MARTEL ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND HOME TURF IN ASA 200

JENNERSTOWN, PA (July 26) … Kyle Martel will be attempting to defend his home turf this Saturday evening when the touring stars of the ASA Late Model Series invade Jennerstown Speedway for the running of the Automotive Resources, Inc AC Delco 200-lap grind.

Martel, who has won twice this season at the Laurel Highlands half-mile paved oval, and is ranked fifth in the Courtesy Suzuki super late model point standings, knows that he has his work cut out for him against the ASA regulars.

“We’ve competed in four ASA races prior to this one (Jennerstown), and to be honest we haven’t done as well as we expected,’ said the Lebanon teenager. “”Many of these guys are my age, but they are racing at different tracks every week, and many of them have ties to NASCAR Nextel Cup teams.

“We are a low-buck weekly team,” he said, “but we are going to give it our best shot and see what happens. If we can qualify well, and start up-front, I think we can be competitive.”

Martel is also looking for a little luck. The past two weeks have found him involved in accidents,, and a month ago he blew his ‘only’ crate engine in the Mid-Atlantic Asphalt Racing Alliance ( MAARA) event at the Motordrome Speedway.

“Right now I’m using a borrowed two-year old motor that was lent to us by Jennerstown Speedway owner Dave Wheeler,” Martel said. “We have a new engine ordered, but if Dave wouldn’t have given us a back-up to use, we would have been on the sidelines.”

Included among the ASA contenders Martel will have to defeat is current point leader Kelly Bires, who has two wins to his credit on the national tour. Other top ASA challengers include Landon Cassill, Chad Wood, Jake Ryan, and Eddie Hoffman.

Joining ASA on Saturday’s race card will be the WJAC-TV late models, Advance Auto Parts street stocks and the hobby stock class, Due to the MAARA race at the Lake Erie Speedway on Sunday  the Courtesy Suzuki super late models will not be in action.

Advance $15.00 discount tickets are still available until Thursday (7/27) on-line at www.jennerstown.com, or by calling1-888 695-0888. Adult admission on Saturday will be $25.00. Kids, age 12 and under, will be admitted free.

Spectator gates open at 2:00 pm, while the first race is set to begin at 5:00. There will be a special ASA on-track autograph session during the evening.

The rain date is Sunday, June 30.

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