Chicagoland Test a Success!!!

The ASRS Craftsman Truck Series took to the Chicagoland Speedway Thursday night for some testing at the 1.5 mile tri-oval. Robert Matthews in his Last Lap Motorsports Toyota Tundra turned the quickest lap at 30.954 seconds, 174.452MPH. Matthews was followed by Skip Honaker's Chevrolet at 30.960 seconds, 174.419 MPH. Timmy Johnston in the #81, current runner up int he ASRS Craftsman Truck Series point standings, EJ McDonell in the #33, Series points leader and two time defending Champion of the Truck Series, Jim Foose in 5th and Steve Buhala's #10 Dodge turned the 6th fastest lap of the one hour session.

The drivers in attendance praised the track for it's multi-groove surface and walked away from the session pleased with the results. At the end of the practice session, the drivers ran a mock race for the final 10 minutes of practice. Foose and Honaker both took turns at the lead, battling side by side for many laps in that 10 minute session, with Foose finally edging out Honaker at the finish line as the red and black flags waved to signal the end of the session.

"Our Interstate Batteries Chevy Silverado ran great all night, we were surprised by the number of choices we were given at this track, you could run low, high, or in the middle, and we did. Our truck ran real good up high and down low and when we were in the draft we could go anywhere on the track. This track really needs a truck date in 2009, but if they don't get it, we will be back to test here again next year".

-Jim Foose, Driver #42 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet

"I agree what a fun track there where many groves to use and was a blast to test at. I think it will be a great track to have on the schedule."

-Skip Honaker, Driver #2 Camping World/RVs.com Chevrolet

"This is all of ASRS wrapped up into one track, it's got drafting, coasting, side by side action and some differing lines, it's a great racetrack. It's got everything."

-EJ McDonell, Driver #33 Roadloans Chevrolet

Track: CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
Date: 07/31/08

Session: Practice

P # DRIVER TIME
1 88 R Matthews 30.954 Toyota
2 2 S Honaker 30.960 Chevrolet
3 81 T Johnston 31.121 Chevrolet
4 33 E McDonell 31.131 Chevrolet
5 42 J Foose 31.160 Chevrolet
6 10 S Buhala 31.177 Dodge

ASRS Celebrating 400th race with 40% off Registration!!!

(Cleveland, OH) The American Sim Racing Series is hosting its 400th race on Tuesday, August 5th with the ASRS Outlaw Paintshop All American Series Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway. And to celebrate will be offering 40% off the price of an ASRS Membership as well as 40% off the cost of Race Sponsorships.

ASRS Membership will now be $3.00 (savings of $2) for the duration of the promotion, which is scheduled for the ENTIRE month of August. ASRS Race Sponsorships for regular events will now cost $15.00 (savings of $10) for the remainder of the 2008 season.

“While we are celebrating our 400th race, we also are slashing prices due to the economy” said Jim Foose, ASRS President. “We feel this is a great thing to help out anyone looking for great online racing, especially since as far as I know none of us are millionaires. Hopefully, it will bring some new faces into ASRS and we can showcase the great racing we have here to those new faces!”

The American Sim Racing Series races Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The ASRS Outlaw Paintshop All American Series races every Tuesday evening, while the BozPc National Series and Modified Series share Wednesday nights and the ASRS Craftsman Truck Series races a total of 25 events per year on Thursday nights. Information on each division as well as the American Sim Racing Series is available at www.americansimracing.com. Stop by and give ASRS a try!

The American Sim Racing Series has seen continued growth since its birth in 2002. Since 2005, some of the biggest names in short track sim racing have raced in the American Sim Racing Series, making it America’s #1 Online Short Track League. For more information on the ASRS visit www.americansimracing.com.

Reconnecting

ASRS has seen many great races, and as of late the cautions counts have been lower and the quality of racing much higher. But, the car count has dwindled along the way, some drivers left for scheduling reasons, others left because they felt they weren't wanted here and others left because they were a hazard on the track and finally realized that. We are not here to draw conclusions on people, and we aren't going to judge our members by how one or two races goes. But, we are here to create the BEST online racing community around, and we have worked very much to improve on our strengths and overcome and improve our weaknesses. We feel that the product (our on track action) is a great value to anyone and that our league has a very solid foundation for the future. We have begun to open up some communication lines with former members, taking criticism about our league as well as compliments.

We must face it; we make mistakes, just like everybody else. We may not have always followed this plan, but we feel it is the best policy now: Admit when you make a mistake and learn from it. If you feel wronged by a call we make, please send an email letting us know that your feel wronged so that we can do our best to correct a problem that may exist. But please avoid the name calling, profanity and threats in your email, because quite frankly these don't add anything to your facts and more than likely will result in your email being ignored. However, if you present your side in a calm manner and allow us to do our work here as officials, we will appreciate your positive attitude and will do what we can to work with you.

As we begin to reconnect to drivers, we want to remind everyone that putting aside minor differences is what the world is about and if we can all agree to put aside these slight differences we can all make ASRS a great racing league with high car counts, high quality racing and a great community surrounding it. Together we can accomplish more than we could by ourselves. We are all a part of Team ASRS, and there is no "I" in TEAM!!!

Admitting mistakes is a great way to build to trust and integrity, two things that ASRS wants to have in it's drivers and that we would like our drivers to have in us. We aren't here to screw around and play head games with our members, we are here to race and put on great racing action.

Flag to Flag at Iowa!

Sometimes everything goes right and allows a race to go caution free. The fact that it is a rarity in online racing just adds to the mystique of the caution free race. It takes a perfect track, with great drivers and patience by all in order to achieve it, but when it happens it is something truly special.

That exact scenario played out at Iowa Speedway, the 7/8th mile tri-oval in Newton, Iowa. In fact the caution free race has only occured three times in the history of the American Sim Racing Series. Let's take a look back at the three events that have gone green to checkered with no interruptions.

June 22, 2006: Craftsman Truck Series, Milwaukee, WI. Jim Foose led all 60 laps from the 2nd starting position after passing pole sitter Chuck Darling going into turn 1. Only three trucks remained on the lead lap at the finish of a race that saw Foose complete the entire event without making a pit stop.

June 5, 2008: Craftsman Truck Series, Fort Worth, TX. Nicholas Teto won the pole for the Texas event, but only led one lap before Jim Foose took the lead away, the only driver that challenged Foose was Skip Honaker, who led 12 laps around the race's mid point before relinquishing the lead to Foose again. Foose drove off with the win in that event as well. While the event did see one caution flag, it was after the white flag flew and did not slow the pace of the race whatsoever as the field raced back to the checkered flag. Again, Foose completed the event without making a pit stop.

July 22, 2008: Outlaw Paintshop All American Series, Newton, IA. Chad Williams won the pole and led the majority of the event, but was challenged by Nicholas Teto who led several times and EJ McDonell the only other driver to complete the entire 75 lap event and finish 2nd. Williams led 59 laps and took the win and for his 2nd in a row in Outlaw Paintshop All American Series.

The caution free racing shows the high quality drivers that flock to ASRS to get their racing fix and the respect that each has for the other competitors. It is simply amazing to see a race go caution free and a whole lot of fun for all. If you aren't signed up for ASRS, you should be!

Modifieds bring back the Fun!

The ASRS Modified Series returned just about a month ago now, and has provided some of the most exciting, action packed racing we have seen in 2008. With three different winners over the four events run thus far, the series has proved it's value to the American Sim Racing Series.

Drivers seem to flock to the Modified Series, many enjoying the "throwback style" of the division, where each event features a 4-lap, just for fun "trophy dash" and the previous race's winner starts at the rear of the field. The racing action has been unpredictable as well, with one of the most unlikely upsets coming this past week at Thompson International Speedway. After the dominate driver, Eric McClure, was sent down pit road for jumping a mid-race restart, a rookie, Kevin Chance assumed the lead with Wes Johnston following. Johnston would wrestle the lead away from Chance as McClure lurked in the rearview mirror. McClure would try everything he had to get around Johnston, but would come up short at the finish, finishing a close second to Johnston, who led the final 12 laps, his only laps led all season.

What the Modifieds also provide is an excellent proving ground for rookie drivers, allowing drivers new to ASRS to race with the stars of the ASRS. It also is a place for drivers to gain the experience to complete in the premier division, the Craftsman Truck Series, where rookie mistakes are far and few between and drivers must prove themselves able to control their vehicle prior to gaining entry into the series. It should come as no surprise that the Craftsman Truck Series features some of the closest, cleanest racing in all of online racing!

The ASRS Modified Series features competitive racing, a "throwback style" and provides drivers with a proving ground that is quickly developing new drivers for the Craftsman Truck Series. It also is allowing drivers to have fun racing online.

National Series back in Action!!

The BozPC National Series rolls into Sparta, Kentucky this week for the Kentucky 105. After a month break from racing, the drivers of the BozPC National Series are ready for battle and ready to attack the largest and fastest track on the 2008 schedule.

So far in 2008, the ASRS BozPC National Series has seen two winners through the first three events. Jim Foose kicked off the season with a win at Richmond and followed that up with a win at Mansfield in round #2 of the season. EJ McDonell kicked his season into overdrive with a win at South Boston in round #3. The Kentucky Speedway has provided some of the most thrilling racing action in the history of ASRS, with McDonell scoring a Late Model Series win in 2007, and teammate Skip Honaker winning the Craftsman Truck Series event in 2007. Eric McClure, who is scheduled to be making his BozPC National Series debut at Kentucky, won the Craftsman Truck Series event in 2006 at this track.

With the field stacked with talent and plenty of racing action around ever turn in the 105 mile event, Kentucky is one race you will not want to miss. After all Kentucky is known for horsepower and late race charges to victory, but it has also become the home of the underdogs.

The American Sim Racing Series has seen continued growth since its birth in 2002. Since 2005, some of the biggest names in short track sim racing have raced in the American Sim Racing Series, making it America’s #1 Online Short Track League. For more information on the ASRS visit www.americansimracing.com.