In what seemed to be an eternity, due to various circumstances, A.J. was finally able to complete his first ASA Late Model Series race. To recap- It was little over a year ago when A.J. made his debut with the ASALMS at New Smyrna Speedway in 2007. His night would end prematurely when a competitor was the cause of a severely damaged car early in the event that prevented A.J. from finishing the race . After making all necessary repairs, the team headed to the 2007 SGMP event where A.J. was unable to compete when his transmission failed in a late practice round and a replacement was not available. It was then off to the 2007 ASALMS event at DeSoto Speedway where once again, A.J. was unable to compete but this time it was due to an altercation that ensued between an ASALMS official and the track owner that abruptly ended all racing action for that event. Thinking that things would get better in 2008, the team loaded up and headed to Cordele for their first ASALMS race of the year only to find that after a successful practice session the night before, all reports by local and national weather authorities indicated that strong storms were eminent throughout the entire day of the scheduled event . Early on race morning, the team made the executive decision to head back home under very threatening skies. In doing so, the team headed straight to New Smyrna Speedway that evening in order to prepare for the next scheduled ASALMS event. The team was later dismayed to learn that the Cordele race did in fact take place�so much for Super Duper Doppler systems and weather experts(?). Next on the schedule, the 17 team was in attendance at the following 2008 ASALMS event at New Smyrna Speedway, and as luck would have it, the race was rained out. So- by now, it�s easy to see that by completing this 2008 ASALMS Concord event, the team feels like they finally have a sense of accomplishment by overcoming the somewhat bizarre series of occurrences that have kept them from competing in past ASALMS events.

Upon arriving at Concord Motorsport Park, this would be the first time that anyone on the team has ever been to this facility. Unfamiliar with the track known as �The World�s Fastest � Mile Tri-Oval�, A.J. was able to quickly adapt and deliver decent lap times during practice despite rolling out for each session on tires that already had over 100 laps on them before they ever met the CMP asphalt. When qualifying time came, A.J. would secure a 14th place starting position of 26 entries by posting only a .258 second difference of the fastest qualifier. By indication of how close the top qualifying times were along with the tight and tricky configuration of the track, this race would soon prove be eventful. When the green flag flew, A.J. would find himself on the brakes almost as long as he was on the gas by the end of lap 1, and once again, he would have to rely on his concentration and skill to avoid the massive pileup that was taking place right in front of him. There would end up being a total of 9 cautions on this night and A.J. was able to navigate himself through several instances without sustaining any considerable damage. Even so, a last minute decision to �tighten� the car before qualifying, came back to haunt the team mid way through the race when the handling started going away and slight contact was made with the turn 4 outside wall. Despite this, A.J. was able to hold on until the end and bring home a 13th place finish at the checkers. Though there wasn�t anything very spectacular to report on, the team was glad to return back home to Florida with minimal damage and is looking forward to building on the experience that A.J. has acquired by completing his first ASALMS race. With a few more of these events under his belt, the team is confident that A.J. will soon be a force to be reckoned with !! Stay tuned.....