2022 Craftsman Series Driver Introductions

## **#00 Felix Anderson (R) | Age: 23**

Hometown: Sandusky, OH

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Jacob Companies (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 10 (4 races)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

While Felix Anderson’s 2021 stats in his four starts were less than stellar to be polite, they don’t quite show the true potential that the Ford Development Program thought he had enough of to promote him to full time Craftsman racing this season. Anderson finished 5th in his Craftsman debut at West Virginia in 2020, and was also named to the ASCA Next Class that same year. Three DNF’s in his four 2021 starts are cause for concern, but its hard to think that he can be any more of a disappointment than Keegan Bartoli was in his three seasons with the FDP. This is the same No. 16 team that has struggled with Grant Von Duvedel, Alex Harper, and the aforementioned Bartoli since 2015, just renumbered to the No. 00 to give this group a fresh start and hopefully a spark with a brand new driver. The question becomes, will the team renumbering be what it takes to lead to Anderson having a productive Craftsman career, or will he be the latest bust to drive for the FDP’s third tier Craftsman regular team?

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## **#1 Keon McDavid | Age: 27**

Hometown: Miami, FL

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: OneMain Financial (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 5, 6 top 10’s, 23 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2017 ASCA Next Class Member

With his ASCA career potentially hanging in the balance, Keon McDavid picked an awfully fine time to have a career year, finishing 9th in points and leading a career high 23 laps, nearly scoring his first career Craftsman victory in the Tinder 125 at West Virginia as well. However, now in year five of the McDavid experience the Miami native is 27 years old and not getting any younger. Ronnie Woods Motorsports have also restocked their bare cupboard full of prospects, bringing in 18 year old Toby Beckett, taking a chance on revitalizing the career of Ajax Cup Dexter Andrews Motorsports flop Rob Buddy, and giving Joey Elliott another season of experience with the No. 62 team. Once again it has become put up or shut up time for McDavid, as he is gonna need a championship caliber season most likely to save his job from the young guns this time around in 2022.

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## **#2 Cameron Barrymore | Age: 21**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Shore Lodge (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 3 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 5 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win, 2017 ASCA Next Class Member

While he may have finished 6th in points and 3rd in the Rookie of the Year race, 2021 was a really solid start to the younger Barrymore brother’s ASCA career. Barrymore led the points for the opening three weeks of the season, even setting a record for the fastest winner in Craftsman Series history with his shocking victory in the season opening NAPA Auto Parts 100 and backing that up with another top 5 in the Disney World 125. The Computerville native did only score one more top 5 throughout the remainder of the season, but finished the highest of his Snoots Enterprises regular teammates by a pretty hefty margin. 2022 will be all about building on the highs of 2021 for Barrymore and this No. 2 team and eliminating the lows, and if the team can do both expect him to be in the thick of the title race all season long.

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## **#3 Ben McDonnell | Age: 25**

Hometown: Ventura, CA

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Yuengling Light Lager (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 5, 3 top 10’s, 15 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2019 ASCA Next Class Member

While many people didn’t expect McDonnell to be a championship contender in his rookie season despite Shane Park winning the title in this car in 2020, many people also didn’t expect McDonnell to struggle as much as he did with only 1 top 5 and finishing 13th in points. Add in the 6 DNF’s that the California native took as well and the 2021 campaign was an abject disaster for McDonnell and this No. 3 team. Heading into 2022, another season like this will likely see McDonnell lose his ride considering the high expectations of Snoots Enterprises in this present day and age, so the question is can the former ASCA Next class member over go a Shane Park type turnaround or will he be the team’s next Adam Petty Jr?

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

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: TaxSlayer.com (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s

Another year, another winless campaign for this No. 5 team that extends the car’s winless drought to a whopping 40 races. Despite having Ronnie Woods Motorsports Cup drivers Todd Kidd, Brynn Rennerd, and Doug Bowden running multiple races throughout 2021 the team still did not manage to lead a single lap during the year and only pieced together 2 top 5 results in 14 races. As a result, the team fired developmental prospect Jason Broadhurst and brought in former Ajax Cup flop Rob Buddy and promoted prospect Toby Beckett to run races sporadically throughout 2022. With less Ronnie Woods Motorsports Cup guys “phoning it in” and more developmental drivers desperate to save their careers, will the No. 5 team return to victory lane for the first time since Randle Woods retired from Craftsman competition in 2018?

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## **#6 Carson Schmidt | Age: 19**

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Roush Performance (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 2 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 pole, 111 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win, 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

There may not have ever been a driver that has received such an undeserved high level of scrutiny at such a young age than Carson Schmidt has at just 19 years of age. With the storied history of this No. 6 car since 2016 and how well Devin Smith preformed in this car in 2020, many people expected Schmidt to be a championship contender right off the bat. Add in the record seven other rookies that the Texas native would be competing against for Rookie of the Year, and it was expected that if there was going to be an 18 year old that’d win that award and go onto win the title, it’d be him instead of Laquon Scransen. However, none of that ended up happening. Schmidt struggled throughout the majority of the early part of the season, even being as low as 9th in points at one point before figuring things out and holding off Norm Lester to score his first career win in the season finale at Belltown. Now returning to the team for another season, the stakes are even higher for Schmidt heading into 2022. Chris Barrymore, Henry Brady, and Devin Smith have all driven this No. 6 car since 2016. All three of them won ROTY in their rookie season, and Barrymore + Brady both won the Craftsman Championship in their second season in the car. The expectations are that Schmidt will at the minimum be a championship contender in the Ford Development Program’s flagship team, but moreso that he takes home the championship. That’s just the level of performance that’s required to be a part of the FDP in the ASCA’s Modern Era.

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## **#7 Jack Alows | Age: 23**

Hometown: Windsor, Ontario

Team: True North Motorsport

Primary Sponsor: Brandt (12 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 5, 4 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

For most drivers, a 12th place points finish with 1 top 5 and 4 top 10’s would be considered a disappointing year. However, for Jack Alows and True North Motorsport its hard to not say that 2021 was not a resounding success. A league low two DNF’s combined with Alows finishing ahead of the defending champion’s team showed that while the team didn’t have very much speed on a weekly basis, the Canadian kept the car clean and brought the car home in one piece 86% of the time which is absolutely crucial for a brand new team in their first season. Heading into 2022, the team has attracted new sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts for the crown jewel events which should bring in the team some serious extra cash to work with as well as of course the ASCA’s only Canadian outfit now having a year’s worth of notes to study as well. While Alows and this bunch are far from title contenders, don’t be surprised if this group becomes the ASCA’s lovable underdog story of the year finishing a lot higher in many races than they’re supposed to.

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## **#9 Bryce Mann | Age: 25**

Hometown: Wichita, KS

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Axalta (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 pole, 23 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2019 ASCA Next Class Member

Year 3 of Bryce Mann’s ASCA experience has put the 25 year old at a crossroads. There’s two directions that his ASCA career could go at this stage. Option A is that the Kansas native can sell out to carve out an Ajax Cup career for himself, taking any ride that opens up even if it is for a back marker team. At age 25, believe it or not Mann’s Ajax Cup window is closing rapidly as 45% of the current full time Cup drivers are 25 years old or younger. However, the risks of doing this is that if it doesn’t work out you seem to be looked at as “damaged goods” and will most likely never get another chance in the ASCA again (i.e. Hunter Bradley, Grant Von Duvedel, etc.). Option B is that Mann carves out a stable career for himself as a Craftsman regular, whether that be for Snoots Enterprises or another team. Mann has proven that he’s most definitely a serviceable Craftsman driver with a sizable improvement in raw speed and consistency between year 1 and 2, so if a team was looking for a stable option to get their team on track to leave Snoots Enterprises he would be it. As it stands, it seems Mann’s job is relatively safe at SE due to Ben McDonnell’s extremely poor 2021 performance, but even if the team were to expand to three cars its a lot more likely that Cameron Barrymore would get the nod over Mann due to being half a decade younger. That’s why 2022 is more about Mann planning out his long term future in his peculiar position rather than focusing on just this one year at the moment.

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## **#11 Marcus Edwards (R) | Age: 19**

Hometown: Portland, OR

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: LeafFilter (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: N/A

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 ASCA Next Class Member

Originally the 2022 plan for Marcus Edwards were to race full time in the Smithfield Cup Series, another racing league that Dan Rodgers and Hunter Bradley of all people have carved out a solid career for themselves post-ASCA. However, with the shocking Caleb Henderson Jr. retirement forcing defending Craftsman Champion Laquon Scransen up to the Cup Series, this forced Dexter Andrews Motorsports’ hand to pluck Edwards from the SFCS on short notice and put him in the No. 11 this year to compete for Rookie of the Year. Its hard to get a good gauge on how quality of equipment Dexter Andrews Motorsports actually provides their drivers. While of course this team won the championship last season with Laquon Scransen, its incredibly clear that Scransen is a special talent and elevated that equipment well beyond the level it was supposed to compete at. Just look at his rookie teammate Blake Stern, who is over 10 years older than Scransen but who also finished 10th in points with less top 5’s than Scransen had wins. Lets also not forget this No. 11 team finished dead last in points in 2020 with Sylvester Lyons, but its also incredibly clear that Lyons was a colossal bust. Don’t be surprised if Edwards struggles mightily in his rookie campaign, but maybe it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise either if the Oregon native takes home ROTY and is a title contender as well.

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## **#12 Sean Wooden | Age: 32**

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: PPG Paints (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 wins, 8 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 171 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2010 Craftsman Series Champion, 2 Ajax Cup wins, 7 Craftsman Series wins

As the oldest Craftsman regular in the field last season, Sean Wooden nearly proved to the field that experience > youth, leading the points for a majority of the season before in the end being conquered by the second youngest driver in the field, 18 year old Laquon Scransen. The 2010 Craftsman Champion certainly proved that he’s still got it, pulling off two victories and leading 102 laps at Advocare before his incident with Ross Jackson that ultimately ended his title bid. Heading into this season however, the Chicago native may be asked to take a backseat in performance to help mentor 19 year old teammate Carson Schmidt who the Ford Development Program of course has a lot invested in. We saw a little bit of this in the season finale at Belltown where Wooden held up Norm Lester just enough to allow Schmidt to scoot away and hold on for his first career win, and we may see a lot more of that in 2022. Despite all this, don’t be surprised to see Wooden right back in the mix for the championship and potentially becoming the first two time Craftsman Series champion if the breaks fall his way this time around.

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## **#18 Braeden Bennett (R) | Age: 21**

Hometown: Tupelo, MS

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Juniper Networks (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 3 top 10’s (4 Races)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 ASCA Next Class Member

From Elvis Presley’s old hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi comes Michael White Racing’s next developmental project, Braeden Bennett. With the checkered past of Michael White Racing’s developmental prospects, its rather unclear which arc Bennett’s career will take. Last season, Lucas Sambér stepped right into this very seat and was a championship contender all season long despite not winning a race, finishing 3rd in points and 2nd in the Rookie of the Year standings. However, before Sambér there were plenty of MWR Craftsman busts as well from the likes of Pėar Jamison to Timmy Barbat, and many others. The 21 year old showed flashes of what his true potential could be with his 5th place run in the TreatMyPC.com 150 and 4th place effort at Advocare though. If he can put together a season like his predecessor Sambér, he might just find his way into Michael White’s Ajax Cup plans sooner rather than later as Randle Woods and Norm Lester both creep up on retirement age in the next couple years.

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

Primary Sponsor: Arris (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 8 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 29 laps led

Believe it or not, the most consistent Cup leech car by far in 2021 even with a whopping five DNF’s was the No. 19 team from Michael White Racing. Jared Ayers scoring his first Craftsman victory since 2018 at Denver was the team’s high point, but 2nd place efforts from Devin Smith at West Virginia and Norm Lester at Belltown as well as a couple more top 5’s added in from part timer Braeden Bennett helped the team finish 4th in owner’s points. Heading into 2022 the team will once again have Michael White Racing Cup drivers Ayers, Lester, and Smith filling out the majority of the schedule, as well as new hotshot developmental prospect Colin Ward running four races to get his feet wet in big league auto racing. At this point, it’s not the No. 60 team that’s the car the Craftsman regulars have to worry about every single week, it’s now become this No. 19 team that’s been at the top of the leech car standings by more than a full race the past two years.

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## **#20 Tommy Woods | Age: 22**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Rheem (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 5 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win

If there’s any indication on how Tommy Woods’ 2021 campaign went, the younger brother of reigning Ajax Cup Champion Randle Woods had as many top 10 finishes as DNF’s (5). Many people expected Woods to take the next step last season and finally become a championship contender, but instead he somehow managed to finish outside the top 10 in the driver’s standings while his rookie teammate finished 3rd and was a title contender all season long. No top 5 finishes in top tier Michael White Racing equipment would be considered unacceptable for most drivers, but when your last name is Woods and you’re able to bring new, highly lucrative Rheem sponsorship to the table you’d be crazy to think the Computerville native will be getting a pink slip anytime soon. Looking forward to 2022, the question now becomes will the real Tommy Woods please stand up? Will it be the driver that won two poles and finished 6th in points in 2020, or will it be the driver with 5 DNF’s, no top 5 finishes, and who finished 11th in points in 2021?

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

Primary Sponsor: Discount Tire (8 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 6 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 2 poles, 72 laps led

6 top 5 finishes, 6 DNF’s. That was the story of the 2021 season for this No. 22 team, top 5 speed one week and in the garage the next. Felix Anderson alone racked up 3 DNF’s in his four starts in the ride, showing just how snake bitten this car was throughout the campaign. The bright side of this team surprisingly mostly came from the Tico Bowden Motorsports Cup drivers Nathaniel Cherry and Nick Painter, with Cherry scoring top 5 finishes in both of his Ajax Superspeedway starts while Painter led 51 laps from the pole and scored a 2nd place effort at Belltown. Both of those drivers will be back for 2022 with Fitzgerald Glider Kits sponsorship, as well as Henry Brady, Keegan Bartoli running both of the road course events, and new Ford Development Program developmental prospects Caylen Summers and Will Moon both making sporadic starts throughout the upcoming campaign. If this team can at least cut the DNF’s in half and return to victory lane for the first time since 2020, they may give the No. 19 team a run for their money in the owner’s championship.

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## **#23 Adam Petty Jr. | Age: 25**

Hometown: High Point, NC

Team: Hood Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: ISM Connect (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 4 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2015 Craftsman Series ROTY

Despite being on a brand new team in Hood Motorsports and busting out of the Ajax Cup Series with Snoots Enterprises, the fifth generation Petty certainly proved that in the right situation in the right equipment, he can thrive in the ASCA. Petty was a dark horse title contender all season long, finishing 5th in points and being one of only four drivers to score 10 or more top 10’s in 2021. Looking at the way he raced last season, you never would’ve thought he was a colossal Ajax Cup bust prior to this as he seemingly turned back the clock in his performance to 2015, when he edged out Ryan Dixon for Craftsman Series Rookie of the Year in that strike shortened season. Now coming into year 2 of Hood Motorsports and year 2 with this No. 23 team, could we see the North Carolina native become a Craftsman Series champion? That remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised at all to see him finally capture that elusive first career Craftsman victory all these years later.

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

Primary Sponsor: Nexteer (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 wins, 4 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 2 poles, 150 laps led

Remember when Greg Healey won two of the opening four races in dominating fashion, winning both poles and leading every lap at both West Virginia and The Stoneyard? That seems like a distant memory compared to how the rest of the 2021 campaign went, as after leading the owner’s points despite a 10 point penalty after West Virginia this No. 33 team ended up 11th in the final standings with 5 DNF’s to boot. The team’s developmental prospect Christian Harris was a massive flop in his sporadic starts throughout the season, but he will return for 2022 as well as new Snoots Enterprises development driver Lance Davidson. Greg Healey and Shane Park will also be returning to the team to run numerous races during the upcoming season as well. Its hard to get a gauge on how this car will run on a week to week basis. One week this team can lead every practice, qualify on pole, lead every lap, and win the race, but the next they could run 12th and be a total non factor before a late race DNF. If Snoots Enterprises can figure out the consistency with this car though, they could easily be a dark horse contender in this owner’s championship.

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## **#42 Blake Stern | Age: 30**

Hometown: Olive Branch, MS

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: ParkerStore (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: N/A

Blake Stern is only one year younger than three time Ajax Cup Champion Diego Orkedi, let that sink in for a moment. Dexter Andrews Motorsports took a big risk on the Olive Branch native last season, as while the entire ASCA seems to be fawning over the next 18 year old young star that can come in and set the ASCA on fire throughout the 2020’s the team took a chance on a driver who is older than all but 7 current Ajax Cup drivers with no prior ASCA experience. Ironically enough, Stern’s teammate last year just so happened to be who looks to be the sport’s next big thing in Laquon Scransen, and while he pretty much white washed Stern in every category besides DNF’s its not like Stern was a slouch in his own right. While he was well behind even his predecessor Derek Lewis’ numbers in this car from 2020, he at least tied Jack Alows for the fewest DNF’s so he brought the car home in one piece more often than not and showed flashes of potential like his 5th place effort at West Virginia. Heading into 2022, while Stern’s age helps due to his sheer amount of racing experience prior to the ASCA, it does not give him much time to figure things out and struggle like many young drivers are afforded due to their youth. If the 30 year old cannot preform and gets outshined by his rookie teammate once again, his ASCA days might be over sooner than you think.

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

Primary Sponsor: Ford Development (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 3 wins, 4 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s, 2 poles, 206 laps led

If you would’ve told many ASCA fans that this No. 60 team would win three races, win two poles and lead 206 laps you would’ve thought this car had finished much higher than 8th in the final owner’s standings. However, what’s even crazier is the fact that this team had more DNF’s (7) than top 10 finishes (6) that absolutely derailed any owner’s title hopes this team had. Think about it - this car that absolutely DOMINATED the Craftsman Series in 2018 and 2019 did not finish 50% of the races in the 2021 campaign! Part of that is due to just sheer bad luck such as Chris Barrymore getting run over by his teammate Sean Wooden on lap 1 at Michigan, or Shane Park getting dumped right in front of Ryan Dixon while leading at Belltown. But a big part of why this team did not preform as well as they probably should have is due to the immense struggles of 17 year old developmental prospect Alex Dennis in his five starts throughout the year. Dennis has already been unspokenly pegged as the next heir to the No. 6 flagship team once Carson Schmidt either makes the move to Cup or flames out of the ride, but in his five starts last season he had two DNF’s and no top 5 finishes to boot. With Chris Barrymore, Cameron Atwood, and Ryan Dixon running races in this car in 2022 its almost a guarantee you’ll see the No. 60 in victory lane, but they will not be a serious owner’s title contender unless Dennis can get his act together in his four starts this season.

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## **#62 Joey Elliott | Age: 22**

Hometown: Columbus, OH

Team: South Point Racing Team

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

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 10

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

What a difference a year makes when it comes to the perception of a young driver in today’s ASCA. Heading into last season, many people basically assumed it was all but a done deal Joey Elliott would be replacing Keon McDavid in the No. 1 heading into 2022, and about all he had to do was show flashes of potential here and there throughout the season to convince Ronnie Woods he was ready for the promotion to his main Craftsman outfit. Then the season happened. Only one top 10 finish, seven DNF’s, and a dead last points finish now have Elliott just fighting to save his ASCA career rather than thinking about any sort of promotion. It also has to be rather disconcerting for the South Point Racing Team how much they seemed to regress in terms of raw speed from 2020 to 2021, as they were nowhere near even weekly top 10 contenders last year like they were with Ross Jackson in 2020. Maybe that speaks more so to the caliber of driver Jackson is, maybe it eludes to the fact that Elliott is a massive bust, or maybe it’s a combination of both. Either way, don’t expect Elliott and this No. 62 group to get away with another abomination of a season like last year without some major changes to potentially the driver and team heading into 2023.

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## **#88 Ross Jackson | Age: 21**

Hometown: Spokane, WA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Hellman’s (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 6 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 1 pole, 106 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win, 2018 ASCA Next Class Member

Stepping into the main Ronnie Woods Motorsports Craftsman Series program in 2021, Ross Jackson picked a fine time to have a truly breakout sophomore campaign. Jackson was a bonafide championship contender throughout the first half of the season until back to back lap 1 accidents that were not of his own doing at West Virginia and Blu-Ray pretty much put a nail in his title hopes with a little over a quarter of the season remaining. Despite this, Jackson held off both his title rivals in Sean Wooden and Lucas Sambér to score RWM’s first Craftsman Series victory in 37 races, and put the storied No. 88 back in victory lane for the first time since Cameron Atwood won the TreatMyPC.com 150 back in 2017. The Spokane native finished 4th in the final standings, and all of this culminated in the announcement on the final day of 2021 that he would get his big break in the Ajax Cup Series in 2023, taking over for two time Cup Champion Jimmy Hood who will retire from full time competition after the 2022 campaign. While the 21 year old’s future is arguably the brightest in the ASCA taking over one of the most historic rides in the Cup scene next year, this also means expectations for Jackson will be sky high to preform in presumably his final full time Craftsman season as everyone starts to become more and more curious to learn more about the man that will be succeeding Jimmy Hood. Will the pressure prove to be too much for Jackson and prove that he’s not quite ready for Cup, or will he shine under the newfound spotlight and take home a championship in swan song Craftsman campaign?

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