ASA NorthWest Late Model Tour

PORTLAND, Ore. (February 3, 2010)-Joey Tanner brought a brand new Port City chassis to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown Super Late Model event last weekend and despite some damage suffered during a mid-race restart, the former dirt late model front runner was able to learn valuable information in preparation for a potential 2010 ASA Northwest Late Model Tour championship.

Tanner’s team, led by crew chief BJ Tidrick, had the International Parking Management Chevrolet Impala dialed in from the start of last Thursday’s practice sessions and continued to make improvements throughout the two-day event.

“(We posted a top-5 qualifying effort on the new car which) says a lot about my guys,” Tanner said. “To have a car just come out of the box fast like ours is tough to accomplish but my guys and BJ made it happen.”

While some chassis work is ahead for the Tidrick’s Quality Transmissions crew to get the car right for the March NWLMT opener, Tanner is confident that everything will be just fine when it rolls out at Evergreen Speedway.

“We made several changes to the car while we were in Irwindale to fit the NASCAR rules because we brought (the car) set for ASA. It’s going to take a bit of work to get it back plus the damage from our wreck will need to
be addressed,” the Oregon native said. “I have total confidence that the team will have this Impala ready to rock and we’ll be fast out of the trailer once again.”

Having the chance to debut a new race car and get settled back into a racing groove was one of many highlights of the Irwindale weekend, Tanner added.

“One very important thing we were able to take away from Irwindale was being on the track and getting comfortable with how this car drives. I have been able to adapt pretty quick to our new Jody’s Chevrolet so we didn’t make any aggressive changes. One thing’s for sure; I definitely got adjusted to our new car which may not be good news for the Northwest drivers this season.”

1/31/2010 -  It was a historical day at Phakisa Freeway Circuit in Welkom, Free State South Africa as John Mickel from the United Kingdom won the first ever ASA Transcontinental Series Free State 500 in front of an appreciative crowd.  
 

Geoff Bodine had a four-second lead with three laps to go as it appears he ran out of fuel handing the lead over to Toni McCray.  With two laps to go, Mickel would get past McCray for the lead and go on to win the race.

More details to come!!!!

Pos    No.    Name   
1    09    John Mickel    207   
2    90    Toni McCray    207  
3    96    Marc Davis    207   
4    08    Rick McCray    207   
5    900    Johan Spies    207   
6    73    Gary Lewis    207   
7    19    Tiffany Daniels    207   
8    55    Greg Barnhart    206   
9    8    Geoff Bodine    206  
10    68    Danie Correia    204   
11    20    Gugu Zulu    202   
12    97    Mark Ebert    202  
13    41    Ron Norman    198  
14    98    Shaun Richardson    176   
15    22    Johan Cronje    155   
16    F22    Russ Blakeley    128  
17    61    Tim Olson    115  
18    00    Johan Coetzer    88   
19    F66    Steve Carlson    54   
20    52    Chris Wimmer    38   
21    11    Jaco Correia    28   
22    80    Mark Shaffer    28  
23    85    Lance Fenton    12   
24    88    Don Uhlir 1

01/29/2010 By American Speed Association PR

WELKOM, FREE STATE, SOUTH AFRICA (Friday, January 29, 2010) - The first practice session for Sunday’s ASA Transcontinental Series Free State 500 has ended at the Phakisa Freeway Circuit in Welkom, Free State, South Africa.  This was the only practice session to take place on Friday.

Gary Lewis (Bothell, WA, USA), the 2009 ASA Northwest Late Model Tour Champion, led the field in practice with a time of 37.334 seconds with 1986 Daytona 500 champion Geoff Bodine (Chemung, NY, USA) in second with a time of 37.534 seconds.  Russ Blakeley, an ASA Midwest Tour competitor from Wisconsin, USA was third with 37.926 seconds.  Jaco Correia from Welkom, Free State, South Africa was fourth with a time of 38.194 seconds.  Greg Barnhart from Oklahoma City, OK, USA rounded out the top-five with a time of 38.210 seconds.

2009 ASA Midwest Tour Champion Steve Carlson (West Salem, WI, USA) was sixth with a time of 38.248 seconds with Tiff Daniels from Smithfield, VA, USA seventh with a time of 38.293 seconds.  Eighth was Chris Wimmer from Wausau, WI, USA with a time of 38.395 seconds.  Marc Davis from Mitchelville, MD, USA was ninth with a time of 38.424 seconds.  Danie Correia of Welkom, Free State, South Africa rounded out the top-ten with a time of 38.720 seconds.

The fans in attendance to watch practice today cheered when it was announced that the Correia brothers ended the practice session with times in the top-ten.  Both looked very strong as they toured the 1.5-mile oval for the first time ever.

Saturday will have a full day of on-track activities at Phakisa with practice starting at 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.  Qualifying will get underway later in the afternoon.  

For more information about the Free State 500, please visit www.phakisa.com or www.freestate500.com.

To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based American Speed Association call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For news and information from all the racetracks and regional tours involved in the ASA, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.
 
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