The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner – the ASA/CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.
The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program has been announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the series.
Track Enterprises, a racing promotions company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of Champion Racing Association (CRA) in January 2022 and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series, which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.
