Arnheiter wins 2003 ASC championship

David Arnheiter crowned 2003 American Stockcar Challenge (ASC) Champion.

With a 500 points lead over the next finisher, David Arnheiter (Ideco Inc. Ford Thunderbird) of Los Alamitos, CA left no doubt who the 2003 American Stockcar Challenge champion is. Despite one of the most competitive seasons ever, Arnheiter's strategy paid off and a string of victories in the second half of the season proved that he could not only finish consistently, but win races as well.

"My crew chief Craig (Brinegar) and I set up a strategy to make minor improvements every race and it worked" said the newly crowned champion. Having finished third in the 2002 championship, Arnheiter and Brinegar are not new to this series nor championships. In 1988, Arnheiter won the Gold Coast KT100 karting championship which introduced him to car racing.

Rounding out the podium was the Team Arizona stronghold led by Steve Carvajal (Team Arizona Chevrolet Monte Carlo) of El Paso, TX followed by Ken Stinnett (Team Arizona Chevrolet Monte Carlo) of Phoenix, AZ. Throughout the season, this trio thrilled spectators and fans alike by providing some of the closest battles in the history of this series.

This marks the third year of this semi-professional road racing series which is hosted by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) and the 2003 schedule called for 20 races held over 10 weekends throughout West Coast tracks such as Infineon/Sears Point, Thunderhill, Buttonwillow, Willow Springs, and Las Vegas Speedway. Most of the races were held jointly with ProTrucks which added to the close on track battles. But the year was not without it's share of tragedy when ASC driver Bill Blauvelt was fatally injured during a race.

Over the years, this series has continued to gain momentum as more and more teams recognize the potential for extremely close racing at reasonable budgets. This spec series features late model stockcars powered by identically sealed GM ZZ4 crate motors, spec Goodyear tires and minimum weight requirements. By theoretically equalizing the cars, the emphasis is on driving ability rather than large budgets. This format has proven to be quite successful judging from the roster of drivers who come from states as far as Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. And with their backgrounds in ASA, Southwest Tour, Winston West, regional late models, FIA, SCCA's World Challenge, Porsche Club Racing and local club racing, the racing is always exciting.

To find out more about ASC, visit the official website at: Ascracing.com

2003 American Stockcar Challenge Championship:
1 David Arnheiter:1485
2 Steve Carvajal: 963
3 Ken Stinnett: 956
4 Brian Colodny: 715
5 Jerry Brown: 660
6 Jeff Glowniak: 600
7 Michael Arnheiter: 530
8 Alan Huston: 470
9 Manuel Gil Del Real: 440
10 Tom Waters: 347
11 Ed Ochylski: 315
12 Bill Blauvelt: 303
13 Scott Ivie: 170
14 Chris Strom: 144
15 Mike Carson: 138
16 Tom Tabor: 115
17 Ross Thompson:100
18 Ben Branton: 70
19 Scott Rueschenberg: 69

-asc-