SANTEE, California — The ASA Truck Series had an exciting finish to their 75-lap feature event on April 3rd in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The impressive driving skills of Dylan Kwasniewski were proven once again as the 14-year old from Las Vegas won both the ASA Truck Series feature and Gene Price Late Model event Saturday night. The weather was perfect for racing and the feeling of a new season was in the air. The ASA Truck Series drivers were definitely ready to start the 2010 season and show the new owners, Todd & Lisa McLauchlan, they meant business.
The fast time qualifier was Dylan Kwasniewski with a 16.053 in his Rockstar Energy Drink, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Beam Design Chevy Colorado. For the Trophy Dash, Todd McLauchlan decided to change it up a bit and inverted the six truck, six lap dash for the first time in many years. It was exciting to watch Branden Underwood win his first ASA Truck Series Trophy Dash over Donny St. Ours by only 0.05 seconds at the line. The 'slicing and dicing' in the dash was an indication of what was to come for the night's racing events.
As the main event was getting ready to begin, the Havasu 95 Speedway grandstands were packed with fans ready to watch the season opener for the ASA Truck Series. Starting on the pole for the first time ever in an ASA Truck, Eric Sloan showed early strength and level-headed driving by leading the early laps. Donny St. Ours and Branden Underwood battled up front as the 2009 ASA Truck Champion Joey Licata was poised to take over the lead at the first opportunity. Once Joey Licata, in his United Nissan Chevy, seized that chance, he led many laps and didn't look back. When Licata did look in his mirror (with only a handful of laps to go), Rookie-of-the-Year contender Dylan Kwasniewski was pacing him closely. With less than five laps to go, Kwasniewski watched his target (and teammate) and made a bold move to the outside and passed Joey Licata to take home the victory. Kwasniewski's pass on the outside had the fans on their feet for the finish of the feature event. Donny St. Ours finished third, Branden Underwood was fourth and Eric Sloan finshed fifth to round out the top five podium drivers.
In the remaining field of drivers Zach Sawyers, Jim Putman and Jason Black all had good battles going throughout the pack with Sawyers finishing sixth. Mike Herda, another Rookie contender this year, finished seventh in his first appearance in the ASA Truck Series and showed he has the racing background and experience that will be a major factor in the races to come. Unfortunately, for newcomer and Rookie Taylor Miinch, ignition troubles slowed his ASA Truck after battling side-by-side with many drivers and he was forced to the back with mechanical issues. He is another strong and smart driver who will bring a lot of competition to the series. Most importantly, this group of racers all demonstrated smart driving and talent that is sure to make the 14th season of ASA Trucks exciting and a tight battle to the end.
Dylan Kwasniewski celebrated both his victories with candy from the Easter Bunny. Havasu 95 Speedway was very thoughtful and provided all the children in attendance their own Easter basket with goodies and the teams all contributed more candy at the Meet and Greet Autograph session. Our ASA Truck Series continues to grow as the 2009 Rookie-of-the-Year Cole Cabrera and veteran Jeff Catlin plan to return to the series in Blythe at the I-10 Speedway on April 24, 2010. There is rumor of some young women coming to run the series as well and look forward to them joining the ASA Truck Series as well as a few more drivers from past seasons.
There were some very special guests, in addition to the Easter Bunny, who traveled far to come to the Havasu 95 Speedway. The ASA President Dennis Huth and Pro-Auto Sports President Larry Pond were very helpful and supportive to Todd and Lisa McLauchlan as they provided their long time experiences with the new owners. Dennis Huth's presence at the event and advice behind the scenes were tremendous to the ASA Truck Series. Track Promoter Bill Rozhon was also extremely welcoming to the McLauchlan's and many good relationships were built at this event. Jay Rutherford was available to help with the transition to the new owners and will unveil some exciting sponsorship opportunities for the series and teams at the next race through Motorsports Marketing and Sponsorship Advisors. This race will go in the books as a success.
The ASA Truck Series sponsors include VP Racing Fuels, Hoosier Tires, DJ Safety, Frank's Radios, Starter Guard, Advertising Edge, Mechanix Wear, Mallory/ACCEL/Mr. Gasket, TOYOTA, POLYDyn TX7, Top Notch Flooring, Kollasol Ink, Naake Suspension Specialist, STR, and Luke's Transmission. Please use these sponsors, products and services for all your race needs as they continue to help racing prosper. The ASA Trucks are 2,450 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.
If you would like to find out more about the ASA Truck Series, contact Todd or Lisa McLauchlan at 619-596-6816 / mcracers@prodigy.net or go to www.asatruckseries.com. Attractive marketing partnership packages are available for your involvement regionally or nationally, contact Jay Rutherford at Motorsports Marketing LLC, at 760-249-1149 or jay@speedtruck.com.
The ASA Racing program is comprised of more than 35 short tracks around the United States, as well as road racing divisions and regional/national touring race series. For more information, call ASA Racing at 386-258-2221 or send an email to info@ASA-Racing.com. For news and information from all the race tracks, road racing divisions and tours involved in the ASA, visit www.asa-racing.com.
ASA™, ASA Racing™and American Speed Association® are trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. Racing Speed Associates, LLC is not related to nor affiliated with ASA LATE MODEL SERIES, LLC.
