2008 Season winds down

It's November and the temperatures are dropping nationwide, snow is falling in some places and people are hurrying out to get the latest and greatest gift for the holidays. November also marks the official end of the 2008 season for the American Sim Racing Series.

With the ASRS Craftsman Truck Series 2008 season in the books, and the 100th ASRS Craftsman Truck Series event, also the final race run under the Craftsman banner comes the long, cold winter months. But that will not be the case this winter, with ASRS Winter Heat warming up your competitiveness and keeping the racing going year-round.

Before we close the chapter on 2008, lets take a look back at the season that was:

Craftsman Truck Series:
38 drivers scored points over the 25 race schedule. 13 drivers scored a win in the ultra-competitive series that prides itself on Tough Trucks, Tough Racing. The season also marked the first time that a driver has won back to back to back to back championships in the American Sim Racing Series. Although the season had its rough spots, 2009 looks to have a great field of trucks competing for the championship.

BozPC National Series:
23 drivers scored points over the 8 race schedule. 5 made it to Victory Lane. The series was dropped from the American Sim Racing Series lineup for 2009 after a dismal year in 2008. The 2009 schedule had called for a more "premier" type schedule dominated by intermediate tracks. Unless something changes for the good, that will not happen in 2009.

Modified Series:
28 drivers made races, but only 6 reached victory lane. The Modified Series had a transition year, as it was dropped from the lineup early in the year, only to be brought back. The experiment appeared to be working successfully early on, but interest and support fell off and before the season concluded, it was announced the modifieds would not be back in 2009.

Outlaw Paintshop All American Series:
The Outlaw Paintshop All American Series saw some of the most competitive fields in online short track racing. Each season presented it own challenges to the drivers as nobody knew what to expect around the next turn. The season finale at Rockingham Speedway showcased the drivers on the largest track the series has ever competed on, and the race was exciting and had its own suspense all the way to the checkered flag. The Outlaw Paintshop All American Series is on the slate for 2009, and some changes have been considered, but it appears the series will return with a similar gameplan in 2009. It was also announced that the Outlaw Paintshop All American Series will take part in the Winter Heat program this winter, that will take the green flag Tuesday, November 25th.

2009 holds alot of promise and looks to be an exciting year for ASRS. We appreciate your support through 2008 and hope you will continue to call ASRS your home. We will have many exciting announcements this winter and really hope you will join us for Winter Heat and theupcoming 3rd Annual Snowball Derby.

Continuing the Turnaround!

For the ASRS, the 2008 season has been one of missed opportunities, but nonetheless ASRS is continuing to move forward and once again is showing the strength necessary to succeed in the sim racing world. Although car counts are slightly lower than a year ago, the racing is more competitve than ever and the quality of racing has exceeded many expectations. ASRS President Jim Foose reflects on the season and the looks to the future:

"It has not been the easiest season for us as a league, there were numerous times I thought about shutting the doors and calling it quits. But, I continued on and belive we are turning things around with our program. The elements are there to have excellent events, we just need to improve our car counts." "2009 is going to be a different ballgame, we feel the time might be here to look at other sims to utilize for the future, but also feel the flip side of that when drivers don't want to learn a new sim or build all new setups. It is a balancing act for me to make a decision on where I want to be next year and where our league should be. It definetely is coming though."

Whatever 2009 has in store for ASRS, it will be done with the same passion and professionalism as years past.

11th Annual All American 400 around the corner!

The 11th Annual All American 400 has begun registering drivers to compete in the event. This will mark the 4th event hosted and sanctioned by the American Sim Racing Series (ASRS), who took the event over in 2005 from the former USA Series. The eventful All American Speedweek kicks off with the ASRS Modified Series 100 lapper on Wednesday, November 5th and continues on Saturday, November 8th with the All American 400. The event will be split into 2- 200 lap events, one featuring the ASRS Outlaw Paintshop All American Series and the other featuring the ASRS Outlaw Late Model Series. In 2006, over 80 drivers signed up for the event with 53 officially making an attempt at starting the event.

Registration is free for current ASRS members, and just $5 for non-ASRS members. The winner will receive a trophy.

Lap Sponsorships are available for both races, $1 a lap and $10 for Laps 100 & 200 in each race.

It proves to be the biggest online short track race of the year, and is rich with tradition. Check out http://www.americansimracing.com for more information.

Event Information: http://asrs.bozpc.com/2008AA400.pdf
Entry Form/ Entry List: http://z8.invisionfree.com/ASRS/index.p ... topic=2216
Lap Sponsors: http://asrs.bozpc.com/2008_aa400_laps.htm

Don't forget the 3rd Annual Snowball Derby will take place December 13th!

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 http://www.americansimracing.com.

Exciting Race Ends with Close Finish @ Talladega

(Talladega, AL) For the third time, the ASRS Craftsman Truck Series headed to Talladega Superspeedway for the Mountain Dew 125. The level of excitement and action was higher than ever as the top 4 in points were separated by just 63 points.

EJ McDonell got the event started off in the right direction by winning the Speedway Action Pole Award. McDonell was joined by Johnathon Caddell on the front row. McDonell would lead the first lap, but by the time the pack of trucks completed lap 2 it was points leader, Jim Foose leading the field. The first caution flew on lap 9 for a multi truck crash involving 2nd place in points Eric Bannenberg, and fellow EB Racing teammates Steve Buhala and Caddell after contact between Buhala and Kevin Chance triggered the crash. Bannenberg continued on but limped to the finish, Buhala was eliminated completely and Caddell continued on with minimal damage. Eric Bannenberg limped around to lead a lap before handing the lead over to Jake Morris, who assumed the lead on the round of pit stops that occurred under the caution flag. The race took on a clean and green look for the next 15 laps before the competition caution flew to allow all drivers to finish the race without having to make another stop for fuel. Following the restart, Jake Morris once again led after remaining on the track under the competition caution. The JF2 Racing teammates of Wes Johnston and EJ McDonell made their way to the front, while Jim Foose, Johnathon Caddell and Kevin Chance battled behind the leaders for several laps. The first driver to make a move at the lead was Chance, followed by Foose, who with the help of Johnston passed Jake Morris for the lead. EJ McDonell had a mechanical failure and dropped out of the event on lap 30. Chance, Johnston and the Morris brothers made a move to pass Foose for the lead and sent Foose back to 4th, but Foose and Caddell once again hooked up and drafted by and back into the lead. With a handful of laps remaining Jordan Morris made contact with Jake Morris, sending Jake through the grass to avoid an incident. Kevin Chance bumped the #26 of Caddell on lap 44 and sent Caddell to the apron, Caddell continued but made contact with Chance as he regained control of his Dodge and sent Chance flying into the inside wall, ending Chance’s night. No caution flew and it was smooth sailing as the top 2 drivers, Foose and Jordan Morris pulled away from the remaining trucks. Morris would try high and low, but never could get around Foose for the lead as Jim Foose cruised to his fourth victory of 2008 by just .050 seconds and extended his points lead from 21 to 65 points over Eric Bannenberg. Jordan Morris was a close 2nd followed by Johnston, Caddell and Jake Morris in 5th.

Trucks Continue to Impress!

After 17 races this season, the ASRS Craftsman Truck Series has seen many highs and lows, but the Camping World 100 at Gateway International Raceway was a high. After a long drought, Andy Warren returned to the Winner's Circle for the first time since Atlanta in October of 2006, bringing a Toyota Tundra with him. It was only the 2nd time a Toyota had reached Victory Lane, and the first since Josh Berry took his #91 Toyota to victory at Auto Club Speedway California in February 2007. Toyota also won the pole and occupied the front row for the 60 lap event.

In fact it was an interesting route Warren took this season, after leaving the ASRS in May, Warren returned to action at Bristol Motor Speedway. Warren was running 2nd with a handful of laps remaining at Bristol when he lost control of his #6 Toyota, and losing several positions.

While the championship "chasers" did not have a very good showing as a whole, Eric Bannenberg was the shining star of that group with his 2nd place finish. Chasers Jim Foose, EJ McDonell, Wes Johnston and Dave Soja all had issues that prevented a solid showing at Gateway.

Only one Chevrolet team finished among the top 5, Corey Gordon, who made his first ASRS Craftsman Truck Series start. One Toyota, two Dodges and one Ford made up the Top 5.

JF2-Red Bull Racing played a little trick on the competition with a double take as Jim Foose and Wes Johnston both drove Red Bull Energy Drink backed Silverados. Johnathon Caddell debuted a brand new black and gree Tahoe Smokeless Tobacco Dodge, while Caleb Hindes showed off his Vitamin Water Toyota.

Many elements came together to create a great race at Gateway International Raceway, as the Craftsman Truck Series heads to New England for the 100 lap event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Round #3 of the Chase for the Championship and Round #18 on the 25 race 2008 schedule.