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Colt James takes ASALM South win at Concord (NC)


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Transplanted Texan, Colt James holds off the youth movement too win the Super Sonic 100 at Concord Motorsport Park.

 

By Matt Prieur-ASA Late Model Series

 

Concord, North Carolina (July 12, 2008) - The Youth Movement was running wild in the Tar Heel State on Saturday night, July 12, 2008, but it would be an "older" driver who would still find victory lane at Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, North Carolina.

 

After Two months off due to scheduling and Mother Nature, the ASA Late Model Series Southern Division Presented by GM Performance Parts has completed race number four on the 2008 calendar.

 

25-year-old Colt James held off a hard-charging 15-year-old Drew Brannon, who was coming off his damatic Feature Win at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Missouri in an ASALMS Northern Division race! Brannon actually

passed James with a daring three-wide move in between James and a lapped car on Lap 34 through the famed Concord "Dog-Leg."

 

James, originally from Buda, Texas but now calls Troutman, North Carolina home, wasn't flustered by the thrilling pass and calmly worked his way back by Brannon on Lap 68 and held him, and another hard-charger,

Jimmy Lang, off to score the win!

 

"This is for everyone who has ever believed in me!" An emotional James said in victory lane. Everyone on this team has worked so hard and sacrificed a lot to allow me to do this! I'm just so happy that we finally got one of these after about a year and a half!"

 

James' last ASALMS Feature Win was way back on March 3, 2007, at the now closed San Antonio Speedway in his home state of Texas in the Alamo 200, which was an ASALMS Challenge Division event. This was James' first ASALMS South Feature Win since June 3, 2006 at Southern National Raceway in Kenly, North Carolina!

 

15-year-old Drew Brannon and 56-year-old, Butch Miller, a member of the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame and former Three-Time Champion in the Now-Defunct ASA National tour, led a very diverse and stout 26-car

field to Chief Starter, Tim Sharp's green flag to begin the 100-lap feature on the very tricky ½ mile Tri-Oval.

 

Brannon beat Miller to the first corner to take the early lead and right off the bat as the field completed Lap One (1), 2007 ASALMS Northern Division Champion, Trent Snyder, making a rare Southern Division start,

and 17-year-old Brian Blum collided heading into the infamous Concord Dog-Leg which sparked a chain reaction incident that involved seven cars total!

 

Amongst the victims was ASALMS South Rookie Points Leader coming into the night, David Odell, and second in the freshman points, 17-year-old Dustin Dunn. Odell was done for the night along-with Snyder and Blum.

Dunn and others were able to continue although Dunn received heavy damage and was missing his entire body from the rear window back!

 

One more caution slowed things down and finally the field settled down with Brannon leading the field to the green flag. Miller lost ground in a hurry and was shuffled all the way back to ninth while Colt James, who started on the outside of the second row, slipped into second spot and began following Brannon's tire tracks.

 

James looked high and low searching for a way around the upstart 15-year-old and on Lap 26, James slipped underneath to take the lead when the caution flew for 18-year-old Will Hannah, who crashed into the Turn Four wall! He was ok, but done for the night.

 

It would be James leading the field back to the green and now it was Brannon's turn to try and get by the transplanted Lone Star State driver.

 

As James and Brannon worked on getting by a lapped car on Lap 34, Brannon stayed in the gas going through the "Dog-Leg" and split James, who went high, and a lapped car, who was on the inside, to retake the lead!

 

James also lost second place to NASCAR Nationwide Series driver, 19-year-old Landon Cassill, who finished 10th in the Nationwide race the night before at Chicagoland Speedway, and fly the morning of race day to get to Concord and race in the series where his career took off.

 

Another caution came out and Cassill was forced to pit with a Broken Right Front Rim, which gave James second place once again as Brannon still led. James wouldn't let Brannon get to far out in front on the next

restart and finally on Lap 68, James retook the lead from the 15-year-old!

 

One more caution, of the Nine (9) total, flew on Lap 81 setting up a last shootout between James and Brannon. But Brannon wasn't able to keep up with James and in the process, had to now deal with ASALMS Southern Division Points Leader, Jimmy Lang, who worked his way back up to Third after pitting with a Right Front Flat.

 

James would calmly pull out ahead of Brannon and Lang and it would be James' Magnum Trailers Ford driving underneath the twin checkered flags to score his first ASALMS Feature Win of the 2008 racing season.

 

"We've worked so hard to be a competitive team with what we have. Without all my guys and girls on this crew, we wouldn't be racing, it's that simple!" James continued. "This win means so much to me, our win at

San Antonio last year was big in front of the hometown fans, but this one is even more special since I now live so close to this place!"

 

"We went after the ASALMS Challenge Division title and came close (He finished 3rd in the final points tandings), now we're concentrating on the Southern Division and I know Jimmy (ASALMS South Points Leader, Jimmy Lang) has a nice lead right now, but with more good finishes, the points will come." He ended.

 

Brannon proved his Feature Win at I-70 was no fluke as the Miami, Florida teenager led the most laps (59) before backing up his historic win with a runner-up showing on the tricky Tri-Oval in Concord, North Carolina.

 

"I thought we had him when we got the lead back on Lap 34!" The 15-year-old Sunshine State teenager explained. "I tried losing him in lapped traffic, but he was always right there with me and I just couldn't shake

him loose! This is a great finish for us though, this proves that last weekend in Missouri was no fluke and we're the real deal!" Brannon continued. "

 

Lang, the ASALMS Southern Division Points Leader, went to the rear of the field after suffering a Right Front Flat Tire on Lap 26. The 19-year-old then charged through the pack to finish on the last podium spot in

third, but saw his three-race winning streak to start the South season come to an end.

 

"That flat tire just killed us, but we tried getting back through the pack. Once I got to Drew though the car went away on me, so I just tried to hang on." Lang remarked in his post-race interview. "I didn't have

anything for Colt at all, but I at least wanted a shot at him. That's ok we'll take third, keep our points lead, and move onto the next one." He added.

 

18-year-old Blake Lehr finished a career high fourth and takes over the 2008 ASALMS South Rookie of the Year Points Lead while NASCAR Nationwide Series invader and ASALMS graduate, Landon Cassill came back through the pack to finish off the Top Five.

 

Brandon Johnson, in his first official start for Suncoast Motorsports, finished sixth minus a Right Front Fender while 2007 ASALMS Southern Division Champion and Rookie of the Year, Jeff Choquette, who slapped the

wall during Qualifying, had to start at the rear due to pulling his car out of impound, finished seventh.

 

Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame Driver, Butch Miller finished eighth in a rare appearance after starting on the outside of the front row while Justin Larson, who was the third driver to suffer a Right Front Flat, finished ninth over Jeremy Gerstner, who completed the Top 10.

 

Earlier in the afternoon in ARP Bodies / Aluminum Racing Products Qualifying, Concord's own Preston Peltier established the ASALMS Track Record in Concord and in the process beat out the 27-car field in Qualifying

with a 16.036 which measures out to 112.247 MPH.

 

The next race for the ASALMS Southern Division is set for Saturday, August 2, 2008, as the fast 3/8s Mile High-Banked Paved Oval of Orange County Speedway, located just South of the North Carolina/Virginia state

line and North of Raleigh/Durham in Rougemont, North Carolina for the running of the Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers 100.

 

The fifth race of the season for the ASALMS South contingent will see the OCS Weekly Divisions of Late Model Stock Cars, Grand Stocks, Pure Stocks, and Southern Ground Pounders.

 

ASA Late Model Series Southern Division Presented by GM Performance Parts Race #4 of 10

Concord Motorsport Park-Concord, North Carolina - Saturday, July 12, 2008

 

Super Sonic 100 RACE RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)

FINISH START CAR # / DRIVER / HOMETOWN TEAM / CAR LAPS STATUS

1 4 15 Colt James/Troutman, NC Magnum Trailers/Ford 100 Running

2 1 08 Drew Brannon ®/Miami, FL Brannon Specialties/Ford 100

Running

3 6 86 Jimmy Lang/Bluffton, SC Performance Concepts/Chevrolet 100

Running

4 5 3 Blake Lehr ®/Waxaw, NC Orlando Predators/Chevrolet 100

Running

5 9 116 Landon Cassill/Fairfax, IA Jani-King/Chevrolet 100 Running

6 7 93 Brandon Johnson/Longwood, FL Suncoast Plastering/Chevrolet 100

Running

7 3 170 Jeff Choquette/Huntersville, NC BDH Construction/Ford 100

Running

8 2 32 Butch Miller/Coopersville, MI ASI Limited/Chevrolet 100

Running

9 12 88 Justin Larson ®/Clearwater, FL Skinner Nurseries/Ford 100

Running

10 20 70 Jeremy Gerstner/Wesley Chapel, FL Dream Factory Inc./Chevrolet

100 Running

11 21 125 Victor Pfluger ®/Glendale, AZ Desert Mountain Medical/Ford

100 Running

12 13 76 Logan Ruffin ®/Brentwood, TN Terminix Pest Control/Chevrolet

100 Running

13 14 17 A.J. Fulgenzi ®/Jacksonville, FL Metro Property

Services/Chevrolet 99 Running

14 23 176 Jerick Johnson ®/Mooresville, NC American Legion

Freedom/Chevrolet 99 Running

15 11 57 Chad Pierce ®/Orlando, FL Orlando Predators/Chevrolet 97

Running

16 19 33 Casey Caudill ®/Deland, FL American Services/Chevrolet 96

Running

17 15 59 Dustin Dunn ®/Jupiter, FL Demarisco Custom Trim/Chevrolet

86 Running

18 10 5 Preston Peltier ®/Concord, NC ARP Bodies/Chevrolet 81

Accident

19 25 26 Jessica Murphy ®/Groveland, FL Fountain

Motorsports/Chevrolet 81 Mechanical

20 22 1 Bobby East ®/Mooresville, NC J.H. Hauling/Ford 71

Mechanical

21 26 25 Scott Rueschenberg ®/Mesa, AZ Elite Care/Chevrolet 63

Accident

22 24 188 Will Hannah ®/Newnan, GA Metro Mortgage Inc./Chevrolet 23

Accident

23 18 78 Todd Bradberry ®/Concord, NC GMR Motorsports/Chevrolet 4

Accident

24 8 088 Trent Snyder/Ironton, MN Performance Concepts/Chevrolet 1

Accident

25 17 31 Brian Blum/Margate, FL Coulter Motorsports/Chevrolet 1

Accident

26 16 75 David Odell ®/Lawrenceville, GA Body Worx Spa/Chevrolet 1

Accident

DID NOT START: 89 Beau Browning-R/Collierville, TN Choctaw

Construction/Chevrolet 0 DID NOT START

® = 2008 Rookie of the Year Title Contender

 

Lap Leaders: 08 Drew Brannon Pole-25, 15 Colt James 26-33, 08 Drew

Brannon 34-67, 15 Colt James 68-100.

Cautions: 9 for 0 Laps

Time of Race: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes, 05.699 Seconds

Margin of Victory: 0.707 Seconds

ARP Bodies / Aluminum Racing Products Fast Qualifier: 5 Preston Peltier

16.036 = 112.247 MPH

GM Performance Parts Shootout Winner: NONE

 

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