ASA STARS National Tour
Former Snowball Derby Pole-sitter Among Favorites For STARS Opener
Mar 3, 2023
Several ASA Midwest Tour competitors plan to travel south to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, for the inaugural ASA STARS National Tour Sunshine State 200 event on March 10-11, 2023.
The résumé of the Midwest competitors is impressive, and they will be major contenders to grab the first ASA STARS National Tour checkered flag.
Dan Fredrickson from Northfield, Minnesota, is one of the latest entries for the inaugural event. The two-time ASA Midwest Tour champion comes to Five Flags Speedway with an impressive résumé. On top of his 16 victories, 49 top-fives, and 68 top-ten finishes in 96 starts, he is also a four-time winner of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend main event and a four-time winner of the Dick Trickle 99 at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI. Anywhere he competes, he is always in contention for the checkered flag.
Fredrickson is likely the only competitor registered for the Sunshine State 200 that competed in the former ASA National Series.
Derek Kraus from Stratford, Wisconsin, is another Craftsman Truck Series competitor, making multiple starts in the Snowball Derby. He could also be one to watch in the opening event. Kraus has made 33 starts in the ASA Midwest Tour with one victory, two top-fives, and six top-ten finishes. His success came in 2016, and he surpassed Mark Martin as the youngest driver to win the ARTGO/ASA era. He was also the 2019 ARCA Menards Series West champion with ten victories, 29 top-fives, and 35 top-10s in 44 starts. He also has two wins in the ARCA Menards East Series.
Austin Nason, who hails from Roscoe, Illinois, may come across as a humble driver, but he isn't humble when behind the wheel of his stock car. He is always a factor in major race events. He has made 70 starts in the ASA Midwest Tour with four victories, 19 top-fives, and 40 top-10's. Those four victories came at significant events. In 2018, he won the Joe Shear Classic at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, WI, and the All-Star 100 at Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, IL. In 2019, he won the Inaugural Father's Day 100 at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, WI. This past season, he added his name to a historical list of winners in the Wayne Carter Classic at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. He is also a two-time champion at the National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway.
Plover, Wisconsin pilot Gabe Sommers picked up a big check last summer when he won the ASA Midwest Tour's Jim Sauter Classic at Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells, WI. Not only did he collect the $15,000 paycheck that night, but he also won the Alive for Five series championship last season at Dells. In the ASA Midwest Tour, he has 35 starts with two victories, 14 top 5's, and 24 top-ten finishes. His other win came in 2019 at the famed Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway in Rib Mountain, WI.
Four-time Big 8 Series champion Michael Bilderback from Roscoe, Illinois, could be a spoiler in the Sunshine State 200. He knows his way around high-banked racetracks, as he is a three-time track champion at Rockford Speedway. In 2019, he collected seven feature wins in 13 starts en route to his third NASCAR Advance Auto Parts track championship.
Five-time ASA Midwest Tour champion Ty Majeski from Seymour, Wisconsin, will join these drivers. Majeski has 30 wins, 33 fast qualifier awards, 50 top-fives, and 56 top-tens in 75 starts in the Tour. He is also the 2020 winner of the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway.
The ASA STARS National Tour will open the 10-race, six-state schedule at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL, on Saturday, March 11, 2023. Advance tickets are available for purchase online at https://bit.ly/ASA5FlagsTixs.
The Sunshine State 200 will be live-streamed on both Racing America and TRACKTV.com. More details will be announced soon. MAVTV will air the event on Monday, March 20, at 8 pm ET.
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).
Austin Nason is one of several Midwest drivers heading south (Daniel Vining Photo)
ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour will debut in 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced in October, many of the best drivers in America are expected to compete in the 10-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.
The national series 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.
A Winner's Circle program will also be part of the ASA National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program details will be announced at a later date, but it will be in the same vein as ASA utilized in its heyday.
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.
