It was with thoughts of Eldora Speedway and the Kings Royal that we made the short drive from the house to Concord Motorsport Park for Saturday night’s ASA Late Model Series Southern Division round.
Our fondness for sprint-car racing is no secret, but for various reasons, we didn’t head to the Buckeye state this year, and instead of staying home and watching another NASCAR parade on the tube, we decided to check out some asphalt late-model action at our neighborhood short track.
Upon arrival just prior to qualifying for the traveling circuit operated by Michigan’s Ron Varney, we felt like we were watching a race at a ghost town. However, as the sun set and the temperature cooled, a decent crowd paying $15 a head filed into the unique tri-angular shaped three-eighths-mile oval.
What they got to see was an entertaining 100-lapper (only green-flag laps counted), that aside from the frequent crashing that seems to dominate all of today’s auto racing, provided an excellent glimpse at the future, past and present of stock-car racing.

“I’ve been racing for more than 30 years, but this year I’ve only raced once, and I’m scared.”

— Butch Miller

The 26-car starting field featured 12 drivers age 19 and younger, including two 14 year olds — Casey Caudill and Logan Ruffin. Also in the field was one of short-track racing’s most successful drivers, 56-year-old Butch Miller, a three-time champion in the now-defunct ASA National Series and a many time NASCAR Craftsman Truck, Nationwide Series and Cup Series starter.
In fact, Miller ended up starting on the front row alongside 15-year-old Drew Brannon, who one week earlier conquered one of the country’s toughest short tracks — I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. — to become the youngest winner in ASALMS history.
Asked about the prospects of racing against so many youngsters, Miller quipped, “I’ve been racing for more than 30 years, but this year I’ve only raced once, and I’m scared.”
Jimmy Lang entered the event having gone three-for-three in the series for the season and was on his way to the front when a flat tire sent him to the rear of the field. The 19-year old fought back to finish third behind Brannon and 25-year-old winner Colt James.
Defending ASA Late Model Series Northern Division champion Trent Snyder, who made the trip from Minnesota, and Southern Division champion Jeff Choquette were each in the field. Snyder, however, did not win the long-tow award, as Scott Rueschenberg, a frequent winner at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park, drove in from Mesa, Ariz., to make his series debut.
Seventeen-year-old female racer Jessica Murphy also made her series debut at Concord.
Outside of Miller, the best-known racer in the field was Hendrick Motorsports development- driver Landon Cassill, who returned to the series that put him on the map and drove to a fifth-place finish.
The well-groomed race cars, which carry GM Crate engines, were lightning quick at the CMP track, with local-racer Preston Peltier, who works as a fabricator at Hendrick Motorsports, setting the fast time with a 16.036-second lap.
Prior to the main event, all of the ASA drivers and their cars were assembled on the frontstretch for a mandatory autograph session.
Race fans of all ages came onto the track to obtain signatures, chat with and have their pictures taken with the drivers. It was particularly entertaining to watch the teenage girls line up to be photographed with their teenaged driving counterparts.
In the end, James, a Texas transplant, who calls nearby Troutman, N.C., home, was a popular and emotional winner after having to pass Brannon twice during the 100-lap distance.
It was a low-key evening with no hassles, no prima donnas and some good old-fashioned fender-to-fender racing.
And it didn’t rain, which it did at Eldora.