UPLAND, California — American Speed Association (ASA) Speed Truck Challenge will race at Firebird International Raceway on Saturday May 9th in the series only road course event for 2009. The 1.9 mile road course on the big track will see the Speed Trucks reaching Speeds of 135 to 140 miles per hour and then a left turn and then a right turn and then some more right and left turns for the series drivers that are used to turning left only. The Speed Trucks started racing on road courses back in 1998 at Willow Springs and have raced at other road course and street course events like the San Diego Grand Prix, the LA Grand Prix, Tustin Thunder and San Diego Grand Prix. They have also raced on all three tracks at Firebird International Raceway and Phoenix International Raceway’s road course and the 1-mile oval.
Danny Cuzick owner of the #51 Taylor Cuzick Freightliner Southwest Arizona Speed Truck will have the race named after his son and Taylor’s brother Geoff, who passed last week after a year long battle with cancer. The ASA Speed Truck Challenge has always been about family and felt it important that the race carry Geoff’s name for Danny, Taylor and their family and friends. God Speed Geoff!
Jay Rutherford, the series President stated “We believe it to be very important to give our drivers the road course experience they will need when moving up the ladder since most of the professional series race road courses. Besides, its fun changing things up a bit from only turning left but you just might get a rebuttal to that from some of the Speed Truck drivers.” Rutherford concluded.
The series has seen some young guns showing their wares early in the season with Cole Cabrera #53 at age 14 winning Las Vegas, Donny St. Ours #16, also 14 winning at Havasu, Joey Licata #71 age 17 setting fast time and winning the Trophy Dash at Las Vegas, Jamie Bennett #02 just turning 18 with his first Top Five finish at Las Vegas, Jeremiah Wagner #77 another 14 year old with two Top Five finishes this year and Brandon Underwood #28 at 15 also getting his first Top Five finish at Havasu. The veterans in 3 time Champion Darren Young winning the opener at I-10 Speedway and Todd McLauchlan fast time at Havasu and I-10 are letting the young guns know they are right there.
Now that the Speed Trucks have booked 48 qualifying times from 3 different race tracks, we see qualifying time splits (fastest to slowest) of .753 at I-10 Speedway, .344 at Las Vegas and .683 at Havasu. Now in the 13th season of the ASA Speed Truck Challenge the series is more competitive than ever, three different winners in as many races and young or seasoned drivers…game on! Excellent driving from numerous racers, which has been the standard trademark of this dramatic, hard-charging and very competitive and traveling racing series.
The Championship Points are very tight with Joey Licata at 169, Randel King at 168 followed by Donny St .Ours at 160 in the top three positions. Cole Cabrera and Jeremiah Wagner are tied in the fourth position at 148 and rounding out the top five is Jeff Catlin #1 who just might be the pick for the winner at the road course race and his first Speed Truck win.
2009 Rookie of the Year points are just as tight with Jeremiah Wagner taking the top spot from Cole Cabrera after Havasu. Cabrera held the Rookie points lead in the first two races but Wagner’s performance at Havasu with top qualifying and top finishing Rookie turned the points to 12 for Wagner and 10 for Cabrera…Josh Goshen at 8 points presents a battle to watch amongst three 14 year old drivers for 2009 Rookie of the Year honor.
The ASA Speed Truck Challenge showcases some of the top young drivers from the region," said Hurley Hatch of ASA Pro Auto Sports. "We are glad to feature them in our 2009 road course racing schedule here at Firebird International Raceway and I believe that this event will produce yet another different winner in their 2009 season as some of their veterans know the big track very well and I believe the win will go to the experienced.” Hatch concluded.
The Speed Trucks are 2450 pounds, full tube chassis, 108 inch wheelbase, 375 horsepower Van Gordon Racing V-8’s, fired by Mr. Gasket’s - Mallory / ACCEL ignition systems and VP Race Fuel, with 2-speed direct drive transmissions on clutch pedal dump valve and Speedway Engineering aluminum quick change rear ends on 8-inch Hoosier Racing Tires and Allied Racing Wheels. The Speed Trucks can reach speeds of 105 MPH at the ½ mile TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale oval and 140 + MPH on the 1.9-mile road course at Firebird International Raceway. The Speed Trucks sport exact replica Norris Racing fiberglass bodies in Chevy S-10, Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger, Dodge Dakota and Toyota Tacoma.
ASA Speed Truck Challenge is proud to share its national spotlight with some of the finest companies associated with West Coast and national racing. Its advertising partners include: VEMMA / Verve! “insanely healthy energy,” Bushwacker, Delson Products, DJ Safety, E3 Spark Plugs, EZ-UP Shelters, Hoosier Racing Tires, Mechanix Wear, Mr. Gasket / ACCEL / Mallory Ignitions, TOYOTA and Toyota Racing Development, Allied Racing Wheels, Frank’s Radio Service, King Taco, Motorsports Marketing, Stagger Pro 1000, Oval Research, Purigen 98 and the ION Sports Network.
If you would like to find out more about the ASA Speed Truck Challenge and how your company could be part of the growing excitement across the nation about this dynamic series, contact Jay Rutherford, President at 909-949-4780 / jay@speedtruck.com or go to www.speedtruck.com. Attractive marketing partnership packages are available for your involvement regionally or nationally.
To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.asaracing.com. ASA™, ASA Racing™ and American Speed Association® are trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. Racing Speed Associates, LLC is not related to or affiliated with ASA Late Model Series, LLC
