While the ASA Midwest Tour race at Elko Speedway was washed out Saturday night, the ASA Southern Super Series crowned a 2023 champion after their doubleheader at Five Flags Speedway over the weekend?
Who won races? Who won championships? Find out below.
Will Bellamy / Racing America
Nasse, Pollard Collect Race Wins
Stephen Nasse made the most out of his first start with Anthony Campi Racing, taking the lead from Bubba Pollard with less than 20 to go and winning his first Super Late Model race of the year in the American Welding Society 100. He took the lead on a lap 82 restart and pulled away in the final laps to take the victory.
One night removed from the near-miss, Pollard returned to Five Flags and won his first Blizzard Series race in over two years in the Deep South Cranes 100 ahead of Hunter Robbins. He took the lead from Jackson Boone on lap 63 and never looked back, extending records with his 24th Blizzard Series win and 34th Southern Super Series victory.
Ruggiero Claims SSS Championship
Massachusetts driver Gio Ruggiero earned his first Southern Super Series championship after a fourth-place finish in Saturday night’s race. He entered the weekend with a 22-point edge over Matt Craig, a gap that Craig was able to close just a little bit after a ninth comparted to Ruggiero’s 11th Friday night, but the North Carolina driver was only able to muster up a seventh on Saturday night.
Now with a Southern Super Series championship under his belt, Ruggiero heads to the Winchester 400 on October 15 with a 109-point lead in the ASA/CRA Super Series standings. With a total of 110 points up for grabs, Ruggiero has the CRA title all but locked up barring anything catastrophic and would become the first driver with ASA Southern Super Series and ASA/CRA Super Series championships in the same year.
Will Bellamy / Racing America
Blizzard Series Championship Goes to California Driver
Along with the Southern Super Seres crown, the Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series championship was also handed out Saturday night. California’s Jeremy Doss picked up his first Blizzard Series championship and earned himself a guaranteed starting spot in December’s Snowball Derby.
Doss won the second Blizzard Series race back in July and finished second in the opener in March, which also served as the inaugural ASA STARS National Tour race. A fourth and an eighth over the weekend was enough to clinch the title.
For the full ASA STARS National Tour schedule, plus Super Late Model rules and other information, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: STARS National Series | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).
ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March of 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced last October, 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, thanks to Team Construction.
Track Enterprises, a Racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of the CRA sanctioning body in January 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.
