Where It All Started: JGR's Matthew Philpott Connecting to Short Track Roots
Jun 7, 2023
The Father’s Day 100 presented by Hunt Brothers Pizza was originally scheduled to be a standalone ASA Midwest Tour event, but a recent change in the ASA STARS National Tour’s schedule will now make this a co-sanctioned event on Sunday, June 18th at the historic Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
As the oldest oval in the United States, the Mile has hosted many different events with hall of fame drivers competing over the last century, including the ASA National Series. The change in the schedule will now have the ASA STARS National Tour bring their inaugural season to “America’s Legendary Oval.”
With this event being co-sanctioned between the two series, expect more announcements of top drivers making the trek to Wisconsin to compete against the best in the Midwest.
The ASA Midwest Tour is no stranger to the famous track, as this will be their eighth visit since the Tour started in 2007.
The Father’s Day 100 will also be the Tour’s 175th overall event in their history.
The Tour’s first event was on August 24, 2008 where Kyle Busch led 83 laps and held off charges from Chris Wimmer and Matt Kenseth to win the event with 39 cars in the field.
Lights surrounded the track on June 12, 2012 with a Tuesday night event, the first Howie Lettow Memorial 150. 42 cars entered the event, with Travis Sauter taking the big win over Chase Elliott and Johnny Sauter. A young driver named John Hunter Nemechek was the fast qualifier.
A year later, on July 9, 2013, 59 cars attempted to make the second annual Howie Lettow Memorial 150 with 43 spots available. Kyle Busch won for the second time at The Mile in the event that was shortened due to darkness. Travis Sauter was second with Johnny Sauter in third.
Erik Jones found himself in victory lane on June 8, 2014 by winning the third annual Howie Lettow Memorial 150, with 36 cars taking the green flag. Griffin McGrath was second and Chad Finley in third.
The Milwaukee Mile hosted an IndyCar race in 2015, and then didn’t host an event until Track Enterprises brought back racing in 2019 with the announcement of the Father’s Day 100 on June 16, 2019.
It was a cool, cloudy day, but a strong crowd was on hand witnessed Austin Nason pick up a big victory, with former Tour champions Ty Majeski and Dan Fredrickson joining him on the podium.
After a one-year hiatus due to covid, the second Father’s Day 100 was held on June 19, 2021. Mother Nature got in the way, cutting the race short after 81 laps. Ty Majeski checked off the Milwaukee Mile on his list of wins on asphalt oval tracks in Wisconsin with the victory that afternoon. Gabe Sommers was second, with Austin Nason in third.
Last year, the seventh visit brought the closest finish as Casey Johnson held off a last lap charge from William Sawalich to get his victory at the legendary oval. Johnson’s margin of victory was 0.032 seconds over the rising young driver from Minnesota. Griffin McGrath was third.
The ASA STARS National Tour heads to the historic Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, June 18 for the Father’s Day 100 Presented by Hunt Brothers Pizza. Tickets for the Father’s Day 100 are now on sale at the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds ticket office, or online by clicking here.
The Father’s Day 100 will be co-sanctioned with the ASA Midwest Tour, which will be the fourth race of the ASA MT season. RJ Braun, Ty Majeski, and Dalton Zehr have won races with the series this season.
The ASA STARS National Tour opened the ten race, six-state schedule at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on March 11. Gio Ruggiero is the most recent winner, winning his first-career Super Late Model race in the Tar Heel 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway.
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
