ASA - Savior of the Short Track

The other quarter of the original ASA went to Ron Varney. During the Dale ownership period, the ASA merged with Varney's US Pro Tour to start the ASA Late Model Series. When Dale's ASA went south, Varney picked up the Late Model Series and kept the name and brand intact. Currently, the ASA Late Model Series is made up of three separate series. The Late Model Challenge Series sanctions 12 races at 11 tracks in 9 states. In addition, they offer two regional series, one North and one South, each with 15 races.

All three series compete with the same car. From the outside, these full-bodied American stock cars look just like the cars synonymous with the ASA of old. But the similarity ends when you pop the hood. Bolted to the purpose-built chassis is a 420hp crate motor.

"I believe that we are the only sanction in the country that runs crate motors from GM, Ford, and Dodge," says Varney.

With the motors, chassis, and bodies the same for all three series, the only real difference between them is the tires: bias-ply for the North and South, radials for the Challenge.

Varney's reasoning for car design is two-fold. A brand-new, race-ready ASA Late Model will run you about $25,000. That translates into some pretty affordable racing. A team running the Challenge Series can expect a budget of about $100,000, including the car. That number can drop as low as $35,000 if you run one of the two regional series.

While car counts have been good at ASA races, Varney wants to race at bigger, more well-known tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile, which is on the '06 schedule. In addition to racing at marquee tracks, Varney is focused on marquee names. Guys who were staples in the old ASA, such as Butch Miller, Mike Eddy, and Johnny Benson, have all recently run races with Varney's ASA.

But that's just part of it. Varney is betting the success of his series on a tried and true formula from another side of grassroots racing. Dirt Modifieds, such as those in the IMCA sanction, have a uniform rules package that allows teams to race at a wide variety of tracks all across the country.

"You can basically take our ASA Late Model to any track running Late Models and compete," says Varney. "Take out the crate motor and put in a 9-to-1, and you're ready to go."

As for the future of the ASA Late Model Series, Varney is focusing his efforts on his three series. He plans to eventually head west, possibly as early as 2008, to fill the gap left in Late Model racing after NASCAR cans its Elite Division at the end of this year. But he wants to take a conservative approach to expansion.

"I want to let the dust out there settle for a year," says Varney. "I've been approached by several groups about expanding to the West Coast for 2007, but now is not the right time for us. If I am going to do it, I want to do it right. I'd rather step back for a year and then move forward and make a big statement."

Back in Daytona, Huth's group is hard at work. Racing Speed Associates owns three-quarters of the old ASA and is taking a methodical approach to expanding the series and building the ASA brand. The goal is to offer a wide variety of racing options for racers and the track owners, all under the ASA banner.

It may seem odd, but you can find an ASA decal on a BMW competing in the Southwest, a Sprint Car in the Pacific Northwest, a Modified in the South, and a Supermodified in California. In fact, Huth's ASA sanctions over 70 events at 17 member tracks across 7 series. Some of those series were added during the Dale years, and some were added by Huth's group. In all, there is The ASA Speed Truck Challenge, ASA ProAuto Sports, ASA Intermountain Pro 4, ASA Northwest Sprint Car Series, ASA Minnesota Challenge Series, ASA Southern Modified Race Tour, and the ASA Western States Supermodified Racing League.

In addition to the 17 member tracks, those series race at another 26 non-member tracks. That's a lot of racing spanning a lot of cars over a lot of different regions. But that is all part of Huth's plan. "Over the years, I dealt with so many aspects of racing. I think that overall, the more that we can branch out and be involved in numerous facets of motorsports, we can build an alliance of the tracks, teams, and competitors to help everyone."

And that's the bottom line with Huth-assistance. It's assistance meant to save short track racing. "The universe of motorsports is too small not be involved [everywhere]. When people come to you and want help, you help."