IN THEIR OWN WORDS...ASAMT DRIVERS REFLECT ON THE COMPETITION FROM THE 2008 SEASON

All voice the theme of clean competition and minimum repairs from this past season

By: Kevin Ramsell
BURLINGTON, WI (Tuesday, December 30, 2008) - Reflecting back to the 2008 American Speed Association Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment, many different things occurred to make it a memorable season. But many of the drivers and car owners will remember the season for the clean competition they faced at each of the 14 events allowing a small number of caution flags and repairs to their super late models.

From the competition standpoint, all who commented agreed that they appreciated the respect among the competitors along with the experience that some of the young drivers learned from this past season. For some, getting a top five in this series is almost like getting a win. The message of respect and talent is heard everywhere.

"The ASA Midwest Tour has racers that are very exciting to watch and yet do not cause accidents in the process," Dan Fredrickson, 2008 ASAMT Champion said. "The battle Jamie (Iverson) and I had at Norway comes to mind. The give and take all the racers have is another reason I enjoy ASA Midwest."

"Kyle and I own Thrive to Drive Motorsports. It was a team decision to get behind the young driver and give him good equipment, but also make him compete at a very high level. We feel that is the only way for them to learn and see what their made of. Kyle has learned a ton from racing with the more experienced drivers. We also feel if there is any chance to be noticed and move on to a higher series he needs to be with the ASA Midwest tour," Hank Calmes, Kyle Calmes car owner stated. "It is a definite accomplishment to get a top five at any event. Not only does the series have great drivers, they get to compete with some of the NASCAR stars. This also gives the young driver confidence, if he can compete with them."

"Yes the series is packed full of talented well experience teams and the younger drivers have a ton of experienced help guiding them so I think that has a lot to do with the few caution flag laps and large wrecks.  It is very rewarding to run in the top five in the series," Chad Wehrs, Blake Horstman's car owner said.  "I came into the year thinking it would be cool to make 1/2 the races and we made them all so that's a huge accomplishment for my guys.  I think if there is a young driver looking to get educated quickly this is the series to do it.  Just start with the champ and work back from there the series is full of talented drivers and great people to be around throughout the series from the grandstand to the tech barn."

"The benefit to racing in the ASA Midwest tour with veteran drivers to compete against is the satisfaction of beating them. Most all of the guys and gals that are in the shows are in because they earned the spot, from either qualifying well or racing hard and clean to get there. With the competition being what it is a top ten finishes is a good accomplishment from our standpoint. You have great racing going on through out the field. I know I have raced some guys pretty hard for a top ten or even 15 for that matter. For a young driver coming into this series the benefit would be the exposure and respect you can gain, both from the media and the drivers," Jeff Storm stated. "The bottom line, there is very clean racing in this series and a lot of respect of each others equipment. I don't think anyone wants to tear a stub off, or for that matter see someone else loose one."

"For rookies and teams that want to gain experience from racing against some of the best short track racers in the country, the ASA Midwest Tour is the place to be," Nick Murgic, 2008 ASAMT Rookie of the Year stated. "There are very few cautions in any race and that is because all of the drivers respect each other and are great racers.   The competition is so tough that guys like Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth have to work really hard to run good against the local guys, who also have a fraction of the money. The ASA Midwest Tour is a great series for any team that wants to learn and any team who wants to be good enough to compete anywhere in the country."

"At the end of the day you have to be honest with yourself.  You can race anywhere you want, but you win 20 races racing against nobody, you're going to feel like something is missing.  But, when you race in the ASA Midwest Tour you don't feel that way at all," Travis Sauter, 2008 ASAMT Hard Charger Award winner stated.  "You know if you win one of these races, or even run in the top five, you're really accomplishing something.  The experience of the drivers makes them fun to race with because you can trust most of them.  I really don't even think experience is the right word, its talent.  There are plenty of experienced drivers out there that you don't want to run next to."

"There are many benefits of competing with the experience drivers in the ASA Midwest Tour.  The biggest thing to me is with these guys you can race hard and not worry about someone taking you out.  Because of the experience on the track, it makes these races competitive, yet there aren't a lot of wrecks.  That kind of patience comes with years of experience.  Also, because of all the experience, when you run well, it makes you feel like all your hard work pays off because these are the best guys in the Midwest," Chris Wimmer stated. "I think there's a lot young drivers can learn from running in the ASA Midwest Tour.  For young guys to learn the kind of patience that's on the track every race is huge.  Just by racing with these guys on a consistent basis, they'll learn they can race hard and keep their car in one piece.  They'll also learn the give and take that the guys in the ASAMT use each time they race, and the younger racers are when they learn that, the better they will be."

With the talent and experience on the track, many of the competitors didn't experience a high amount of repairs to their super late models this past season.

"It seemed almost every week I was able to bring my car home in almost the same condition as when I brought it there.  The only time I was involved in a wreck was in Norway.  To me, that's a great feeling," Wimmer stated.  "I spend lots of hours working on my car, and to know these drivers respect each other enough to stay out of trouble makes all the hard work worth it.  It would be very frustrating to constantly be fixing and replacing pieces of my car, and that's something I didn't have to do this year.  It let me spend more time on set-ups and not so much time worry about just trying to get the car together to get to the racetrack.  I know there are times I could have pushed an issue on the track, and there are times maybe someone could have with me, but these guys just race so clean, and it makes it fun to race hard every weekend and leave with your car in one piece."

"In two years of running we have not replaced a single suspension or frame part," Fredrickson stated. "Maybe two right front fenders and one left front mostly because I did not want any fractured panels at Newton, IA."

"This series has the best talent, and that's why it's not a crash fest.  I think I replaced only a few body panels last year," Sauter said.  "It's no secret that fixing a wrecked car costs money.  You have to race smart enough to make it to the next race, and luckily we race with some smart guys."

"I didn't replace any stubs this year and only a few fenders and nose cones, which is considerably a great year," Murgic stated.  "There are very few cautions in any race and that is because all of the drivers respect each other and are great racers."

"As far as replacing body parts goes, we ran all season with the same body parts on. We did have a mishap testing late in the year but that wasn't any other drivers deal. Barring a few tire marks here and there the car stayed very clean all season long. In fact we will more than likely run the same stuff for one more season," Storm said. "With not tearing stuff up throughout the season it makes things a lot easier on the pocket book, and lets us concentrate on the chassis more than fixing body panels during the week."

"We replaced one left rear quarter panel after Norway," Wehrs recalled. "That's Impressive."

"This season we replaced a right side fender and door at Lacrosse and that has been it for body parts. I know our local car we run at Kaukauna we have 2 complete noses and 4 fenders for 11 races with 30 lap races," Hank Calmes said. "It is truly a pleasure when you just need to maintain the car and work on your set-ups than fixing fenders."

"This is the vision that Tim Olson (ASAMT President) and myself had when we started the ASA Midwest Tour," Steve Einhaus, ASAMT VP stated. "We wanted to have a series with great talent and competition on the track. We are getting that at each event and seeing positive results. What the drivers said is something that we definitely want to continue for a long time. It's a pleasure having these talented drivers competing at the finest tracks in the Midwest in front of the best race fans in the country."

The 2008 season will be celebrated on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI. Teams are reminded to send their banquet reservations to the ASAMT office and make their hotel reservations with the Kalahari Resort.

Also, registration is now open for the 2009 season. To register, please visit www.asamidwesttour.com.

To learn more about the American Speed Association Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment log on to www.asamidwesttour.com or call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (262) 514-3880 or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.

To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.asaracing.com.