PENDLETON, Indiana - The American Speed Association, the source of considerable speculation over the past several weeks, today unveiled its operating plan for the remainder of the 2004 season before an audience of team owners.
"There are a lot of rumors surrounding ASA right now, and let me say that some of them are downright funny," stated Steve Dale, ASA president & CEO. "But the truth of the matter is that most of them are inaccurate and damaging to what it is we are trying to accomplish.
"The plan as outlined to the ASA National Tour team owners today will help to alleviate much of the hearsay and conjecture that is going on. ASA will continue racing this season, and we are already evaluating venues for next year and working towards developing long-term relationships with tracks around the country," Dale offered.
Much of the information centered on the ASA National Tour, the sanctioning body's premier division. The plan is to race eight more events this year, bringing the total to a 14-event schedule. The remainder of the schedule is as follows:
July 17 - Madison International Raceway (Oregon, Wis.) July 31 - Indianapolis Raceway Park (Clermont, Ind.) August 14 - Jennerstown Speedway (Jennerstown, Pa.) August 29 - The Milwaukee Mile (West Allis, Wis.) September 6 - Elko Speedway (Elko, Minn.) September 18 - Kentucky Speedway (Florence, Ky.) October 14 - Lowe's Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.) October 29 - Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton, Ga.)
Regrettably, the organization did cancel one event off the previously published schedule, the August 21 event at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine. This was done in a mutual decision with the track owner, Bill Ryan.
"It's disappointing that we aren't able to have the ASA National Tour cars at our facility this year as the fans had really been looking forward to watching these great drivers tackle our track," Ryan said. "I sympathize with the current situation that ASA is facing, and we reached the decision together to take our race off their schedule. Hopefully we can look to bring them to Oxford Plains next season and move forward together."
ASA has had a long history of televising their events, and this will continue with coverage of events at The Milwaukee Mile, Kentucky Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway, and the season-finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. These events will be televised on SPEED Channel.
The previously announced $50,000 bonuses for the ASA National Tour Rookie of the Year and Champion will be awarded as announced back in March. The Rookie of the Year bonus continues a long-standing tradition, while the Champion bonus is a new award payable to the 2004 National Tour champion on a per event basis for each race he participates in next year.
"The Rookie of the Year award is a long-standing tradition in ASA racing and something that draws drivers to our series," Dale said. "It is one of the richest in motorsports, if not the richest, and we will continue that tradition this year. The champion bonus is a new
program announced back in January and is designed to reward our champion for returning to compete in ASA National Tour events the following year. Our fans like to see the former champions race, and this incentive will help keep them in ASA competition. We are thrilled to have four former champions in the National Tour on a regular basis this year (Butch Miller, Kevin Cywinski, Tim Sauter, and Bryan Reffner), and several others who have raced a part-time program to date."
The event purses for the remaining events will be increased to a base of $86,000 plus contingency monies that drivers may be eligible for. This is an increase of more than $22,000 from the current level, and comes from the winner's circle monies which have been rolled into the purse structure. The winner's circle program, designed to financially reward the regular participants, will be suspended pending sponsorship funding.
The several new initiatives for the American Speed Association, such as the ASA Late Model Series, the Member Track Program, and the various regional touring series such as the ASA SMART Modified Tour, the ASA Speed Truck Challenge, and the ASA Pro-4 Tri-State Challenge are all moving forward and gaining momentum.
"The reaction to the ASA Late Model Series has taken us a bit by surprise," Dale said. "We've had tremendous car counts at each race, and some of the tracks the series has competed at, such as Baer Field Speedway and Tri-City Motor Speedway, have told us that they have had some of the biggest crowds they have seen in recent memory show up to see the ASA Late Model event."
The other regional touring series involved with the American Speed Association continue to remain excited about their involvement with the organization.
"The credibility the national mark ASA has for the Speed Truck Challenge is huge (and should) help all of us with our career advancements," stated Robert Kroeker, 2003 Speed Truck Challenge Rookie of the Year. "ASA has certainly followed their slogan of 'We Build Champions' with the likes of Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson to name a few. ASA has secured a very solid series in the Speed Truck Challenge and the series more than deserves national recognition and expansion as we have proven our series is above all others in the Southwest."
The American Speed Association is based in Pendleton, Ind., and has offered stock car
racing programs since 1968, including the ASA National Tour, ASA Late Model Series,
several regional touring series, and the ASA Member Track programs. For additional
information, visit asaracing.com.
