ASCAR Racing Series
Category | Stock cars |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom (2001–2008) Germany (2001–2003) France (2008) |
Inaugural season | 2001 |
Folded | 2008 |
Constructors | Chevrolet Ford Pontiac |
Tyre suppliers | Goodyear |
Last Drivers' champion | Colin White (2007) |
Last Teams' champion | CWS Racing Chevrolet (2007) |
ASCAR (Anglo-American Stock Car Racing), was a
Constructor cars consisted of NASCAR style Chevrolet, Ford and Pontiac racers with a field that peaked at 37 drivers competing during the 2002 season. John Mickel was the first ever champion with a different driver winning the title over all six-seasons, with Team West-Tec, RML and Torquespeed each winning two drivers championships each. Colin White and John Steward were the only drivers who raced in every season, whilst various drivers from a range of different styles of motorsport competed either single races or single seasons, most notably Colin McRae, Aaron Slight, Jason Plato, Max Papis, and the 2002 champion Nicolas Minassian.
History
The ASCAR Mintex Cup made its debut in 2001 with the first ever race being held at the
The 2002 season saw the peak number of drivers racing in the series with 37 taking part during the year, representing a total of 13 teams. Each race event would partner the
In 2003 the series took on the additional name of "Days of Thunder" after the film of the same name, the season was reduced to 13 rounds spanning over 8 events at both Rockingham and Lausitz. Minassian's replacement at RML, Ben Collins took six race victories, all coming in the final eight rounds of the season. In 2004 the ASCAR label was dropped completely and the series was labelled as the "Days of Thunder Racing Series", the series also dropped the Germany races due to the costs involved and the projected grid numbers of cars willing to make the journey. The season which now ran exclusively from Rockingham was won by Stevie Hodgson of TorqueSpeed.
2005 saw the series renamed once again "Stock Car Speed Association" (SCSA) after a link-up with the
The SCSA name remained for 2007; as part of a new sponsorship deal competitors competed for the 'SCSA MAC Tools V8 Trophy'. On Wednesday 5 September, British motorsport publication Motorsport News reported that the SCSA would come to an end after the final race of this season. However, the teams, and the organisers of the Mac Tools V8 Trophy vowed to continue in 2008, whether as a MSA Sanctioned championship, or just as a "series". The final recognised oval racing season was won by Colin White, with the field reduced once more to seven rounds, competed by only 15 drivers. 2008 heralded a new direction for the series with a focus on road courses due to a lack of dates offered by the oval tracks. The cars ran as part of the VSR Series, with the stock cars known as the VSR V8 Trophy. In 2009 the series joined with CAMSO V8 to form the new European Late Model Series.
Period | Sponsor | Brand |
---|---|---|
2001–2002 | Mintex | ASCAR Mintex Cup |
2003 | No Sponsor | ASCAR Days of Thunder Series |
2004 | No Sponsor | Days of Thunder Racing Series |
2004–2006 | No Sponsor | SCSA (Stock Car Speed Association) |
2007 | Mac Tools | SCSA Mac Tools V8 Trophy |
2008 | Mac Tools | Mac Tools VSR V8 Trophy |
Race days
In 2003 the series took on the additional name of "Days of Thunder" after the film of the same name. This was done as a marketing tool as starting in this year they promoted the series as a day out for all the family and had appearances from bands such as Busted and The Darkness.
Teams and Cars
ASCAR fielded the latest NASCAR Generation 4 variant race machines at the time, a combined field of 5.7 litre V8s tuned to 470 bhp & sporting Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Pontiac Grand Prix body shells.[4]
In 1992, the Gen 4 car arrived at the sport when steel bodies became primarily custom made instead of using stock pieces, and wind tunnels became a staple as teams worked to gain aerodynamics.[5] At racing speeds approaching 200 miles per hour, a modern NASCAR race car can generate enough lift to get airborne if it spins sideways. To keep cars firmly planted, roof flaps were required in 1994.[citation needed]
1994 was also the final year that V6 engines were used in the Busch Series, as many short track series had abandoned six-cylinder engines.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
In 1995, Chevrolet switched back to the Monte Carlo, which started the trend of rounder body shapes in Cup and the then-Busch Series. In 1998, Ford introduced the Taurus, which was the first four-door stock car model approved for NASCAR competition in the modern era.[citation needed]
The Gen 4 car was used full time until 2007, and it was retired in the Cup Series after the 2007 season (in which
In the generation's final years, aerodynamic development led to some of the cars (otherwise known as "offset" bodies) being called "twisted sisters" in reference to the asymmetrical shapes of the car's body. The Car of Tomorrow, by contrast, featured a symmetrical body in order to curb aerodynamic development wars in an attempt to cut costs.
Team | Constructor | Seasons | Championship Wins | Race Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|
Team West-Tec | Chevrolet (2001–2004) Ford (2001–2003) Pontiac (2003–2006) |
2001–2006 | 2 | 21 |
Colin Blower Motorsport | Chevrolet | 2001–2002 | 0 | 0 |
Team Catchpole Racing | Chevrolet | 2001–2006 | 0 | 0 |
Cleland SpeedSport | Chevrolet | 2001 | 0 | 1 |
Oughtred & Harrison | Ford | 2001 | 0 | 0 |
Shear-Speed | Pontiac | 2001–2003 | 0 | 0 |
Streber Motorsport | Pontiac | 2001 | 0 | 0 |
TorqueSpeed | Chevrolet (2001–2005) Ford (2004–2005) |
2001–2005 | 2 | 17 |
Dudman Motorsport | Chevrolet | 2001 | 0 | 0 |
Lee Caroline Racing | Ford | 2001 | 0 | 0 |
Steward Racing | Chevrolet (2001) Ford (2002–2007) |
2001–2007 | 0 | 1 |
CWS Racing | Chevrolet (2001–2007) Pontiac (2005) |
2001–2007 | 1 | 15 |
Michael Smith Racing | Chevrolet | 2001 | 0 | 0 |
TJ Motorsport | Ford | 2001 | 0 | 0 |
Hodgson Motorsport | Chevrolet Pontiac |
2002 | 0 | 2 |
RML Group | Chevrolet | 2002–2003 | 2 | 10 |
Fast-Tec Motorsport | Ford (2002) Pontiac (2003–2005) |
2002–2005 | 0 | 0 |
Deuce Racing | Chevrolet | 2002 | 0 | 0 |
Xcel Motorsport | Ford (2002) Pontiac (2003) |
2002–2003 | 0 | 1 |
Team HTML | Pontiac | 2002–2004 | 0 | 7 |
Kidd-Richardson Racing | Chevrolet | 2003–2005 | 0 | 0 |
Shark Racing | Chevrolet | 2003 | 0 | 0 |
Intersport Racing | Pontiac | 2003–2004 | 0 | 0 |
Team Turn-Four | Chevrolet Ford |
2004 | 0 | 1 |
24-7 Motorsport | Chevrolet | 2004–2005 | 0 | 0 |
Renegade Racing | Chevrolet | 2004 | 0 | 0 |
Kraco Racing | Chevrolet | 2005 | 0 | 0 |
MyOwnRaceTeam | Pontiac | 2005 | 0 | 0 |
Team For Trucks | Ford (2005) Pontiac (2005–2007) |
2005–2007 | 0 | 0 |
Revolution Racing | Chevrolet | 2006–2007 | 0 | 1 |
Team Networking | Chevrolet | 2006–2007 | 0 | 0 |
M-Tec | Chevrolet | 2006 | 0 | 0 |
Team Ranger Racing | Chevrolet | 2007 | 0 | 0 |
CB Racing | Chevrolet | 2007 | 0 | 0 |
Team Air Ambulance | Pontiac | 2007 | 0 | 0 |
KLANN Racing | Chevrolet | 2007 | 0 | 0 |
Drivers
The inaugural championship in 2001 was won by future NASCAR driver John Mickel racing for Torquespeed.[2] In 2002 French driver Nicolas Minassian of RML Group arrived from CART and took the title.[3] Further Champions were Ben Collins in 2003,[13] who also worked as The Stig on Top Gear during his ASCAR tenure,[14] Stevie Hodgson, Michael Vergers, Oli Playle and Colin White.
Although most of the field often included a field of British professional and semi-professional stock car drivers, a number of well-known racing drivers from across a wide variety of series competed, often racing either single races or for one full season. They included former
Notable Drivers
Season | Driver | Team(s) |
---|---|---|
2001 | Amanda Stretton | Team West-Tec |
2001–2004 | Rob Speak | Team West-Tec, Colin Blower Motorsport, Team Turn Four |
2001 | John Cleland | Cleland SpeedSport |
2001 | Tiff Needell | Colin Blower Motorsport |
2001–2005 | Mark Proctor | Oughtred & Harrison, Fast Tec Motorsport |
2001–2005 | John Mickel | TorqueSpeed |
2001–2007 | Colin White | CWS Racing |
2001 | Aaron Slight | TJ Motorsport |
2002 | Kevin McGarrity | Hodgson Motorsport |
2002 | Kelvin Burt | RML Group |
2002 | Nicolas Minassian | RML Group |
2002–2004 | Ben Collins | Fast Tec Motorsport, RML Group, Team Turn Four |
2002 | Paula Cook | Fast Tec Motorsport |
2002 | Randy Tolsma | Deuce Racing |
2002 | Brandon Whitt | Deuce Racing |
2002 | Toby Scheckter | Deuce Racing |
2002–2003 | Derek Hayes | Deuce Racing, Team West-Tec, Team HTML |
2002 | Colin McRae | Xcel Motorsport |
2002 | Darren Manning | Xcel Motorsport |
2002 | Matt Neal | Xcel Motorsport |
2002 | Jason Plato | Xcel Motorsport |
2002 | Darren Turner | Team HTML |
2003 | Steve Grissom | RML Group |
2003– | Andrew Kirkaldy | Xcel Motorsport |
2003 | Kieran Dynes | Scott Racing Services |
2003 | Max Papis | Team HTML |
2004, 2006 | Steve Dance | TorqueSpeed, Team Catchpole Racing |
2004 | Chris Harris | TorqueSpeed |
2005 | Gavin Seager | Kidd Richardson Racing |
2005–2006 | Hunter Abbott | TorqueSpeed, Steward Racing |
2006–2007 | Pete Wilkinson | Team Ranger Racing |
2006 | Paul Poulter | Steward Racing |
2007–2008 | Carl Boardley | CB Racing |
Nationalities
The nationalities of every driver who participated in an ASCAR race from 2001 to 2007.
Country | Drivers |
---|---|
United Kingdom | 70 |
United States of America
|
4 |
Australia France Republic of Ireland |
2 |
Colombia Germany India Italy Netherlands New Zealand South Africa Sweden |
1 |
Previous champions
Year | # | Driver | Points | Team | Constructor | Wins in Season |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007
|
78 | Colin White | 1940 | CWS Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
2006
|
88 | Oli Playle | 1985 | Team West-Tec | Pontiac | 8 |
2005
|
28 | Michael Vergers | 2245 | Team West-Tec | Pontiac | 3 |
2004
|
24 | Stevie Hodgson | 2010 | TorqueSpeed | Chevrolet | 2 |
2003
|
84 | Ben Collins
|
2299 | RML | Chevrolet | 6 |
2002
|
8 | Nicolas Minassian | 2535 | RML | Chevrolet | 1 |
2001
|
24 | John Mickel | 860 | TorqueSpeed | Chevrolet | 2 |
Tracks
Between 2004 and 2007 all of the ASCAR races were held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in England. The circuit was overlooked by the 6280 seat Rockingham Building, a steel-framed, glass-fronted grandstand building containing suites, offices, bars and kitchens, and by four grandstands. Together the building and grandstands offered a total seating capacity of 52,000. The inner pit and paddock complex was accessed from the Rockingham Building via two pedestrian tunnels and there was a further spectator viewing area on top of the pit garages. The 1.48 mile American-style banked oval circuit was 18.3 metres (60.0 ft) wide and had a maximum bank angle of seven degrees and comprised four very distinct corners. Rockingham's oval was unique in the UK and one of only two speedways in Europe (the other is Lausitzring). The oval circuit could also be converted to a road course layout for events by positioning temporary chicanes and curves both on the main area and apron of the circuit.
In 2002 and 2003 the series also raced in
Circuit | Years | Races | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Rockingham Motor Speedway | 2001–2007 | 72 | Rockingham ran as the sole circuit for the entire series from 2004 to 2007. |
EuroSpeedway Lausitz
|
2001–2003 | 7 | Lausitz was scheduled for 2001 but cancelled, it later hosted races in 2002 and 2003 before being dropped from the calendar. |
Knockhill Racing Circuit
|
2001 | 0 | The event at Knockhill was cancelled and removed from the calendar due to a fuel pickup issue. |
Mondello Park | 2001 | 0 | The event at Mondello Park was cancelled and removed from the calendar due to a fuel pickup issue. |
Snetterton Circuit | 2008 | 4 | The final season of competition saw the series run as a road racing championship. |
Cadwell Park | 2008 | 1 | The final season of competition saw the series run as a road racing championship. |
Lydden Hill Race Circuit | 2008 | 1 | The final season of competition saw the series run as a road racing championship. |
Brands Hatch | 2008 | 3 | The final season of competition saw the series run as a road racing championship. |
Circuit de Croix-en-Ternois | 2008 | 1 | The final season of competition saw the series run as a road racing championship. |
Mallory Park | 2008 | 1 | The final season of competition saw the series run as a road racing championship. |
Television coverage
In the
List of race winners
Wins | Driver | Seasons competed |
---|---|---|
13 | Colin White | 2001–2007 |
10 | Oli Playle | 2003–2006 |
9 | Ian McKellar Jr. | 2002–2005 |
Michael Vergers | 2001, 2003–2005 | |
7 | Ben Collins | 2002–2004 |
6 | Darren Turner | 2002 |
5 | John Mickel | 2001–2005 |
3 | Kelvin Burt | 2002 |
Stevie Hodgson | 2002–2005 | |
2 | Kevin McGarrity | 2002 |
Roland Rehfeld | 2002–2003 | |
Hunter Abbott | 2005–2007 | |
1 | John Steward | 2001–2007 |
Rob Speak | 2001–2004 | |
Nicolas Minassian | 2002 | |
Darren Manning | 2002 | |
Lee O'Keefe | 2002, 2006–2007 | |
Mark Willis | 2004, 2006–2007 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "ASCAR: Rockingham race report".
- ^ a b "ASCAR: John Mickel Rockingham race report". 22 November 2001.
- ^ a b "Nicolas Minassian Q&A". 13 June 2003.
- ^ a b "MAC TOOLS V8 Trophy Stock Cars Stock Car Speed Association, Thunder Racing".
- ^ Weaver, Matt (May 6, 2021). "NASCAR Generations". Autoweek.com.
- ^ "Resin NASCAR Buick/Chevy V6 Busch Grand National Engine | #443476133".
- ^ "1994 Chevrolet Lumina NASCAR | F260 | Kissimmee 2012".
- ^ "When Did V8 Engine Replace V6 in Busch Grand National? – McNally Institute".
- ^ "No Reserve: 1994 Chevrolet Lumina Busch Series Race Car Project". 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Buick: Racing's forgotten (V-6!) juggernaut". 5 August 2019.
- ^ "Chevy 4.3L 262ci V-6 - Engine Build - Overview - Tech - Hot Rod Magazine". 18 July 2014.
- ^ "Popular Mechanics". Hearst Magazines. May 1997.
- ^ "ASCAR: Ben Collins Rockingham notes 2003-07-29". 30 July 2003.
- ^ "Former Top Gear Stig Ben Collins Reveals All in Hilarious Reddit Open Thread". 18 May 2015.
- ^ "McRae to race ASCAR at Rockingham". 9 September 2002.
- ^ "Max Papis will run UK's ASCAR series". 29 May 2003.
- ^ "BTCC race-winner Kelvin Burt to return to FF1600 in Walter Hayes Trophy". 22 October 2021.
- ^ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Darren Manning profile". 6 September 2002.
- ^ "Slight to race in UK".
- ^ "BARC - Rockingham - 12th/14th September - 2002 :: Timing Solutions Ltd".
- ^ "ASCAR: Brandon Whitt to compete in final two races". October 2002.
- ^ "2003 ASCAR Championship Rockingham, England. 11th May 2003. Steve Grissom World Copyright: John Colley/LAT Photographic ref: Digital Image Only | 2003 ASCAR Championship | Motorsport Images".
- ^ "A switch of car for Plato". 22 February 2002.
- ^ https://www.pressreader.com/uk/autosport-uk/20180719/283008285551077 – via PressReader.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Chris Harris (UK)/Results/2004 - the Third Turn".
- ^ "ASCAR: Rockingham finale report".
- ^ "ASCAR: Toby Scheckter signs with ASCAR". 12 April 2002.