All things USPRO Cup Series for the upcoming 2008 racing season.
By Matt Prieur-ASA Late Model Series
Lexington, Michigan (01/24/2008): The ASA Late Model Series Presented by GM Performance Parts is proud to announce the return of the USPRO Cup Series to full-time status for the upcoming 2008 racing season.
Three races were held in 2007 in a sneak preview as to what is in store for the revamped USPRO Cup Series in 2008. The Sneak Peek races held in 2007 offered a chance for some very talented drivers looking to travel with a full-time series to show their skills while at the same time, not break the bank to do so.
While final details for the 2008 racing season are still in the works with regards to entire 2008 USPRO Cup Series season, the ASALMS is looking at reduced Features for the USPRO cars in 2008 with 50-75 lap events depending on the size of the hosting facilities and the nature of the event.
The series will reinstate the Two (2) Tire rule throughout the 2008 campaign while Payouts, Purses, and the 2008 USPRO Cup Series Section of the Rulebook will all be available by Monday February 4, 2008.
The USPRO Cup Series will be a support division to the ASALMS Challenge and Northern Divisions in races conducted in the series home state of Michigan as well as the surrounding states of Ohio and parts of Indiana and Illinois in 2008. There is the possibility for one stand alone event and that will be determined in the very near future.
In addition, the USPRO Cup Series now has several web pages dedicated to just the 2008 season within the USPRO Cup Series. They are all located within the ASALMS Northern Division website and have been reserved exclusively for the USPRO Cup Series. You can get to those pages by clicking on the following links:
For Press Releases pertaining to the USPRO Cup Series, go to:
http://www.asalatemodelsnorth.com/index.php?cat=13
For the 2008 USPRO Cup Series Schedule and Race Event Information, go to:
http://www.asalatemodelsnorth.com/index.php?page_id=1058
Finally for the 2008 USPRO Cup Series Points Standings, click on this link:
http://www.asalatemodelsnorth.com/index.php?page_id=1059
To register for the upcoming 2008 season within the USPRO Cup Series, you’ll need to download the 2008 ASALMS License Application and Registration Forms, which are all available with sections for the USPRO Cup Series.
These forms will continue to be available throughout the 2008 season You can download those forms by clicking on the link provided: http://www.asalatemodels.com/Downloads/200...pplication2.pdf
To view the Registered Teams for the upcoming 2008 season, the Sixth Year of racing for the ASALMS, and see what numbers are still available within the USPRO Cup Series, (Those numbers already reserved are located at the bottom of the list), click on the link provided: http://www.asalatemodels.com/story.asp?StoryID=7429
To download the 2008 ASA Late Model Series Rulebook, click on the link provided: http://www.asalatemodelsnorth.com/pdfs/08rulebook_01.pdf
The 2008 USPRO Cup Series Section of the Rulebook will be available by Monday February 4, 2008.
The 2008 season opener for the USPRO Cup Series will be on Friday and Saturday April 11-12, 2008 as the fast 0.500 Mile High-Banked Paved Oval of the Toledo (OH) Speedway, located right on the Michigan/Ohio state line in Toledo, Ohio will host the triumphant return of the USPRO Cup Series with the running of the Welcome Back / Glass Breaker 75.
The USPRO Cup Series teams will join the ASALMS Northern Division, who will serve as headliners for the weekend with their 2008 Season Opener, the Glass Breaker 125.
The Welcome Back / Glass Breaker 75 Entry Forms will be available beginning on Wednesday March 26, 2008. Joining the ASALMS Northern Division and USPRO Cup Series will be the O’Reilly Auto Parts USA Modifieds Series.
Here is the current schedule for the USPRO Cup Series for the 2008 racing season. The USPRO schedule is TENTATIVE and SUBJECT TO CHANGE at the discretion of the ASALMS and is as of Thursday January 24, 2008.
2008 USPRO Cup Series Schedule
1. FRI/SAT April 11-12 Toledo Speedway-Toledo, OH
2. SAT April 26 O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis-Clermont, IN
3. SUN May 25 Grundy County Speedway-Morris, IL
4. SAT June 14 Berlin Raceway-Marne, MI
5. TO BE ANNOUNCED / TO BE ANNOUNCED
6. TO BE ANNOUNCED / TO BE ANNOUNCED
7. SAT August 16 Dixie Motor Speedway-Birch Run, MI
Just like in all three divisions of the ASALMS, there will be a 2008 USPRO Cup Series Champion and Rookie of the Year at the conclusion of the season and they will be honored at the 2008 ASALMS Awards Banquet and Weekend of Champions along with the top drivers in the final points standings. The number of teams honored will be determined during the season.
In addition and for future seasons, drivers who make the transition from the USPRO Cup Series to one of the three divisions within the ASALMS, will be eligible for the respective Rookie of the Year titles providing they fall under the guidelines set forth for Rookie Eligibility under the ASALMS.
All 2008 USPRO Cup Series Drivers, Owners, Sponsors, and Teams; Please view your Driver Profile on the ASALMS Driver Profiles Page: http://www.asalatemodels.com/driver.asp
If you are a registered driver for the upcoming 2008 season in the USPRO Cup Series and need your profile updated as well as be included in the “Meet the USPRO Teams” Feature, please send those updates to the ASA Late Model Series, the sanctioning body of the USPRO Cup Series.
You can send your updates by using the form provided. Just copy and paste into your writing program:
http://www.asalatemodels.com/story.asp?StoryID=7517
Then send those completed forms to the e-mail address provided: mprieur@asalatemodels.com
In those three events conducted in 2007 and in unofficial points standings that were tabulated, Richmond, Michigan veteran, Bob Varney accumulated the most points earned based on the current ASALMS points system.
The 38-year-old, one of the original members of that USPRO Cup Series Class of 2003, showed the potential of the returning series and the excitement that the series will surely bring in 2008. Varney led all 50 laps of the Winchester / Sneak Peek 50 on Saturday October 13, 2007 at the famed high-banks of the Winchester (IN) Speedway in Winchester, Indiana.
Here is a look back at the three USPRO Cup Series races conducted in 2007 including the rained out show at one of the founding tracks from that 2003 season, the Owosso (MI) Speedway. Plus the two Sneak Preview races at the Winchester Speedway.
Race #1; Owosso / Sneak Peek 35-Saturday August 18, 2007; Owosso (MI) Speedway-Ovid, Michigan.
Mother Nature paid a visit to the historic 0.375 Mile High-Banked Paved Oval in Ovid, Michigan and would unfortunately take all of the racing action including the return of the USPRO Cup Series and its’ returning event!
Before the rains came, in USPRO Cup Series Qualifying, one of the original USPRO Cup Series members from the inaugural 2003 season, Saginaw, Michigan Driver, Shaun Whitney in his Teamtech Motorsports / Chevrolet Monte Carlo turned in the fastest lap of the day as he toured the Mid-Michigan speed plant at a 15.473 which equals out to 93.065 MPH.
13 teams signed in for the return of the series as 2007 Bollhoff Rivnut Super Pro Series Champion, Tommy Cook was second quick and was followed by Dave Gentile Jr., Dennis Rederstorf, and Josh Nelms, the Top Five.
Race #2; Winchester / Sneak Peek 35-Monday September 3, 2007; Winchester (IN) Speedway-Winchester, Indiana.
In the first official race for the USPRO Cup Series in their Sneak Preview 2007 season, Fort Wayne, Indiana veteran, Al Cook Jr., took the win in the USPRO Cup Series Winchester/Sneak Peek 35 Part One held over the Labor Day Holiday Weekend over a slim Seven-Car field.
After Fast Qualifier, Jason Dietsch scrapped the wall trying to pass Cook Jr., for the lead and fell out of the race, Cook Jr., would check out on the rest of the field and easily steer his Bollhoff Rivnut Incorporated / Pontiac Grand Prix into victory lane after winning the USPRO Cup Series Winchester/Sneak Peek 35 Part One.
Tommy Cook fought off a hard-charging Bob Varney to finish second while Varney settled for third. Bob Sibila Jr., came home fourth as 17-year-old Royce Mason II completed the Top Five. Jason Dietsch established the USPRO Cup Series Track Record with a 16.421, which measures out to a fast 109.616 MPH.
Race #3; Winchester / Sneak Peek 50-Saturday October 13, 2007; Winchester (IN) Speedway-Winchester, Indiana.
In the final Sneak Peek race of the 2007 season for the USPRO Cup Series, and in a caution free 50-lap affair at the historic high-banks in Eastern Indiana; Richmond, Michigan veteran, Bob Varney overtook Pole-Sitter and Fast Qualifier, Michael Gaier on the opening lap and pulled away from the rest of the pack to score the Feature win in his R.V. Performance / Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Varney led all 50 laps for the convincing win as Wes Griffith Jr., finished a season high second after a miserable 2007 season in ASALMS North competition while Labor Day USPRO Feature Winner, Al Cook Jr., recorded the final podium finish in third. Kevin Todd finished a solid fourth over 17-year-old Royce Mason II who rounded out the Top Five. 11 cars participated in the final 2007 Sneak Preview race for the USPRO Cup Series.
Gaier won the USPRO Cup Series Fast Qualifier Award with a lap time of a 16.170 which measures out to 111.317 MPH. The Coldwater, Michigan driver shattered the previous USPRO Cup Series track record by nearly .3 tenths of a second, which was held by Jason Dietsch back on Labor Day Weekend.
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For more information about the 2008 racing seasons within all four divisions of the ASALMS, you can call the ASALMS home offices during normal business hours Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (EST) at: 1 (800) 385-2503.
You can also log onto any of the three websites. For the Challenge Division, go to: http://www.asalatemodels.com
For the Northern Division and USPRO Cup Series, log in at: http://www.asalatemodelsnorth.com and finally for the Southern Division click on: http://www.asalatemodelssouth.com