ASA SPEED TRUCK CHALLENGE GOES HOLLYWOOD WITH FEATURE MOVIE

Source: ASA Speed Truck/BM
Date: 08/26/2007

UPLAND, California -- For ASA Speed Truck Challenge president, Jay Rutherford, his days are usually filled with numerous details pertaining to either his last series race or getting ready for the next one or making sure previous race tapes are being delivered for the television show edits and working with his sponsors. For the last two weeks he was reviewing scripts, release contracts, arranging extras, locating a Speed Truck to crash and explode, and talking to movie producers and directors. This all comes because of a request he received for his series to be highlighted in a new made-for-television movie being filmed over a 24 day shoot throughout Southern California with an explosive crash scene at the Orange Show Speedway. “It was a pretty unusual call from the producer wanting to know if he could make a movie that would include use of ASA Speed Trucks and the series,” exclaimed Rutherford. “They didn’t tell me the whole movie storyline, but it sounded pretty interesting and you just can’t get enough exposure and awareness for your racing series, your sponsors and your drivers, so I gladly accepted.”

The movie, “REDLINE” (working title only), is being filmed throughout the month of August and stars Scott Baio (Happy Days, Charles in Charge, Scott Baio - 45 and Single), Sam Page (SHARK series with James Woods), Dan Lauria ( Wonder Years) and other well known actors, which features an up-and-coming young driver who desperately wants to race in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge, being portrayed as the highest level truck racing series. The story follows the driver’s life throughout dramatic ups and downs of racing, sponsorship and the politics surrounding his rise in the driving ranks. Rutherford and his staff will be overseeing the California production and will be able to use some of its own team Speed Trucks with stunt drivers as in the movie. With the ever-increasing popularity of racing in the United States, this particular story will most likely be very popular with fans that will see the movie sometime in March, 2008 on the SPIKE Channel and will also be internationally distributed.

Said ASA Speed Truck Challenge’s National Marketing Director, Bill McCloud, “We are thrilled to have our series as a focus of a television feature movie. The ASA Speed Truck Challenge series is one of the fastest growing and most popular truck series on the West Coast and this spotlight will only help us get the word out about the excellent group of drivers that Jay continues to put together each year,” concluded McCloud. The series has been seen for several years on different television networks including Fox Sports, the Outdoor Channel, the VERSUS Network and will be seen in the 4th quarter once again on the Outdoor Channel for 12 broadcasts of 2007 races.

“2008 will be a great year for us in national broadcasting and 12 years of exciting racing at 10 different race tracks in 2008,” said Rutherford. “The series will be seen through numerous broadcasts across the country. ASA Speed Truck Challenge will get more coverage for it and its sponsors and advertisers nationally than it ever has before,” remarked Rutherford. “This will be the best chance our current and new sponsors will have to be seen in such a well-watched series for such a great price,” he concluded.

The 2007 series has certainly been the most exciting in its 11-year operation with only a few points separating the top five drivers in the Championship Point’s race. There have also been five different winners in the first nine races and there has been only 9/10’s of a second separating the entire field for the oval track qualification runs. Fans are also getting their money’s worth when watching the ASA Speed Truck Challenge with many races won by a truck-length or less and they saw two-time NASCAR Busch champion, Randy LaJoie climb in a truck and race with the series field to a second place finish recently at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway “Bullring.”

“It has certainly been our year,” says Rutherford. “This movie will only help cap a great season and give us a serious boost going into the 2008 racing season.”

For more information call Bill McCloud @ 866-873-7615 or at bill@speedtruck.com.

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