2021 Craftsman Series Driver Introductions

## **#1 Keon McDavid | Age: 26**

Hometown: Miami, FL

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: OneMain Financial (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 top 5, 3 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 3 ASCA Next Class Member

Season 7 marks the make or breaking point of Keon McDavid’s career. The now 26 year old showed flashes of his true potential last season, especially with his 3rd place run at Denver, but despite this still finished 12th in points with 5 DNF’s during the campaign. The former Citibank star has been given extra time to develop on Ronnie Woods Motorsports to suit his slow learning curve, but at age 26 with zero top 10 points finishes to this point in his career, its become put up or shut up time. If McDavid can’t put it all together in S7, expect a new face behind the wheel of this #1 machine in S8.

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## **#2 Cameron Barrymore (R) | Age: 20**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Rheem (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: Best Finish | 18th (1 Start)

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 3 ASCA Next Class Member

For Cameron Barrymore, Season 7 will be a culmination of all the hard work the younger brother of Cup star Chris Barrymore has put in to get to this point. The former ASCA Next member has had multiple offers from the Ford Development Program to make starts in their #60 car, one in S4 and another offer in S5, but opted to turn both down because he didn’t want to be in his older brother’s shadow and wanted to “work his way to the top.” Barrymore continued to race at the local ranks, building up his racing pedigree until Snoots Enterprises took notice and signed him to a development contract for S6. With Tico Bowden Motorsports selling all their Craftsman Series assets, Snoots Enterprises jumped on the opportunity to buy off the #2 team and give Barrymore the full time opportunity he’s always dreamed of. The question now becomes, is the 20 year old ready for the pressures of Craftsman Series racing?

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## **#3 Ben McDonnell (R) | Age: 24**

Hometown: Ventura, CA

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Yuengling Light Lager (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 10’s (5 Starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 5 ASCA Next Class Member

Taking over for the reigning Craftsman Series champion is certainly no easy task for a rookie making their full time debut, and this season it’ll be 24 year old Ben McDonnell that will have to fill the shoes of Season 6 champion Shane Park. While McDonnell is four years older than Park and doesn’t nearly have the hype that the son of Steve Park did in his rookie season, Snoots Enterprises at least is very high on McDonnell, giving him a combined 6 starts in their #33 leech car over the past two seasons to prepare him for full time Craftsman racing. With a new sponsor in Yuengling and a fresh new paint scheme, will McDonnell become the next Shane Park and take the Craftsman Series by storm, or become the next Adam Petty Jr and fail to live up to expectations?

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## **#5 Ronnie Woods Motorsports Leech Car**

Primary Sponsor: TaxSlayer.com (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 6 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 55 laps led

Despite once again failing to win a race, Season 6 was certainly a step in the right direction for this #5 team as a whole. Twice on the white flag lap in the two most prestigious races of the season at Ajax Superspeedway and Computer Motor Speedway, this #5 car was leading, ironically with Doug Bowden behind the wheel in both races. And while Bowden of course failed to win both times, the fact that the team was able to come so close to victory lane is an improvement over their dismal Season 5. Expect to see your familiar faces of Doug Bowden, Todd Kidd, and Brynn Rennerd back behind the wheel in S7, as well as Nick Carey making a couple starts and an unnamed development driver getting their big break in the standalone events.

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## **#6 Carson Schmidt (R) | Age: 18**

Hometown: Dallas. TX

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Roush Performance (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 5’s, 2 top 10’s (3 Starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 6 ASCA Next Class Member

While the pressure on Ben McDonnell is certainly high being reigning champion Shane Park’s successor, you could argue the pressure on 18 year old Carson Schmidt might be even higher heading into this season. Stepping into a car that’s won three of the last seven Craftsman driver’s championships is one thing, but try stepping into that car the season after what was arguably the greatest rookie season in ASCA history from Devin Smith. The stakes are extremely high for the teenager from Dallas, but the good news for Schmidt is that the last three drivers to step foot in this lead Ford Development Program car have won ROTY and/or the Craftsman championship and are all racing in Cup currently. Which means that if Schmidt can live up to the hype and expectations, he could very well find his way up to Cup sooner than later.

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## **#7 Jack Alows (R) | Age: 22**

Hometown: Windsor, Ontario

Team: True North Motorsport

Primary Sponsor: Brandt (10 Races)

Season 6 Stats: N/A

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 6 ASCA Next Class Member

The potential of Jack Alows and his team, True North Motorsport, is very much an unknown heading into Season 7. The brand new team from Canada bought this old #7 team and chassis straight from Tico Bowden Motorsports to kickstart their full time efforts in the ASCA, but as we’ve seen generally in the sport, especially with a rookie driver there tends to be a lot of growing pains over the course of the first couple seasons. Alows has not made any prior ASCA starts coming into this season, and with most of his racing experience coming north of the border it certainly will probably take the 22 year old some getting used to top level ASCA competition. Expect a tumultuous first season for Alows and True North Motorsport in Season 7, but as long as the team survives the season they’ll have something to build off of heading into Season 8.

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## **#9 Bryce Mann | Age: 24**

Hometown: Wichita, KS

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Axalta (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 top 5, 5 top 10’s, 29 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 5 ASCA Next Class Member

If it wasn’t for his teammate Shane Park winning the championship, and fellow ROTY contender Devin Smith lighting the Craftsman Series on fire, Bryce Mann’s rookie season probably would’ve been considered a step in the right direction in his career rather than a disappointment. While Mann was never really a race win contender, his 4th place finish at West Virginia proved that when he had a good enough racecar, he could put it in the top 5 right with his teammates. However, 9 finishes outside the top 10 show that this #9 team still has a lot of work to do to catch up with the #3 and #33 teams, and potentially even the new #2 team this season. With big names like Park, Smith, Nick Carey, and Jack Fronwell out of the series and a season of experience under his belt, keep an eye on the 24 year old from Kansas this season. He may become the next of the Craftsman regulars to make a name for themselves and prove he’s ready for Cup racing, or have a massive sophomore slump and find himself out of a ride after the season just like his predecessor in this #9 car, Tommy Woods.

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## **#11 Laquon Scransen (R) | Age: 18**

Hometown: Compton, CA

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: LeafFilter (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: N/A

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 6 ASCA Next Class Member

Laquon Scransen may have one of the most interesting backstories of a driver we’ve seen come thru the ranks of the ASCA in a long time. At the age of 9, Scransen started his racing career……but its not exactly how you’d expect it to start. The Compton native stole his uncle’s Mustang and went for an 100 mph joyride on the busy California highways, somehow managing to keep the car in one piece before eventually getting pulled over by the cops. This story went viral, with Scransen becoming an internet sensation overnight after he said it was his childhood hero, Randle Woods, that inspired him to “go fast”. The 9 year old was eventually invited out to a 2012 Cup Series race by Woods himself, and even had his first couple years of karting funded fully by Ronnie Woods Motorsports. Fast forward about 7 years, and Scransen has now emerged as one of the top young prospects in the ASCA, finally making the jump to the Craftsman Series at the age of 18. The only thing that seems like it can stop him at this point is…..himself. Scransen has already had numerous run ins with the law, including an assault charge for a racing fight that put him behind bars for 90 days, and a reported FIVE speeding tickets plus illegal possession of lean that have Scransen’s road license currently suspended. Oh, and there’s also the fact that this #11 team finished dead last in points last season with another rookie behind the wheel in Season 6. All in all, the deck certainly seems stacked against Scransen, but its always been that way. The question is, how will the 18 year old stack up against the pressure this time around?

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## **#12 Sean Wooden | Age: 31**

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: PPG Paints (All Races)

Season 6 Stats (Cup): 2 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 12 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins

With his ASCA future on the line in Season 6, Sean Wooden certainly stepped up to the plate and proved that he’s still got it. While he didn’t win a race like his 3 teammates did, Wooden put together more top 10’s this season than he had over the past two seasons combined, and even managed to finish ahead of Caleb Henderson Jr in the final standings. While it wasn’t enough to save his job at Michael White Racing, the now 31 year old’s performance was enough to give him one last shot to save his career with the Ford Development Program, essentially taking Jack Fronwell‘s role from last season in mentoring young Carson Schmidt. The Chicago native certainly isn’t any slouch either once he finds his groove, as don’t forget he did manage to finish 4th in Points in Season 1 which led to his lengthy stay at Michael White Racing despite mostly subpar results after that. That plus his now 8 seasons of Cup experience arguably make Wooden the Craftsman Series title favorite heading into this season.

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## **#16 Keegan Bartoli | Age: 27**

Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Lilly Diabetes (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 top 5, 4 top 10’s, 19 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: N/A

While Season 5 was expected to be an underwhelming one for Bartoli and this #16 team, in Season 6 Bartoli was supposed to take the next step and improve on his rookie season, but that just never happened. While Bartoli did improve drastically at Ajax Superspeedway with two top 10 finishes and stole a 3rd place finish at the Streets of Computerville, a disappointing weekend at Michigan that saw Bartoli crash in qualifying and wreck on lap 1 of the race combined with a no show in the other 10 races during the season led to another disaster of a season for this #16 team compared to the other four cars in the Ford Development Program stable. To make matters worse, at age 27 the Minnesota native isn’t getting any younger either. Now entering his 3rd season in the Craftsman ranks, if Bartoli can’t at least snag a win at a plate track or road course the former dirt track ace may find himself out of a ride heading into Season 8.

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## **#18 Lucas Sambér (R) | Age: 26**

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Juniper Networks (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 3 top 10’s (3 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 5 ASCA Next Class Member

Two full seasons of daily simulator time, workouts, and a part time schedule later, and 26 year old Lucas Sambér finally will have a full time ride to show for it. There’s no doubt the Las Vegas native has had to **EARN** his full time opportunity, having to watch the likes of Pėar Jamison, Tanner McCage, and Tommy Woods get full time seats before him before the opportunity finally arose for Sambér to receive his big break heading into this season. While one might say a chance to develop at Michael White Racing is a once in a lifetime break with the sheer amount of money Toyota puts into the team these days, its no secret however that this team runs thru developmental prospects like hotcakes. Hunter Bradley, Jared Ayers, Timmy Barbat, Pėar Jamison, Tanner McCage, and Tommy Woods. That’s a list of the full time drivers that have driven for the team in the Craftsman Series since Season 1, with Ayers being the only one that’s seen any sort of success in Cup. While it does seem like the odds are stacked against Sambér, the approach the team has taken giving him multiple seasons to develop before throwing him to the Craftsman Series wolves may pay dividends in the long run. However, if he can’t figure it out this season, Michael White has certainly shown no mercy when it comes to firing drivers for poor performance.

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## **#19 Michael White Racing Leech Car**

Primary Sponsor: Arris (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 7 top 5’s, 13 top 10’s, 1 pole, 36 laps led

While they finished a shocking 31 points behind Shane Park in the owner’s championship, this #19 car still finished nearly a full race ahead of the #60 team in that title battle, meaning it was overall an impressive season for the team. While they only won one race, 13 top 10 finishes with three different drivers showed that week in and week out, seemingly no matter the track this team was on its game. This season, with Dan Rodgers now retired and Lucas Sambér in his own full time ride, the driver lineup will completely shift heading into Season 7. Jared Ayers returns of course for more seat time, but rookie Devin Smith, veteran Norm Lester, and development prospect Braeden Bennett will all fill out the 14 race schedule in the seat. Arris also becomes the primary sponsor on this car, as the sponsor had become extremely disgruntled they had not won in either Cup or Craftsman since Season 3 and completely pulled their sponsorship from the #19 Cup team with Sean Wooden’s departure. Even with the new scheme and new drivers behind the wheel, expect to see this team right up at the front battling with the #22 and the #60 week in and week out.

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## **#20 Tommy Woods | Age: 21**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Interstate Batteries (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 2 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 2 poles, 71 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win

Season 6 was a career defining season for Tommy Woods. The younger brother of Season 5 Cup champion Randle Woods took a huge step in proving that he belonged with his first career pole and win in dramatic fashion at Ajax Superspeedway, but he also backed that up with a second pole at Denver, the only Craftsman regular besides Devin Smith to accomplish that feat last season. Woods also finished a career high 6th in points, and with the top 5 in points above him all not returning for this season the door is wide open for the 21 year old to take over the series and put the pressure on Michael White to think about pairing him with his older brother in Cup. Can Woods capitalize on this opportunity, or will he return back down to the mediocrity he preformed at during his tenure at Snoots Enterprises?

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## **#22 Ford Development Program Leech Car**

Primary Sponsor: Discount Tire (8 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 6 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 1 pole, 80 laps led

After a breakout season for this #22 team last season, expectations were high for this group heading into Season 6. With those heightened expectations however, this #22 crew largely underwhelmed throughout the season. While they did score a dominant victory at Belltown with Cameron Atwood, only one win on the season after scoring three wins in Season 5 certainly wasn’t what the team expected, especially with Season 2 Cup Champion Nick Orkedi running 3 races. Outside of his start at Michigan, Orkedi largely struggled in the car, as did short track ace Brian Herron in his starts which further hurt the team in points and in the end put them behind the #19 and #60 teams in the standings, their direct competition atop the Craftsman Series. This season, the driver lineup for this group switches up quite a bit. While the Orkedi Bros will return for the road courses and Henry Brady will make a few starts throughout the season, Tico Bowden Motorsports Cup rookies Nathaniel Cherry and Nick Painter will also make numerous appearances for the team during the year as well as development prospect Felix Anderson who made his debut at West Virginia last season.

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## **#23 Adam Petty Jr. | Age: 24**

Hometown: High Point, NC

Team: Hood Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: ISM Connect (All Races)

Season 6 Stats (Cup): 1 top 10, 4 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 1 Craftsman Series ROTY

At age 24, Adam Petty Jr believe it or not is the same age or younger than 7 of his fellow Craftsman Series competitors entering this season. That being said, its hard to imagine that this might be Petty’s last opportunity in the ASCA, but circumstances certainly seem to be dictating that this will be the case if he can’t put it together this time around. Ironically enough, it was the 5th generation Petty and not Greg Healey that was supposed to bring Snoots Enterprises to prominence. The team invested heavily in his early career development, giving him a seat in the now defunct Sprint Developmental Series and giving him three full time seasons in the Craftsman Series in the #3 car. However, even with all of that backing, the spotlight proved to just be too much for Petty Jr, and who could’ve imagined after winning Craftsman Series ROTY over future Cup star Ryan Dixon in Season 1 as an 18 year old, we’d be seeing Petty back in the series at age 24 fighting for his future. The good news for the North Carolina native is that he will basically be in a 5th Ronnie Woods Motorsports car this season driving for upstart team Hood Motorsports, ran by two time Ajax Cup champion Jimmy Hood himself. His four seasons of Cup experience also gives him the edge in that department over pretty much everyone in the field besides Sean Wooden, and with 8 of the 15 Craftsman regulars being rookies, Petty Jr could very well be a dark horse for this season’s wide open championship dogfight.

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## **#33 Snoots Enterprises Leech Car**

Primary Sponsor: Nexteer (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 wins, 2 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 2 poles, 78 laps led

Season 6 was certainly a mixed bag for this brand new #33 Snoots Enterprises camp. While the team won two races, an absolutely dominant performance by Greg Healey at West Virginia as well as Healey coming back and stealing the TreatMyPC.com 150 on the last lap from Doug Bowden, four DNF’s and only a paltry 5 top 10 finishes on the season relegated this team to a disappointing 14th place in owner’s points, even finishing behind rookie teammate Bryce Mann while Shane Park of course cruised to the title. This season, breakout star Greg Healey will return to this car for a few races as well as reigning champion Shane Park getting some extra seat time along with developmental prospect Christian Harris. This #33 team showed that they have the raw speed to become a mainstay at the front of the pack week in and week out, now can they improve their consistency this season to become a serious contender for the owner’s title?

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## **#42 Blake Stern (R) | Age: 29**

Hometown: Olive Branch, MS

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: ParkerStore (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: N/A

ASCA Career Achievements: N/A

The potential of Blake Stern honestly remains a giant question mark heading into this season. The 29 year old will be the second oldest Craftsman regular competing full time this season, and is the same age or older than 17 of the 23 drivers competing full time in the Ajax Cup Series this season! The problem is, while Stern has the advantage in off track life experience over the majority of the ASCA, on track he has yet to make an ASCA start. With his advanced age, the pressure is certainly on Stern to preform right away, not to mention the pressure of replacing your team owner’s replacement in Derek Lewis. Add on the new sponsor and paint scheme on this car for the first time in Season 2, and this season will certainly spark a new era for Dexter Andrews Motorsports. The question is, will Stern live up to all the expectations or flop like former DAM prospect Luke Braun?

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## **#60 Ford Development Program Leech Car**

Primary Sponsor: Ford Development (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 wins, 7 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 2 poles, 193 laps led

Season 6 was arguably a disappointing one for this #60 camp after the performance of this team the prior two seasons. While Chris Barrymore and Ryan Dixon scored one win apiece and led 193 laps, the four DNF’s throughout the season were enough to make this normally dominant team a total non factor for the owner’s championship. That being said, a “disappointing” season for this #60 car was still good enough for 4th in the championship standings, and don’t expect this team to be even this far down in the standings this season. Chris Barrymore and Ryan Dixon return to make starts throughout the season, but Cameron Atwood also joins this team as well as developmental prospect Alex Dennis to run a few races. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think this #60 team will be back atop the owner’s standings in Season 7.

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## **#62 Joey Elliott (R) | Age: 21**

Hometown: Columbus, OH

Team: South Point Racing Team

Primary Sponsor: South Point Hotel & Casino (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 10’s (4 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 6 ASCA Next Class Member

The first season for the South Point Racing Team was arguably a success for a brand new team entering the sport with an inexperienced rookie driver. Ross Jackson finished 2nd in the ROTY standings, and considering Devin Smith was in a league of his own all season long that’s actually more impressive than it looks. With Jackson moving over to the #88 to replace Nick Carey, this allows fellow Ronnie Woods Motorsports developmental prospect Joey Elliott to get some seat time in the #62 this season, essentially a fourth Ronnie Woods Motorsports feeder car. Elliott struggled a fair amount in his first couple starts last season, finishing 12th in both races, but eventually found his footing with an 8th place finish at Advocare and a 7th place run in the 2nd Ajax Superspeedway race. The name of the game this season for the Ohio native is experience, as if he can complete as many laps as possible and show glimpses of potential here and there, he may very well find himself in the #1 car in Season 8.

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## **#88 Ross Jackson | Age: 20**

Hometown: Spokane, WA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Hellman’s (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 4 ASCA Next Class Member

Ross Jackson’s rookie season probably went a lot better than many people expected it to go. Finishing 2nd in the ROTY standings with top 5 finishes at Blu-Ray and in the TreatMyPC.com 150, Jackson very nearly finished ahead of Nick Painter in points, who was one of the championship favorites heading into the season and is now full time in the Ajax Cup ranks. All this on a brand spanking new team mind you! Heading into his sophomore season now, Jackson takes over for one of the most consistent Craftsman regulars over the past three seasons in Nick Carey, and joins an #88 team that’s finished 3rd in the driver’s standings the past two seasons. There will certainly be a lot of pressure on the 20 year old to preform, but considering how patient Ronnie Woods Motorsports has been with Keon McDavid plus Jackson’s young age, its likely he will get plenty of opportunities to figure things out. And if he does, there may be another #88 seat opening up a couple seasons down the line that the Washington native could step into.

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