I-70's High Banks set for June event

I-70's High Banks await ASA warriors

Pendleton, Ind. (May 28, 2003) -- For the 28th time in the 35-plus-year history of the series that build champions, the ASA Racing Series will compete on the high banks of I- 70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. The Missouri 250 Presented by Jani-King is set for Saturday, June 14, the seventh event of ASA's 17-race 2003 schedule of championship stock car racing.

In the 2002 stop at I-70 Speedway, eventual series champion Joey Clanton continued his impressive performance by winning for the seventh time that season. Clanton passed three-time ASA champion Butch Miller with 11 circuits remaining in the Missouri 300 Presented by Jani-King and Price Chopper, finishing .350 seconds ahead of David Stremme in the No. 11 Meijer Chevrolet.

The week before, in the Minnesota Governor's Cup 300 at Elko Speedway, Clanton passed Mike Garvey with three laps remaining to record his sixth checkered flag of the season.

At I-70, Clanton chased Miller for 77 laps, searching for a way around the No. 04 ASI Limited Chevrolet. On several occasions, Clanton got to the inside of Miller, but was unable to complete the race-winning pass until there were just 11 laps remaining. Going into Turn 1, Clanton got a fender inside of Miller and coming off the second corner, the two touched. Miller slid high, which allowed Clanton and Stremme to get past.

At the checkers, it was Clanton winning by .350 seconds over Stremme with Miller, Kyle Busch and polesitter Robbie Pyle rounding out the top five finishers. Kevin Cywinski, the 1997 series champ, crossed the line in sixth position followed by Garvey, Chris Wimmer, two-time ASA champion Gary St. Amant and rookie Pat Kelly.

Clanton said he then lost a lot of track position by pitting late following a red flag on lap 161. Russ Tuttle's car made heavy contact with the front straight retaining wall, blocking the track and bringing out the red.

"We worked hard all night," added Clanton. "At the end, I kept trying to get inside Butch and he kept closing the door. Finally, I got inside and he came down a little and we touched."

Practice for the Missouri 250 Presented by Jani-King is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 14. Pole qualifying is set for 5 with the autograph session taking place at 7:45. The Missouri 250 Presented by Jani-King goes green at 9 p.m. (Central)

Tickets are available through the ASA office at a cost of $25 for general admission seats. Discounts are available when purchasing in advance. For additional information, contact the ASA ticket line at 1-888-ASA-1020.

For additional information on the ASA Racing Series visit asaracing.com.

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