Victor Pfluger completely dominated the last half of the ASA-Go Fast-Speed Truck Challenge Series', ASA-STC, season finale to take both the win and his first ever series championship. The 100 lap event was held October 20th at the Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The race was loaded with championship drama between Pfluger and two time series champion Darren Young both of whom are from Arizona. The event was billed by ASA-STC officials as "the duel in the southwest."
That championship drama was in place long before the green flag fell. Young arrived in Lake Havasu City a mere two points ahead of his season long rival in his quest for a third title. Qualifying for this race was intense. The ASA-STC has a policy of awarding five bonus points to the driver who set the fast time. Pfluger, for the sixth time this year, managed to earn that bonus which put him back on top of the standings by three points going into the race. The next dramatic moment came when ASA-STC officials rolled the pre race inversion dice. The number came up one which put Pfluger on the outside of row one and, more importantly, moved Young to the pole position for the race. Because passing is very tough at the Havasu 95 Speedway the race line up prompted United Nissan Team Manager Lee Keach, who fields Young's Chevrolet Truck, to quip "the entire season could be determined by which one of them leads the first lap."
There was a unique blend of excitement and tension in the air as the 18 speed trucks lined up on the starting grid. When the green flag fell Young jumped into the lead with Pfluger right on his tail gate. It didn't take many laps before the two championship contenders completely detached themselves from the remainder of the field and ran away to settle things between themselves. The pair ran bumper to bumper for 37 laps before their race rhythm was disrupted before on track contact sent Shawn Steele's Ford spinning down the backstretch. Seven green flag laps later the second and third caution flags of the race presented themselves and they would lead to a highly bizarre and unexpected turn in this race.
It all started when Jim Putman's Dodge was sent spinning which resulted in a collision between the trucks driven by Dallas Colodny and Tim Allen. Following track clean up the field was under green again but the restart didn't even make one lap before a tire came off of Brandon Anciero's Dodge which sent the truck into the turn three wall. A red flag was thrown to allow even more track clean up. Young led the field for the restart but as he accelerated coming into turn four there was a very noticeable popping sound that came from his truck. Young's United Nissan Chevrolet slowed dramatically on the front stretch while the remainder of the field took evasive action. It was later revealed that a cut tire was the source of the problem.
With the field under green again Pfluger had command of the race. Young returned to the contest but was now one lap down. The caution came out again on lap 53 when Andy Allen got into the back of Bear Rzesnowiecky while they were racing hard for third position. Later in the race this incident flared up again coming off a red flag. When the red flag turned to a yellow one Rzesnowiecky was observed by officials hitting the back of Allen's truck. The result was a disqualification and the loss of a certain top five finish.
Following the lap 53 caution Young was awarded the lucky dog pass and repositioned himself at the tail end of the lead lap. It was clearly evident that Young was not going to stay there very long and was determined to get back to the race leader in an effort to salvage his championship run. Within a hand full of laps Young was back into the top ten. But the bad luck wasn't over. He accidentally got into the back of Jason Black's Chevrolet and caused a turn three spin. Because he was involved in the yellow flag, Young again found himself at the tail end of the lead lap.
Again he quickly served notice that he was going to charge back to the front again. With less than 20 laps left in the race Young was again in the top five and driving his truck like the proverbial bat out of hell towards the front. But the night that wasn't meant to be struck again. This time the bad luck was in the form of a collision with the Dodge driven by Dallas Colodny on the backstretch while the pair of drivers were racing hard for the fourth position. Young's right front tire literally ran over the top of Colodny's left front fender. This time the damage was severe. The night and the championship run was over.
Despite the unbelievable turn of bad luck one had to admire Darren Young's performance. Throughout he frustrating night he displayed the heart and soul of a champion. He never once backed down to the on track adversity that presented itself and he could not have tried any harder to salvage something positive from that adversity. It's the type of racing thought process that creates race winners and champions.
Victor Pfluger calmly ran out the final laps of the race while occasionally checking he rear view mirror to make sure there wasn't going to be any final lap challenges from Randel King who was now in second. After parking his Parker Farms/Copperstate Tire/La Horgue Race Cars Dodge into victory lane the 16 year old race winner, and now series champion, was surrounded by family,sponsors, friends and fellow competitors during a highly charged emotional scene. After taking a moment to catch his breath, the 2007 ASA-STC champion said "the championship really hasn't quite hit me yet. It probably will in a couple of weeks. What an amazing race. It was a shame that Darren Young had his problem. I felt confident that our truck could get up there and win this race. It's just amazing that it went the way it did. I'm so happy for the entire Parker Farms crew and I've got to thank Parker Farms for coming out and supporting us this weekend. It's been an amazing ride."
The ASA-STC's 11th season was also an amazing ride. During the year we saw quality racing that often produced dramatic final results. We watched veteran drivers, like Darren Young, prove why they are so good. We also witnessed the rise of tomorrow's racing stars, like Victor Pfluger, who showed us how good they are going to turn out to be. Now during this off season we get to relive all of these moments. Many of the series' races were video taped for television and will be shown on the Outdoor Channel. Check the series' official website for broadcast dates and times.
