Cole Butcher earned his second career ASA STARS National Tour victory Sunday afternoon, winning the Sunshine State 200 at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL.
Butcher, from Hansport, Nova Scotia, Canada, moved past his teammate Gio Ruggiero for a final time on lap 178, cruising to a 2.1 second margin of victory in round 2 of the ASA STARS National Tour. Butcher led four times for a total of 102 laps, the most of any driver. In addition, Butcher won the first Phoenix Water Solutions stage break, and finished 2nd in the second stage, leading to big points day for the hard-charging Canadian. The dominating day unofficially moved Butcher into the points lead after 2 of 10 ASA STARS National Tour events.
Stephen Nasse once again came up one spot short of victory, settling for runner up after a strong, steady performance. Ruggiero placed 3rd, one night after winning the ARCA Menards Series East Pensacola 150 at 5 Flags. Ruggiero led the Sunshine State 200 on two occasions, and won stage 2.
California racer Jacob Gomes made the long haul to the Florida panhandle, posting a solid 4th place finish. Go Fas Racing Pole Sitter Matthew Craig rounded out the top 5.
In case you missed the Sunshine State 200, MAVTV will air the event on Monday night, April 1 at 8:00PM EST.
The ASA STARS National Tour will be back in action in eight weeks on Thursday evening, May 23rd at Hickory Motor Speedway for the Tar Heel 250.
ASA STARS National Tour
Founded by Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent, The ASA STARS National Tour for pavement super-late model stock cars debuted in March 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America.
The ASA STARS National Tour is a ten-race championship series, offering a $100,000 point fund. The tour will visit ten different race tracks in 7 states in 2024, with the season beginning in February during Florida Speedweeks, and concluding in early November at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Track Enterprises (TE) is a racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, which owns and operates the ASA STARS National Tour. In addition to the STARS National Tour, Track Enterprises owns and operates Championship Racing Association (CRA) and the ASA Midwest Tour. TE also has a strategic alliance and controlling interest in the ASA Southern Super Series.
