ASCS Patriot Point Races Begin and End at Fulton
by: Rich Vleck

TULSA, Okla. (Jan. 5, 2007) - It only makes sense that a series that runs on short tracks would have a schedule that starts and ends at the same point. That is what will happen in 2007, as the first and last ASCS Patriots full point races of the season will take place at New York's Fulton Speedway.

On 5/5, season 5 in the history of the Patriots gets underway at the high-banked, 3/8-mile speedway. It will mark the first time that the Patriots will run at Fulton under the ASCS banner, as well as working with the new ownership and management team of the speedway.

The season openers for the ASCS Patriots the last two seasons have been a good telltale sign into who will end the year as the champion. In 2005, Byran Howland won his first career race at Five Mile Point Speedway and would go on to claim the title. In 2006, Chuck Hebing won at Utica-Rome Speedway and would cruise to the championship.

“The opening event of the season is always crucial,” said ASCS Patriot Director Mike Emhof. “To be at Fulton and work with guys like T.J. Fitzgibbons and Art Halliday to kick off this season is definitely a positive.”

After leaving Fulton in May, the ASCS Patriots will run more than 30 events, including almost 20 full-point shows; but just four months later, the teams will circle the track and return to Fulton for the ASCS Patriot Championship event.

On September 8, the final point race of the season will be run and the fifth champion in ASCS Patriot history will be crowned.

This weekend, formerly reserved for the Bully Hill Nationals, is now going to be the weekend when the checkered flag falls on the championship.

“This is a great way to end our season,” noted Emhof. “Fulton is a great facility and it is a place everyone likes to race at.”

The first four seasons of the ASCS Patriots have seen four different champions, but the leading candidates for the 2007 Championship could perhaps break that trend. The likes of Chuck Hebing, Bryan Howland and George Suprick could be in shape to be the first to win their second title on this Saturday in September.

Each of those three, Hebing, Howland and Suprick, have enjoyed past success at Fulton Speedway.

All of those competitors will be strong, but the only driver to claim victory in a Patriot race at Fulton is Rick Wilson. The “Joyceville Jet” won both ASCS Patriot features at Fulton in 2003 and 2004. He has three overall victories at Fulton and will be a definite threat to three-peat.

Of course, a slew of other driers will be gunning for victories at these events, including Don Adamczyk, Nick Bashford, Geoff Quackenbush and Jared Zimbardi, who are all strong but still are all seeking their first career ASCS Patriot victories.

These two events will be part of the seven-race King of CNY Series Within a Series, which will be released at a later date.

All of the races in between the Fulton events will be released at the O'Reilly Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, OK. For more information on the American Sprint Car Series and the ASCS Patriots, check out their regional page on www.ASCSracing.com.