ASA ACDelco Challenge Weidner Chevrolet Anderson 400: Report and Results
18 August 1997
Anderson, IN - Gary St Amant, of Columbus, OH, held off a hard charging Rick Beebe and Bob Senneker to become the second three-time winner in 1997 on the American Speed Association, ACDelco Challenge Series at Anderson Speedway, IN in the Weidner Chevrolet Anderson 400.St Amant used good pit strategy to give him the advantage, stopping only one time for service as he led 253 of the 400 laps. St Amant took the Wynns/Western Michigan Chevy Dealers Monte Carlo into the lead for the final time on lap 302 and then held off the challenge of Rick Beebe over the closing laps to record the victory.
Scott Hansen, of Concord, NC, Put the Ken Schrader Racing Chevrolet on the pole with a time of 12.098 seconds around the tight 1/4 mile Anderson Speedway and took the early lead in the race. Mike Eddy, who started the GM Goodwrench Service Plus/HRE Pontiac on the outside of the front row, passed Hansen and took his turn on the point on lap 39 and continued to hold the lead until St Amant took over on lap 64. St Amant would continue to pace the field until lap 218 when Beebe was able to slide under him coming off turn two and take the lead.
ASA officials threw a "Competition Yellow" on lap 232 after 100 laps of continuous green flag racing and St Amant made his only pit stop of the race taking on right side tires. ACDelco Challenge Series points leader Kevin Cywinski, who had taken the lead just before the yellow flag, won the race out of the pits and continued to lead until St Amant tracked him down and retook the point on lap 302. Although Beebe would mount a challenge over the final 20 laps, the Columbus, OH driver was able to stay out front and take the checkered flag .251 seconds ahead. Bob Senneker made a late run into third with Joe Nott fourth and Cywinski fifth.
With the win, St Amant was able to close the points gap to 221 markers with seven races remaining on the ASA tour this season. The ASA returns to action this Sunday, August 24th for the running of the TRAK AUTO 200 from the Milwaukee Mile Speedway in West Allis, WI.
John Kaiser -- The Auto Channel
Anderson Speedway - Provisional results for the ASA ACDelco Challenge Series, Weidner Chevrolet Anderson 400: Ps.Ql.No. Driver , Car Laps -- -- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- ----- 1 5 7 Gary St Amant Wynn's/W Michigan Chevy Dealers CHEV 400 2 4 23 Rick Beebe St Louis Gear/Royal Machine PONT 400 3 14 84 Bob Senneker Lane Auto/JR Automation/Mr GasketFORD 400 4 13 48 Joe Nott Valvoline/Allan Nott Toyota/RaabeFORD 400 5 8 1 Kevin Cywinski Coleman Racing Products PONT 400 6 18 55 Tim Sauter (R) Leo M/S/Wehr/Racing Adventures PONT 399 7 2 88 Mike Eddy GM Goodwrench Service/HRE PONT 398 8 16 51 Brandon Sperling Sperling Motorsports CHEV 398 9 19 32 Ted Smokstad Corp. Auto/SMS Parts PONT 391 10 9 33 Brad Loney Bunsaver/Hunter's Spec/Flexsteel PONT 390 11 25 0 Tom Jones Jones Motorsports PONT 387 12 27 93 Alec Pinsonneault Build-A-Mold/Trimplas/Moldplas PONT 376 13 22 11 Doug Mayr(R) No Touch Car Care/Aqua Splash CHEV 374 14 6 07 Jack Landis Adirondak/Lyndaker/Maisto/N.YoderFORD 366 15 7 8 Mike Garvey AFCO Racing Products PONT 357 16 17 81 Harold Fair Car Quest/ACDelco/Victor Reinz PONT 351 17 3 18 Mike Miller South East Air Service PONT 320 18 15 26 Bill Baird Spee-Dee Pop Popcorn/Saturn Mach CHEV 272 19 1 52 Scott Hansen AFCO Racing Products PONT 264 20 24 86 Aaron Hough Lee's Inn and Suites PONT 262 21 11 87 Steve Carlson(R)Baker Enterprises/Clean Burn PONT 257 22 26 58 Billy Turner Sanifill/Central Fiber PONT 222 23 12 6 Dave Sensiba Engineered Polymer/W MI Auto AuctPONT 208 24 23 66 Kurt Hough (R) New Plaestine Drywall PONT 161 25 21 79 Mike Cofer (R) Black & Decker Versa Pack PONT 152 26 28 16 Fred Ricart 1-800-DEAL-USA FORD 98 27 10 5 Steve Holzhausen Structural Transport FORD 89 28 20 72 Junior Hanley Skillman Motorsports PONT 83 (R)= Pat Schauer Memorial Rookie Candidate Time of Race : 1 hr 53 mins 53 secs Average Speed : 54.111 mph Margin of Victory : .251 secs Lap Leaders : Hansen, Eddy, St Amant, Beebe, Cywinski Fastest Lap : Hansen, lap 3: 12.228 secs/73.602 mph Cautions : 11 for 74 laps Track Length : 0.2500 Miles