ASA Stars Return to Nashville For Season Finale
Pendleton, Ind. (October 8, 2003) – After a one-year absence, the ASA Racing Series returns to the famed .596-mile Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn. The BFGoodrich Traction T/A Tires 300 presented by Greased Lighting Orange Blast and Jani-King is set for Sunday, October 19. It is the 2003 season finale and will determine the National Champion and Rookie of the Year. In the most recent ASA event at Fairgrounds Speedway in June of 2001, $50,000 Rookie sensation Johnny Sauter visited the winner’s circle for the third occasion in the last four events during his championship season. “This is awesome,” said Sauter after collecting $20,390 for the victory. “Joe (crew chief Joe Shear Jr.) made all the right calls and we had great tires at the end. It’s just awesome to come here and get a win.” Sauter passed Florida’s Mike Cope with 25 laps remaining, followed the last of seven caution periods. Cope had claimed the top spot on lap 241 by not pitting for a final time as a majority of the cars on the lead lap chose to dive on pit road. Greg Stewart also stayed on the track, restarting second behind Cope. With 37 laps remaining, Sauter moved into second while Stewart and Joey Clanton were battling for third-place honors. On lap 265, Clanton drifted high exiting the second corner and forced Stewart into the outside retaining wall. Clanton continued on with minor damage, while Stewart was finished for the evening with extensive damage on his No. 33 car. Two laps after the restart, with the advantage of fresher BFGoodrich T/A Tires, Sauter dove underneath Cope, coming off the fourth corner and nosed ahead at the flag stand, to take the lead for the final occasion. Sauter finished 1.299 seconds ahead of Cope with Clanton, Kevin Cywinski and Gary St. Amant rounding out the top-five finishers. Scott Hansen finished in sixth with Robbie Pyle, Butch Miller, Chris Wimmer and Russ Tuttle filling out the top 10. In 18 previous events at Fairgrounds Speedway, Gary Balough, Bob Senneker and Darrell Waltrip have each capture two wins, topping the victory charts. Single-event winners include Johnny Benson Jr., Neil Bonnett, Mike Eddy, Mike Garvey, Butch Lindley, Butch Miller, Mike Miller, Jim Sauter, Johnny Sauter, Tim Sauer, Dick Trickle and Rusty Wallace. The BFGoodrich Traction T/A Tires 300 presented by Greased Lighting Orange Blast and Jani-King on Sunday, October 19, concludes a weekend of racing action at the historic Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville. On Friday, ASA and the Patriot 200 competitors will have optional practice beginning at 11 a.m. The respective sessions conclude at 5:15 pm. On Saturday, practice resumes at 10:30 a.m. with the Patriot 200 field set in pole qualifying at 2:30. ASA qualifying for the BFGoodrich Traction T/A Tires 300 presented by Greased Lighting Orange Blast and Jani-King takes place at 4. There will be two last chance events for the Patriot 200 beginning at 5:30 and 6 with the 200- lap main event going green at 8. On Sunday, ASA’s on-track fan autograph session and live musical entertainment are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with pre-race ceremonies set for 2:30. The BFGoodrich Traction T/A Tires 300 presented by Greased Lighting Orange Blast and Jani-King goes green at 3 p.m. (Local) Tickets for the BFGoodrich Traction T/A Tires 300 presented by Greased Lighting Orange Blast and Jani-King at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville are general admission and sold for $20 each in advance or $25 each on race day. Children 12 years old and younger will be admitted free when accompanying a paying adult. Tickets on Saturday for the Patriot 200 late model event are selling for $18 in advance and $20 on race day. If tickets are purchased for both days, the price is $35 for admission. For Additional information, contact the ASA Racing ticket line, 1-888-ASA-1020. VISA, MasterCard and Discover are accepted. For additional information on the ASA Racing Series visit asaracing.com