Mesa Marin Raceway has hosted the ASRS Craftsman in each of the four seasons since the series inception in 2005. It was Mesa Marin where 2006 and 2007 series champion Jim Foose scored his first Pole Award. It was Mesa Marin where alot of the action the series has seen for the first four years of it's existence has taken place. But now it is time to move on, Mesa Marin has been torn down for three years, the result of a housing development. Even in 2008, the initial ASRS schedule did not feature Mesa Marin, but after much debate the powers to be agreed it was a date worth keeping. In fact, Mesa Marin was one of just three former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series tracks on the schedule, filling the double dates on the schedule. With Atlanta dropping it's second date, Atlanta will assume the March event traditionally held at Mesa Marin.
With every door that closes, a new one opens.
Chicagoland Speedway, long known as a hotbed for testing Craftsman Trucks, since NASCAR does not allow testing at venues on the schedule and Chicagoland was the only 1.5 mile tri-oval in the United States that was not on the truck schedule. Chicagoland has also become a hotbed for ASRS testing. When the series administration felt the drivers needed more track time on the 1.5 mile tracks, it was Chicagoland that scored a testing date. When the ASRS needed a new venue for the National Series it chose Chicagoland. And now with NASCAR choosing Chicagoland for the Truck Series, ASRS has once again chosen the 1.5 mile speedway for 2009.
"What makes Chicagoland unique is that the backstretch is not straight, it is actually curved, and that really gives the drivers more room to pass and more room to race" Jim Foose, ASRS President said. "I said it after we tested there in July, the place deserves a date, I was ready to make it happen right then and there, but now I am very excited that NASCAR has chosen to do so and that opened the door for us to go there as well. In a one hour test, we ran more side by side than nose to tail. It will be one exciting race for all of us".
So as the door closes on Mesa Marin, another opens for Chicagoland Speedway. Everyone at ASRS is happy to add Chicagoland to our schedule in 2009, but we are also sad to lose Mesa Marin.
