1977 ASA Champion Dave Watson Coming To Redbud 400

Officials from the ASA STARS National Tour and Anderson Speedway confirmed today that former American Speed Association national champion Dave Watson will attend the 50th Anniversary ASA Racers Reunion on Saturday, July 15.

Watson has confirmed his intentions to attend the reunion event at Anderson Speedway.

“Heck yes I’m coming,” Watson stated. “I wanted to come to last year, but it just didn’t work out, and I hated to miss it. But I’m in for this year, and can’t wait to see my old friends from ASA.”

Watson joins Mike Miller as a former Redbud 400 winner at Anderson for what officials expect to be many drivers, car owners and crew members who raced in the series, plus officials and staff that worked at the Pendleton, IN-based sanctioning body who plan to attend.

“We’re thrilled to see the 1977 Redbud 400 winner coming back to Anderson,” stated Rick Dawson, owner and promoter of Anderson Speedway. “We expect several other drivers, and we look forward to seeing the many racers, crew members, officials and sponsors who were such a big part of the series.”

Watson, from Milton, WI, began racing at local tracks in the Midwest in the early ‘70’s. He won track championships at Rockford (IL) Speedway (1973); Slinger (WI) Speedway (’75); Capital Super Speedway (now Madison Int’l. Speedway in WI) and Lake Geneva (WI) Raceway (1976). During the summer of 1976, Watson won 41 of the 76 feature events he raced in.

“1976 was a great year, it was special,” Watson commented. “We went touring series racing the next year, and continued to find success in both ASA and USAC.”

Watson began racing on the two national tours in 1977 – the American Speed Association (ASA) and USAC Stock Car Series. Watson was the first USAC Stock Car driver to win in his first career start with the series at the 1977 Milwaukee Mile event. He took the USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year award that year, while winning the ASA title that year as well.

Watson made four NASCAR Cup starts in the late 1970’s before moving on to sports car racing.

After his racing career ended, he was the crew chief and team manager for several teams. He also worked as a series official for various tours.

This year’s Redbud 400 will be held in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary ASA Racer’s Reunion at the speedway. A host of former ASA drivers and officials will be in attendance to relive their past memories while celebrating the future as ASA returns home to Anderson Speedway. Tickets for the 50th Anniversary ASA Racers Reunion are available for a special price of $50. These tickets include access to the Racers Reunion luncheon, a Q&A session with ASA legends, an autograph session with these same legends, and a ticket to the 57th Annual Greg Hubler Automotive Group Redbud 400. Tickets for the ASA Racers Reunion can be purchased by calling Anderson Speedway at 765-642-0206 or by visiting the trackside ticket office located at 1311 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Anderson, IN 46016.

General admission grandstand tickets for the event are currently being offered at a special price of $20 for an adult ticket until Friday, July 14th. Tickets for children aged 6-12 are $10 and children aged 5 and under are free. To purchase tickets, or for more information, contact or visit Anderson Speedway’s main ticket office.

The Redbud 400 will be co-sanctioned with the ASA CRA Super Series, which will be the third race of the CRA season. Gio Ruggiero won the opener at Salem Speedway, while race two will be contested on Sunday, July 2 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

The ASA STARS National Tour opened the ten race, six-state schedule at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on March 11. Ty Majeski is the most recent winner, claiming the victory in the Father’s Day 100 at the Milwaukee Mile.

For the full ASA STARS National Tour schedule, plus Super Late Model rules and other information, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: STARS National Series | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).

ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March of 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced last October, many of the best drivers in America will compete in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.

The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner; the ASA CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.

The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program has been announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the Series, thanks to Team Construction.

Track Enterprises, a Racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of the CRA sanctioning body in January and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President, Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.

-ASA STARS National Tour Release
-Photo credit: Ron Verash