SANTEE, California — The last race of the ASA Truck Series was held on October 30, 2010 at the Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway in Blythe, California at the fast and tight ¼ mile oval track with Charles Price winning his third race in a row. The grand finale of the evening was that Joey Licata of Lake Balboa, California won his second championship in a row with his third place finish. It was an exciting night for everyone involved as any points championship night is in racing. Licata runs the #71 United Nissan, Justice Brothers, Ron Sutton Winner’s Circle Chevy Colorado and had an incredible season. He finished the season with three wins, three seconds and four fast qualifying times. He has a great crew and family that supports his racing and will be excited to watch him step into his next level of racing in the ARCA series next season. The ASA Truck Series is known as a ‘stepping stone’ for young drivers to use as a transition from go-karts, Legends or other forms of racing as drivers learn new skills and can eventually move on to higher series or faster cars. With short tracks, large high banked tracks and road courses, the series offers something for everyone. Numerous drivers have moved through the ASA supported series onto NASCAR Trucks and even Sprint Cup. We all wish Joey Licata the best of luck in the future and that he remembers ‘where he came from’ when he is giving his victory speech someday in an ARCA or NASCAR race.
The dominant truck of the evening was definitely the #12 of Charles Price in his Power Grade Chevy Colorado. That truck has had impressive statistics this season with different drivers including truck owner Jim Putman and currently Charles Price. As this was Price’s third victory in a row, no one was surprised to see his well handling truck finish up front again. An impressive run came from second place finisher Mike Herda in his #18 United Nissan, Foxy Girls sponsored truck. Herda was fast qualifier with a quick 14.641 lap time and was not far behind Price as they crossed the finish line. Not only did Herda finish second in the 100 lap event, but was also crowned second in championship points and the 2010 Rookie-of-the-Year in his debut season. Herda has been such an asset to the series as he runs clean, smart and always has a smile on his face. His dad, Nick Herda, and Mike always have something positive to say and brought good times to the ASA Truck Series in 2010. We hope he will be running for the championship next season as learned what it takes from his teammate Joey Licata and is armed with the tools to make that happen in the future. Licata and Herda had a ‘friendly rivalry’ all year and Joey was encouraging to Mike every event. This is another great part of the ASA Truck Series that helps drivers move to the next level in their racing careers.
The rest of the field is not to be left out as there were tight battles throughout the 13 truck field. A surprising finish came from Matthew Hicks from Santee, CA as he jumped in the rental truck #51a with short notice and came up third fast qualifier and fourth in the race. He races Super Late Models and Legends and thought he would try the ASA Truck Series out. Hicks said “it was a blast and I enjoyed the racing”. Series veteran and part-timer, Shawn Steele of Menifee, CA rounded out the top five in his #25 ride. Taylor Miinch, #20 CKI/Alpine Stars/Stover Foundation Chevy, finished sixth and third overall in the season final point standings. Miinch also had an impressive series debut has he had to learn what the trucks drove like compared to a go-kart early in the year. He realized you “don’t just throw your weight from side to side” for the race truck to respond. Being strapped in tight with his HANS device and not as much ‘feel’ as he was used to, Miinch had to learn to adapt to this type of racing. He has done an incredible job this season and brought a lot of class and coolness to the series. The rest of the top ten was full of series regulars like Darren Young #1 finishing seventh, Eric Sloan #10 eighth, Jason Black #9 ninth and Mark Allison #75 in tenth. Theses drivers all battled each other for the entire 100 laps. Branden Underwood traveled from Las Vegas, NV with high hopes of a great night but was burdened with a flat tire early in the race. Jerry Walton, also from Las Vegas, drove the #0 Freightliner of Arizona Colorado after recovering from a Friday night practice issue that he thought would end his weekend, but his crew worked long hours and make the necessary repairs to get Walton out to race. Special thanks also goes out the Blythe ‘local’ racers that jumped in and helped weld and repair his truck. Jeff Catlin in the #2 Chevy Colorado was out early with a chronic transmission problem and he hopes to get that repaired by Luke’s Transmission this off season to run strong next year.
The truck count has been strong to round out the season and it is anticipated to be even better next year as new drivers join the series and the veterans continue to run all the 2010 races. The interest has been high from drivers as far away as Colorado and Utah, from series like go-karting and Legends along with new ‘rental programs’ coming up as well. Former series driver Kevin Smith has partnered with chassis expert Dallas Leininger and driver coach, Randall King to provide a new ASA Truck lease idea for 2011 to encourage new participants in the series. “We believe in this series and that is has a lot of potential” said Kevin Smith, owner of the truck and new program. Information on his program can be found on Racing West’s website-classifieds or call ATK Motorsports at 714-399-5999 for more information.
The 2010 ASA Truck Series banquet is scheduled for Saturday, November 20th in Las Vegas at the South Point Hotel and Casino. We look forward to celebrating an exciting season as new owners Todd and Lisa McLauchlan feel like it was an overall success and look forward to the future of the series. The McLauchlan’s have appreciated everyone’s support as the transition of new ownership, rule enforcement and new procedures are difficult for everyone who is used to ‘the same old routine’, but feel that all the drivers and teams were cooperative and realize that Todd and Lisa have put their heart and souls in the series. 2011 can only get better and we hope you can join us at our banquet to celebrate Joy Licata’s championship and a great 2010 season.
Remember to support our series sponsors by using products and services from the following vendors: Jim Van Gordon Racing Engines, Mike Naake Suspension Specialist, 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.
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 ASA 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 and how your company could be part of the growing excitement across the nation about this dynamic series, contact Todd or Lisa McLauchlan at 619-596-6816 / mcracers@prodigy.net or go to www.asatruckseries.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.
