Andrew
Weldon to Debut in ASA Late Model Challenge Series
Indianapolis, Ind. (July 28, 2006) -
In a late week change of schedule, SS Racing announced that Andrew
Weldon will pilot the no. 07 SS Racing Development Chevrolet for the
Automotive Resources/AC-Delco Challenge
200 at Jennerstown Speedway in Jennerstown, Penn. this Saturday July
29th. It will be Andrew Weldon’s first-ever attempt in
the ASA Late Model Challenge division. He has primarily been racing
in the ASA Late Model Southern Division and weekly races at Illiana
Speedway. President of SS Racing, Ken Smith, and Crew Chief Butch
Miller, made the call this week to take Weldon and the team to the
televised premier ASA Late Model Racing Division.
“I am very thankful to Butch and Ken
for giving me the call to run this race,” said Weldon, the 23-year
old racer from Thornbury Township, Penn. “At the start of the year
one of my goals was to eventually race a challenge event. I was
preparing to head off to Illiana this weekend and then Butch called
and asked if I would be OK with changing plans and going to
Jennerstown. I don’t think he was able to finish his sentence
before I yelled out my reply of Yes! To be running in a challenge
event in my hometown state is very exciting.”
Weldon signed with SS Racing at the
start of the 2006 season as a developmental driver. The team has
competed in eight races so far. Four have been in the ASA Late
Model Southern Division and four at Illiana Speedway. The team’s
record worst is a 19th place finish at Five Flags
Speedway early in the season. Their best finish was a recent win at
Illiana Speedway, which came on Andrew’s 23rd birthday.
It was his first racing career victory.
Weldon’s is in his freshman year of
racing pavement stock cars. According to his crew chief (Miller)
he’s a fast learner and a dedicated driver. “Andrew really wants to
learn,” said Miller. “He listens and he applies what he learns very
quickly. He is dedicated to supporting his team and crew both on
and off the track. Those are characteristics that will take him a
long ways in racing.”
Prior to his signing with SS Racing
Weldon was driving sprint cars on a limited budget and self run
team. He competed as a rookie in the 2005 Jasper Sprint Series at
Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. Now he’ll return to his hometown
state of Pennsylvania to run the biggest race of yet of his budding
career. On top of racing in one of the nations toughest late model
series, he’ll have little added pressure for this event. Many of
his family and friends will be in attendance to cheer on their
favorite driver.
“My parents, my sisters and my
girlfriend are coming out so I hope to show them a good race,”
commented Weldon. “Also, my friend Mike who races Sprint Cars with
me has offered to come out and help with the crew. It’s great to
have so many people supporting my racing efforts.”
The ASA Challenge Series is recognized
for its tough competition. The SS Racing team and Andrew know they
have their work cut out for them. Weldon has never raced at
Jennerstown. And he’s never run a race over 100 laps. This one is
twice as long at 200 laps. But the team is ready to tackle the
event. Jennerstown Speedway has similar characteristics to Illiana
Speedway. The team has been consistently good at Illiana and they
hope to carry over that success to Jennerstown.
“I feel good and confident right now,”
said Weldon. “I know the competition is going to be much stronger
than what I’ve been up against so far. I don’t expect to win, but I
do feel that we can be competitive and run a clean race to a top ten
or maybe even a top five if all goes well.”
Catch Andrew Weldon at Jennerstown
Speedway in his ASA Late Model Challenge Series Debut. The green
flag is scheduled to drop at 6pm EST. This event will be televised
and will air later this fall on the MEN’s Outdoor Channel and IDRIVE
Network. For more event info visit
www.asalatemodels.com.
Keep up to date on all the latest news
and results from Jennerstown and Andrew Weldon at
www.SSRacingOnline.com
