UPLAND, California — Jeff Catlin in the #1 DJ Safety, Driven Auto Parts, Sikwidit Clothing, Chevy Colorado, captures his first Speed Truck win at Firebird International Raceway on the 1.9 mile road course named for Geoff Cuzick who passed on April 28th after a year long battle with cancer.
"The Speed Truck was a little tight in the first practice round Saturday morning and we made a slight change and hit it dead on in the second practice session."— Jeff Catlin
Catlin a Gilbert, Arizona resident has been racing with the American Speed Association (ASA) Speed Truck Challenge for nearly 3 years after spending several years as the crew chief for some of the top teams in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge. Catlin is the shop foreman for Legends Cadillac in Scottsdale, Arizona and has been racing 125 Shifter Karts for years and has 1000’s of laps at the 1.9 mile Firebird course and knew he had a shot at the top spot for the Geoff Cuzick Memorial race.
“The Speed Truck was a little tight in the first practice round Saturday morning and we made a slight change and hit it dead on in the second practice session.” Catlin stated. ”Our plan during qualifying was to lay down a 1:05.00 lap believing we could get the pole for the start of the race. My girlfriend, Lindsi Coulson, said lap one was a 1:05 and lap two was also a 1:05 so we pulled off the track knowing we were right there. Qualifying times were posted and we nailed the top spot at 1:05.511, rolled a six between the two dice which inverted us to outside row 3 for the start. We got the lead very quickly in the first few laps of the race and never looked back and brought the Speed Truck right to Victory Circle after the race where the celebration started.
What was very special to my team is that we could win this race for Geoff Cuzick and give the trophy to Danny Cuzick and to be able to share Victory Circle with Danny and his family and with my family as they had flown in from Oregon for this race. The whole day was just awesome and I want to thank VEMMA and Verve! for their help and support of the ASA Speed Truck Challenge and the ability for all of us to earn extra money for our teams by sharing the “insanely healthy energy drink” with all of our friends and others. I also want to thank DJ Safety, Driven Auto Parts and Sikwidit Clothing for being with me. I couldn’t do this without their help and support and finally to my team that just kept working and working all this time knowing that we could win a race in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge.” Concluded Catlin.
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 and Speedway Engineering aluminum quick change rear ends on 8-inch Hoosier Racing Tires and Allied Racing Wheels and can reach speeds of 105 MPH at the ½ mile TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale oval and 150 MPH on the 2.1-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
