IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY: DEFENDING CHAMP TAKES ASA OPENER.Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer IRWINDALE - Experience pays off. And so does a little advice. Defending American Speed Association The American Speed Association (ASA) was a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States from 1968 until its demise in 2004 due to financial problems. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana. champion Gary St. Amant took Irwindale Speedway's high road en route to victory in the $274,810 tires.com 300 on Saturday night. With a cold breeze chilling the 5,150 fans in the 2001 Irwindale opener, and with the nation looking on at the speedway's first live telecast, St. Amant held off another former champion, Kevin Cywinski Kevin Cywinski, born March 16, 1965 in Mosinee, Wisconsin, is a former NASCAR driver. He competed in the Craftsman Truck Series full-time in 1998 and 1999, as well as some races in the Busch Series. After leaving NASCAR, he went back down to the short-track ranks. , who tried to go inside of St. Amant in the final 65 laps. Another veteran, three-time champion Butch Miller Butch Miller could be:
St. Amant, driving a Chevrolet, won the $23,580 first-place prize, the eighth-highest payout in ASA Asa (ā`sə), in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa bought the help of Benhadad of Damascus and history. He says he took advice from sometime-Irwindale competitor Dan Holtz of Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). . Holtz has a driving school at Mesa Marin and competes in Super Late Model races there. ``He was telling me to run the outside line,'' St. Amant said. ``I knew I could run high and deeper into the corners. I was finding that the car was pulling better outside. It was real loose early on, but we got it adjusted.'' In ways, the race resembled NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Winston Cup restrictor-plate racing. There was not a change for the on-the-track lead until lap 252, when Cywinski, from Wausau, Wis adv. 1. Certainly; really; indeed. v. t. 1. To think; to suppose; to imagine; - used chiefly in the first person sing. present tense, I wis. See the Note under Ywis. ., went inside St. Amant, from Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital and the largest city of the American state of Ohio. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. , to take the lead. Four laps later, St. Amant, who has 15 ASA victories, catapulted back into the lead out of turn 4. Moments later, a spin brought out the yellow flag for the 10th of 11 times. That allowed St. Amant to regain a car-length lead. After rookie Ed Brown of Leesburg, Fla., brushed the wall for the final caution on lap 270, Cywinski was never able to seriously challenge St. Amant along that inside line. St. Amant's lead was less than half a second with 30 laps to go, but with five to go it increased to 0.713 seconds. He won by 0.923 seconds. ``I'm not sure I could have gotten by Gary,'' said Cywinski, who took over the series points lead. ``I'm not quite sure I could have gotten up front after he passed me the second time. I needed to get in front of Gary and all I could do was get by his side.'' St. Amant, who started fifth, made it through the race on one pit stop, taking fuel and right-side tires on lap 150. ``That's where we won the race,'' he said. ``We pitted at the right time and our crew did a heck heck interj. Used as a mild oath. n. Slang Used as an intensive: had a heck of a lot of money; was crowded as heck. [Alteration of hell. of a job. It was a good call.'' Cywinski, starting second, led the first 88 laps and made two pit stops. Miller, who started on the pole, never led a lap. He spun on lap 160, sending him to the back of the pack. ``We pitted 30 times,'' he joked of his team's numerous pit stops. ``Finally, with 80 laps to go, we said, `The heck with it.' '' The racing was hard and close. Cywinski could easily have nudged St. Amant out of the way going through the turns. But he didn't. |
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