Wilson Motorsports Teammates Butcher, Ruggeiro Among Early Glass City 200 Entries

The ASA STARS National Tour returns to action on Saturday, September 16 at Toledo Speedway for the 35^th running of the Glass City 200. The 200 lap/100 mile event will be co-sanctioned with the ASA/CRA Super Series.

For some of the drivers chasing the ten-race ASA STARS National Tour schedule, the Glass City 200 will present a first-time visit, and yet another different and unique racetrack as part of the inaugural season.

ASA STARS National Tour frontrunners Cole Butcher and Gio Ruggeiro are among the early entries for the Glass City 200 event at Toledo Speedway. The two Wilson Motorsports teammates are part of the Toyota Racing Development program for pavement Super Late Models, led by veteran short track team manager Bond Suss. Both Butcher and Ruggiero have recently won their first Super Late Model races.

Butcher, who won the The Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway on July 15, is entered for the Glass City 200 in Donnie Wilson’s No.28 Camry. Butcher passed his teammate Ruggiero with 93 laps remaining and drove away for his first win with Wilson Motorsports. He currently sits second in ASA STARS point standings, 93 points behind Ty Majeski. The Nova Scotia native has had his share of success in recent years, including a win in the Oxford 250 in 2022, but will make his first career start at Toledo Speedway on September 16.

“We are looking forward to going to Toledo,” stated Butcher. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about the facility and I can’t wait to get on track.”

Likewise, Ruggiero will also make his Toledo Speedway debut in about a month. The 16 year old from Seekonk, MA flashed into the national spotlight back in May, winning the Tar Heel 250 at Hickory Motor Speedway. He passed NASCAR Cup Series star William Byron in the last corner of the last lap and beat him back to the checkers by just .036 for his first-ever Super Late Model win. Ruggiero sits third in ASA STARS National Tour points and is the current ASA/CRA Super Series and Southern Super Series points leader.

“I’m looking forward to racing at Toledo for my first time,” said Ruggiero ahead of his first appearance at the half-mile. “I’m confident that our car will be good on race day, as Wilson Motorsports won this race last year.”

While Butcher and Ruggiero will see Toledo Speedway for the first time, Wilson Motorsports Team Manager Bond Suss is very familiar with the venerable Northwest Ohio half-mile oval. Dating back to the early 1990’s and the original ASA ACDelco Challenge Series, Suss served as Crew Chief for three-time ASA National champion Kevin Cywinski, and later for 2002 ASA champion Joey Clanton. In addition to his ASA National Tour experience, Suss has recently been to Toledo with the TRD late model program; first with Kyle Busch Motorsports and now with Wilson.

“We (Wilson Motorsports) ran Toledo last year with William Sawalich and Jesse Love last year,” Suss commented. “Obviously, we as a team have had some success there.”

Love dominated the middle stages of the 100 lap CRA portion of the Glass City 200 in 2022, with Sawalich grabbing the lead from Love on lap 83 and pacing the final 17 circuits.

Regarding the fact that neither of his drivers has been to Toledo, Suss was confident in the talent and the team.

“We’ll likely test there,” Suss commented. “Both Gio and Cole have been racing a lot at a lot of different tracks. They are both in a good rhythm, both running really well wherever we go. Both have seen a lot of different tracks this year.”

The ASA STARS National Tour heads to Toledo Speedway on Saturday, September 16 for the Glass City 200. Tickets are on sale now at toledospeedway.com/tickets/25/buy.

The Glass City 200 will be co-sanctioned with the ASA/CRA Super Series, the fifth race of the CRA season. Gio Ruggiero leads the ASA/CRA Super Series points standings over Logan Bearden.

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 Gandrud Auto Group 250 on Tuesday, August 1.

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 Press Release
-Photo credit: Bruce Nuttleman/Ultimate Lap Photo