Full Throttle

For someone that grew up watching the ASA Series and see many of it’s stars move on to NASCAR it’s final demise, if it occurs, is truely sad.

Via Speedway Media.

The American Speed Association laid off most all of the ASA’s in-house staff several weeks ago. Only a skeleton crew remains in the sanctioning body’s recently built headquarters in Pendleton, Indiana. Industry experts expect to see the ASA file final bankruptcy before Christmas. Steve Dale, ASA President, had promised an announcement regarding the series’ future by December 1. But as with many of his promises this year, the deadline came and passed and race teams are still waiting to hear something.

Brett Sontag, 2004 ASA Rookie of the Year, has not received the $50,000 award that was advertised for that title. And none of the 2004 Points fund awards have been paid. In fact, teams have not received payment for the purse from the Kentucky Speedway event in September. Teams did receive payment for the last two events on the schedule, Charlotte and Atlanta, only because those tracks impounded ASA assets and paid the racers the purse themselves.

Teams that have participated in the 2004 ASA National Tour are left with cars and components that are not directly adaptable to any other series and left with a great deal of unanswered questions.

The ASA Late Model Series will likely operate in 2005. The series, formerly the USPRO Series, had been purchased by Dale in 2004. Word has it that Ron and Sandy Varney, part of the original founding team, have reaquired the series and will operate it in 2005 under the ASA name. Jay Rutherford, director of the ASA Speed Truck Challenge is rumored to be preparing to operate that series for 2005 as well. At the Performance Racing Industry show, the ASA Late Model Series booth was active but the absence of anything referring to the ASA National Tour was quite obvious.

On Monday, December 13, Dennis Huth, ASA