Roderick Leads the Charge for the South in a Geographically Diverse Field
Pensacola, FL (March 8, 2023) – Country music artist Luke’s Combs’ hit song “South On Ya” could have been a theme song for the southern contingent of drivers in the ASA STARS National Tour inaugural event. Casey Roderick, a native of Georgia now living in Mississippi, won the Sunshine State 200 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on Saturday, March 11, 2023.
While a southern driver did win the race, the top-10 finishers were geographically diverse. Three southern drivers finished in the top-10 (Roderick, John Bolen – 9th, Matt Craig – 10th), while two were from the West Coast (Jeremy Doss – 2nd, Jacob Gomes 8th), four from the Midwest (Ty Majeski – 3rd, Carson Hocevar 5th, Gabe Sommers 6th, Austin Nason – 7th) and one from Canada (Cole Butcher – 4th).
Roderick went into the Sunshine State 200 not knowing if he would have another race with the Anthony Campi Racing / Platinum Racing team, but after the triumph he will reportedly continue in the No.18 ride. Roderick led the final 29 laps of the race.
John Bolen, from Jasper, AL, returned to Super Late Model racing at Five Flags Speedway and it paid off. The former Show Me The Money Series Pro Late Model champion at Montgomery Motor Speedway (AL) finished a strong ninth.
Former All American 400 winner, Matt Craig led the first 79 laps of the 200-lap event and scored the victory in Stage 1. Through an immense amount of action, Craig fought for a 10th place finish at the end of the event.
Michael Hinde finished just outside of the Top 10 in the eleventh spot.
Bubba Pollard, a former All American 400 and Oxford 250 winner, was a strong competitor in his No.26 machine and won Stage 2 of the race. He was involved in a mishap and ended the race in 19th.
The ASA STARS National Tour will now look to race number-2 of its 10-race, six-state schedule. The Joe Shear Classic will be held at Madison International Speedway in Wisconsin on Sunday, May 7, 2023. More details regarding the event will be announced soon.
The Joe Shear Classic will be live-streamed on both MidwestTour.tv and TRACKTV.com. More details will be announced soon. MAVTV will air the event on a tape-delayed basis.
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).
Written by: Bob Dillner – Twitter: @bobdillner
ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour will debut in 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced in October, many of the best drivers in America are expected to compete in the 10-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.
The national series 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.
A Winner’s Circle program will also be part of the ASA National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program details will be announced at a later date, but it will be in the same vein as ASA utilized in its heyday.
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.
