From Lonnie Wheatley, photo courtesy of John’s Racing Photos
TULSA, Okla. (October 28, 2009) – New Mexico’s Rick Ziehl proved to be Mr. Versatile in the Southwest by winning the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Wing vs. Non-Wing Challenge Series title, collecting the $1,200 bonus that goes along with the title.
With the series spanning eight events among both the winged ASCS Southwest Region and the wingless Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region, the Las Cruces racer put the finishing touches on the Challenge title with a third-place run in Saturday night’s ASCS Southwest main event at Tucson’s USA Raceway.
While Mother Nature nixed a pair of the eight scheduled events, five different drivers topped at least one of the Challenge events with Ziehl the only driver to rack up a pair of wins.
Finishing off the podium just once in the six events, Ziehl scored a winged ASCS Southwest win on July 4 and then added a wingless ASCS Canyon Region victory on September 6. Other Challenge feature event winners included Charles Davis, Jr., and R.J. Johnson in wingless action along with Ben Gregg and Johnny Herrera in winged competition.
A total of $3,000 will be distributed among the five drivers that competed in all six rounds of the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Wing vs. Non-Wing Challenge, including points runner-up Ronnie Clark ($600), third-place finisher Joshua Hodges ($500), fourth-ranked Charles Davis, Jr. ($400) and fifth-ranked Mike Martin ($300).
Final Discount Tire Co. ASCS Wing vs. Non-Wing Challenge Series Points (Top Eight):
1. Rick Ziehl (Las Cruces, NM) 848
2. Ronnie Clark (Tucson, AZ) 806
3. Joshua Hodges (Tijeras, NM) 770
4. Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) 761
5. Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ) 725
6. R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ) 570
7. Jessica Van Dyke (Tucson, AZ) 522
8. Andrew Reinbold (Gilbert, AZ) 448
Discount Tire Co. ASCS Wing vs. Non-Wing Challenge Series Winners:
Date – Track (Region) – Winner
May 23 Hollywood Hills Speedway (Canyon Region) – Rained Out
May 24 Hollywood Hills Speedway (Canyon Region) – Charles Davis, Jr.
July 4 USA Raceway (Southwest) – Rick Ziehl
September 5 USA Raceway (Canyon Region) – Rained Out
September 6 USA Raceway (Canyon Region) – Rick Ziehl
September 19 USA Raceway (Southwest) – Ben Gregg
October 10 USA Raceway (Canyon Region) – R.J. Johnson
October 24 USA Raceway (Southwest Region) – Johnny Herrera
While the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Wing vs. Non-Wing Challenge Series is in the books, the ASCS Canyon and Southwest Regions still have some unfinished business with both series titles to be determined at the upcoming 42nd Annual Kronik Energy Western World Championships presented by Old Tucson Studios at Tucson’s USA Raceway on November 19-21.
Charles Davis, Jr., takes a 40-point lead over R.J. Johnson into the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region portion of the Western World, while Ziehl’s advantage over Ben Gregg in the ASCS Southwest title race is just a dozen points.
The ASCS Southwest Region takes on the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters contenders for the $15,000-to-win winged portion of the Western World, with the wingless ASCS Canyon Region portion of the Western World offering up $5,000 to win.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.