2021 Ajax Cup Driver Introductions

## **#1 Derek Lewis (R) | Age: 22**

Hometown: Denver, CO

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Gearwrench (All Races)

Season 6 Stats (Craftsman): 1 win, 2 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 15 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win, Season 5 Craftsman Series ROTY

Season 7 will mark a new era for Dexter Andrews Motorsports and for the ASCA as a whole. With the last owner-driver in the sport Dexter Andrews officially retiring at the end of last season to focus full time on turning his organization around, in steps Derek Lewis into the #1 car this season. The Colorado native seemingly came out of nowhere in Season 5 in the Craftsman Series as a championship contender and easily took home ROTY honors from the likes of Shane Park and Nathaniel Cherry, but last season was certainly a sophomore slump for Lewis and the organization as a whole. Even still, the 22 year old dragged this car to 10 top 10 finishes, and scored the team’s first win in the ASCA since the Season 2 Craftsman season opener with his dramatic win at Ajax Superspeedway. Heading into this season, once again Lewis will be flying under the radar with big name prospects Devin Smith and the aforementioned Park also competing for Cup ROTY honors, and expectations will certainly not be high for a team that finished a shocking 18th, 19th, and 20th in driver’s points last season, even behind two Tico Bowden Motorsports cars. However, as we’ve seen before, when the eyes and pressure isn’t on him is when Lewis shines, so keep an eye on him to surprise going forward.

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## **#2 Nick Orkedi | Age: 31**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: Discount Tire (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 wins, 10 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 93 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 2 Ajax Cup Champion, 12 Ajax Cup wins

Another season, another top 5 points finish for Nick Orkedi, proving that he’s certainly still got it. However, this time around Orkedi certainly seemed to clean up his act quite a bit. While before Season 6, the Season 2 champion was widely regarded as being only slightly less dirty of a driver than his younger brother, that seemed to change last season as you could argue that all 4 of Orkedi’s DNF’s were not his fault. Maybe it was turning 30 that did it, or maybe it was his engagement after the 10th running of the Windows 300, but the Belltown native seems a changed driver and a changed man outside the cockpit. At this stage of his career, there’s no denying Orkedi’s talents. He leads active Ajax Cup drivers in road course wins with five, he has a championship as well as a Windows 300 to boot, so what more does the elder Orkedi have to prove? Well, when your younger brother is Diego Orkedi of all people, the answer to that question is simple. Big brother still most certainly has the desire to escape from his little brother’s shadow. But does Nick Orkedi have a second championship still in him at this point as he starts to ease into his mid 30’s?

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## **#3 Greg Healey | Age: 24**

Hometown: Pensacola, FL

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: DOW Chemicals (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 wins, 7 top 5’s, 12 top 10’s, 3 poles, 377 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins, Season 4 Ajax Cup ROTY

To say that Season 6 was a breakout season for Greg Healey is certainly an understatement. After signing his massive 6 season, 45 million dollar contract extension, many fans were left questioning the move and Snoots Enterprises as a whole. After all, this was a team that only had two Craftsman Series wins to their name in five full seasons of Cup and Craftsman racing, and Healey himself was coming off of a sophomore slump that say him finish 14th in the Season 5 points standings. Sure he had potential, but did he really have $9 million dollars a season potential?? For a guy that only had two Craftsman Series wins and a Cup ROTY where his main competition was Cameron Atwood in far inferior Tico Bowden Motorsports equipment and Hunter Bradley for god’s sakes, that’s not saying much. But Healey and Snoots Enterprises put all of those doubts to bed with a stunning season from both driver and team. Not only did Healey and the team both scored their first career Cup wins at Advocare, they followed it up with another win at Blu-Ray later on in the season as well as leading the points for 9 of the 16 weeks of the year. While the team experienced a late season collapse and ultimately ended up losing the title to Diego Orkedi at Ajax Superspeedway, that still didn’t stop Healey from putting in an inspired drive at Belltown from 17th to 3rd to at least salvage 2nd in points and cap off a great season. After all of that, the expectations for the Pensacola native as well as Snoots Enterprises have shot thru the roof headed into this season. Heading into the season now as a championship favorite, will the 45 million dollar man step up to the plate again and take the Cup Series by storm, or crumble under the immense amount of pressure now on him?

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## **#4 Nathaniel Cherry (R) | Age: 20**

Hometown: Ontario, Canada

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Busch Beer (All Races)

Season 6 Stats (Craftsman): 1 top 5, 5 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 4 ASCA Next Class Member

When Tico Bowden Motorsports announced that they would not be bringing back Norm Lester and Grant Von Duvedel for Season 7, many people expected that Nick Painter would get the call up to Cup to replace one of those two, especially with the team liquidating all of their Craftsman assets in an attempt to strengthen their Cup efforts. What they did not expect was for Nathaniel Cherry to be promoted to Cup as well in one of the most shocking, if not the most stunning, move in a silly season full of them. In his 25 career Craftsman Series starts, Cherry only has 1 top 5 finish (at Ajax Superspeedway no less) and 11 total top 10’s in those races. While yes, he was in arguably the worst equipment on the grid, finishing 10th in points just barely edging out Craftsman back markers Keegan Bartoli and Keon McDavid in a car that won the Craftsman driver’s and owner’s championship just two seasons ago most certainly is not a promising sign. While Craftsman performance isn’t always a great indicator on how a driver’s Cup career will go, it certainly seems like the Canadian might’ve been prompted to Cup a couple seasons too soon to say the least.

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## **#6 Ryan Dixon | Age: 26**

Hometown: Brisbane, Australia

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Wyndham Rewards (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 6 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 146 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 4 Ajax Cup wins, Season 2 Craftsman Series Champion

For the second consecutive season, Ryan Dixon came home 6th in the final standings, just outside of the main championship fight all season long. However, considering his two teammates finished 11th and 15th in the final standings, Season 6 certainly has to be considered a success for the New Zealander. Dixon also scored his first win in nearly two seasons in dramatic fashion in the Northern 200, which just put a further exclamation point on his year as a whole. The problem now becomes that at age 26, Dixon certainly isn’t getting any younger and he doesn’t seem like a championship caliber driver, at least just yet. While he finished top 5 in points in both Seasons 3 & 4, Dixon was never really a serious title contender in either of those seasons. And over the past two seasons, CJ Barrymore Racing as a whole has taken a step back, which has held Dixon back as he seems to be getting everything out of the car that he can. With a fresh new sponsor in Wyndham Rewards and a fresh new paint scheme, will that be enough to provide Dixon the fresh start he needs to capture his first championship?

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## **#8 Shane Park (R) | Age: 20**

Hometown: Long Island, NY

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats (Craftsman): 2 wins, 11 top 5’s, 13 top 10’s, 1 pole, 54 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 6 Craftsman Series Champion, 2 Craftsman Series wins

From what we have seen in his ASCA career so far, if luck is on his side Shane Park has the potential to become an extraordinary talent. While his rookie season in the Craftsman Series was extremely disappointing, that was mainly due to misfortune more than anything. Being taken out by lap cars while running in the top 6 twice in the last three races pretty much ended any late season charge the son of former NASCAR driver Steve Park could make for ROTY, but in both of those races before the DNF’s Park certainly proved he belonged with the big boys of Craftsman. Last season was a completely different story however. With all his bad luck out of the way in Season 5, Park went on a TEAR, scoring as many top 5’s as any other Craftsman regular (including Devin Smith) had top 10’s, picking up his first two career wins at Denver and Michigan, and taking home the championship with less points than S5 Champion Henry Brady despite running FOUR additional races. There was no doubt after his incredible performance all season long that Park was ready for the big leagues, and thus he was promoted to Cup with a new car number to replace colossal bust Adam Petty Jr. After the season that Snoots Enterprises had last year along with having Greg Healey as a teammate, the stakes will certainly be high for the 20 year old to preform in Season 7.

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## **#9 Todd Kidd | Age: 25**

Hometown: Silicon Valley, CA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: NAPA Auto Parts (15 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 wins, 6 top 5’s, 13 top 10’s, 1 pole, 217 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 3 Ajax Cup wins, Season 2 Ajax Cup ROTY, Season 1 Craftsman Series Champion

Its hard to believe Todd Kidd is now entering his 6th season of Ajax Cup racing in Season 7. Its even more hard to believe he’s only 25 years of age! With all that being said, the 2nd place Kidd and Chokin Todd memes have now become a distant memory, as the California Kidd (get it?) put together his best season to date last year. A career high in wins and top 10’s helped Kidd finish a career high 3rd in the final standings, and this #9 team has certainly begun to establish themselves as perennial championship contenders. The question now becomes, with his first win out of the way and multiple wins last season to back up his first win not being a fluke, when should we expect the first title from one of the sport’s fan favorites? It was around this point in his career that Randle Woods begun to face scrutiny for not capturing his first title yet, and the pressure for him to get it done only became stronger and stronger until he finally got it done in Season 5 at age 31. With the 25 year old being so heavily compared to his former teammate ever since his rookie season, expect Todd Kidd haters to begin to shift their focus from his lack of wins to his lack of championships as reasons why he’s “overrated” until he can close the deal on one.

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## **#10 Cameron Atwood | Age: 25**

Hometown: Antioch, TN

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Smithfield (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 3 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 1 pole, 123 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Ajax Cup win

If there’s one thing that we found out about Cameron Atwood, it is most certainly that Tico Bowden Motorsports is holding him back. Despite his teammates finishing a paltry 17th and 22nd in points, the son of former NASCAR driver Casey Atwood was able to drag his car up to 13th in the final standings, one spot behind two time champion Jimmy Hood and two spots ahead of six time Cup winner Caleb Henderson Jr. Not to mention the incredible job Atwood was able to do at Belltown and Denver, leading the opening 103 laps at Belltown before subsequently being dumped out of the lead by Randle Woods, and coming back two weeks later to snap TBM’s 42 race winless drought with his first career win at Denver. You also have to take into account Atwood’s top 5 runs in the Northern 200 and in the season finale at Belltown that were thwarted by mistakes of his own or by other drivers, that showed that the Tennessee native was dragging a car that veteran Norm Lester struggled to even finish on the lead lap with on a weekly basis to any sort of relevance was remarkable. That being said, with this being the final season of Atwood’s contract at Tico Bowden Motorsports and at only the age of 25, unless Tico Bowden suddenly comes up with a boatload of cash to pay the man or this team drastically improves overnight, don’t expect Atwood to return to the #10 seat in Season 8. However, Ford has become heavily invested in the kid after seeing his performances at TBM and in the #22 in the Craftsman Series over the past couple seasons, so also expect him to be back behind the wheel of a blue oval in Season 8. The question becomes, which one?

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## **#11 Devin Smith (R) | Age: 22**

Hometown: Livonia, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: FedEx (All Races)

Season 6 Stats (Craftsman): 4 wins, 9 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 2 poles, 289 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 4 Craftsman Series wins, Season 6 Craftsman Series ROTY

If you haven’t watched the ASCA since Season 5, first of all what are you doing, and secondly, let me introduce you to young phenom Devin Smith. The first cousin of Reser’s Series regular Tyler Smith, the 22 year old absolutely burst onto the scene last season, putting together arguably the greatest rookie year in ASCA history. Scoring his first career win in only his 4th start in dominant fashion at Blu-Ray, Smith followed that up with another win the very next week at The Stoneyard, a track notorious for eating rookies for breakfast, albeit in controversial fashion with his move on Chris Barrymore. Smith then followed that up again by scoring his first career pole at Belltown and leading the opening 48 laps of that race as well before finishing 5th, and before you knew it the Livonia native had 2 wins and 5 top 5’s in the opening 5 events and was leading the points…..**AS A ROOKIE.** To put this into perspective, a rookie had not won multiple races in a season since Todd Kidd did so back in Season 0, and the last rookie to win a race before last season was Henry Brady in Season 4. And while Smith eventually lost the points lead and the title to Shane Park, he still collected wins later in the season at West Virginia and Advocare, boosting him up to four wins on the campaign. Its certainly safe to say those calling him the “next Jimmy Hood” were not lying, and Michael White Racing opted to ditch 14 time Ajax Cup winner Dan Rodgers to put Smith in a Cup seat this season. Each time the pressure has been on the Livonia native, he most certainly has stepped up to the plate in a big way, but can he continue that trend in the pinnacle level of the ASCA?

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## **#12 Henry Brady | Age: 25**

Hometown: Easton, MD

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: PPG Paints (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 3 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 6 Ajax Cup ROTY, Season 5 Craftsman Series Champion, 2 Craftsman Series wins

While Henry Brady did capture ROTY honors last season, its certainly hard to say last season wasn’t a disappointment for the Maryland native. When your teammates win a combined 5 races and finish 1st and 4th in points while you can only bring home 3 top 10’s and finish 16th in points, there certainly seemed to be a disconnect between the #12 team from the #2 and #22 teams all season long. Despite not lighting the Craftsman Series on fire like his successor in the #6 car did, Brady certainly wasn’t a slouch in Craftsman either, taking home two wins at Advocare and of course the Season 5 Championship. Add in how much Grant Von Duvedel struggled in his tenure with the team from Seasons 2-5, and how much Ryan Braun also struggled in his last two seasons with Orkedi Bros Racing, and it really makes you question if Louis Orkedi is telling the truth when he says he gives his sons’ teammates “equal equipment”. With that being said, assuming Louis isn’t lying about that prior statement, Henry Brady most certainly cannot afford a sophomore slump this season if he wants to stick around in the ASCA long. While expecting him to preform on Diego and Nick Orkedi’s level in only his 2nd full time season is ludicrous, another points finish outside the top 15 in Orkedi Bros Racing equipment certainly won’t be acceptable either, especially with Ford desperate to find Cameron Atwood a seat heading into Season 8.

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## **#14 Nick Painter (R) | Age: 22**

Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: IT Savvy (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats (Craftsman): 3 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 1 pole, 31 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 3 ASCA Next Class Member

Even after three seasons of development in the Craftsman Series, some serious questions still remain over whether Nick Painter is ready for the big leagues heading into this season. The 22 year old actually took a step back last season compared to his sophomore year, with less top 5’s and top 10’s despite four extra races and finishing two spots lower in points. Many people expected the Ann Arbor native to become a championship contender heading into the season, but instead it took a top 5 effort in the finale at Belltown for Painter to finish just four points ahead of rookie Ross Jackson in points, who was on a brand new team mind you. While the excuses for Painter are that he drives on the most underfunded team in the sport, remember Doug Bowden won two races and the Craftsman Series title as Painter’s teammate just two seasons ago. That being said, there’s also no doubt Painter has shown flashes of potential throughout his Craftsman career especially at short tracks, and he’s also done an extremely good job at keeping the car in one piece throughout his Craftsman tenure. Tico Bowden Motorsports was put into a box with both Norm Lester and Grant Von Duvedel leaving the team after last season, and selling all their Craftsman assets further compounded their issues. They had to take the gamble on moving up their own prospects they’ve spent so much time and resources on developing, and in Painter’s defense he is more qualified than his fellow teammate Nathaniel Cherry for Cup. However, when your only ASCA achievement is that you were a part of an ASCA Next class, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned whether TBM might ruin Painter and Cherry’s careers rushing them up to Cup way too soon.

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## **#17 Caleb Henderson Jr. | Age: 28**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Fastenal (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 1 top 5, 7 top 10’s, 1 pole, 35 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 6 Ajax Cup wins, Season 1 Ajax Cup ROTY, Season 0 Craftsman Series Champion

Before the start of last season, we asked for the real Caleb Henderson Jr to please stand up. Would it be the guy that was a perennial championship contender from Seasons 1-3, or the guy that won one race a season and then disappeared from Seasons 4-5? After his win at West Virginia in pretty dominant fashion and his pole at The Stoneyard, everyone pretty much assumed that this #17 camp was back in business and that Henderson Jr. would be a title favorite yet again. Then……the rest of the season happened. And boy oh boy was it an utter disaster for this team. If you would’ve told any ASCA fan right after Henderson Jr took home his 2nd straight Windows 300 in absolute dominant fashion and was 4th in points that in 1 1/2 seasons his job would be in jeopardy, pretty much everyone would’ve called you clinically insane. After all, Henderson Jr was one of the pioneers of the OG Cup youth movement back in Season 1 with Sean Wooden, Diego and Nick Orkedi, and Brynn Rennerd, and pretty much everyone expected he’d be a champion by this point in his career, not 15th in points struggling to stay on the lead lap on a weekly basis. Its reported that behind the scenes Henderson Jr’s relationship with CJ Barrymore Racing as a whole has “deteriorated rapidly”, and with Henderson’s contract expiring after this season it appears highly unlikely he’ll be returning to this #17 car in Season 8. Maybe a change of scenery might be what’s needed to bring back the Caleb Henderson Jr of old, which means expect this season to be a throwaway year for the two time Windows 300 champion.

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## **#18 Randle Woods | Age: 33**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Snickers (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 6 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 287 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 5 Ajax Cup Champion, 20 Ajax Cup wins

Is there a such thing as a championship hangover? Maybe not for Diego Orkedi, but for Jimmy Hood, Nick Orkedi, and now Randle Woods apparently this does seemingly exist. Remarkably, last season marked the first time since Season 0 that Randle Woods did not finish top 3 in the final point standings. Think about that - that’s six straight seasons finishing 3rd or better in points, something not even Diego Orkedi has been able to accomplish just yet! Even still, Woods’ “down” season was better than most driver’s career years in Ajax Cup. The Season 5 champion still managed to finish 7th in points, score 11 top 10 finishes, led nearly 300 laps, and when you look at his DNF’s, none of them were 100% his fault. While the team certainly took a step back from their Season 5 performance, that was to be expected considering how remarkable of a year they put together. So don’t buy the narrative that Woods is suddenly “washed up” even now at age 33, because as he showed throughout the season on ASCA Radioactive his competitive spirit and will to win still burns stronger than ever. That being said, Woods is certainly not getting any younger these days, as he’s currently the 3rd oldest active driver in the Cup Series. And while he may not be regressing just yet, as we’ve seen with Jimmy Hood your championship window can close with the snap of a finger. Father Time is undefeated no matter how dominant your equipment is, which means time is starting to run out on Randle Woods being a championship caliber driver. The question is, how much longer exactly does he have left before the clock strikes zero?

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## **#19 Norm Lester | Age: 34**

Hometown: New Orleans, LA

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Stanley Tools (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 3 Ajax Cup wins

One of the most intriguing moves of the offseason was Norm Lester leaving Tico Bowden Motorsports, the team he had spent his entire career with up to this point, to take a paycut and join the greener pastures of Michael White Racing to replace Sean Wooden. Despite TBM’s switch to Ford before Season 3 and Lester’s win that season in the rain shortened race at Belltown, the writing was still on the wall that it wouldn’t be enough to return the team to prominence anytime soon. Once Doug Bowden spurned his own father’s team to join Ronnie Woods Motorsports to begin his Cup career, TBM has been in a free fall ever since, which prompted the Louisiana native to take his talents elsewhere before it was too late. For the first time in his career, Lester will have an opportunity to race in championship level equipment, and even at his advanced age we saw the effect that had on Dan Rodgers’ performance the past two seasons before his untimely retirement, and even to a lesser degree Jared Ayers once he made the jump to Cup. While the move seems puzzling from Michael White’s perspective considering Lester had three times as many DNF’s as top 10’s last season, its no secret how piss poor and dysfunctional Tico Bowden Motorsports looked as a whole last season outside of Cameron Atwood in both Craftsman and Cup, so why not give a proven Cup veteran like Lester a once in a lifetime golden opportunity to succeed and see how he does? This could become the move of the season or blunder of the year, but it will more than likely have a bigger effect on the Cup season than you think.

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## **#20 Jared Ayers | Age: 22**

Hometown: Daytona Beach, FL

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Craftsman (15 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 6 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 139 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Ajax Cup win

If you would’ve told an ASCA fan Jared Ayers would finish 5th in points before last season started, they would’ve probably called you crazy. If you would’ve told that same fan that Ayers would finish the highest of any Michael White Racing driver in the standings, outscoring his two teammates that combined for 8 wins the previous season, they probably would’ve called you clinically insane. After wrecking his primary car in qualifying at Blu-Ray and finishing 15th, 3 laps down in the race, the Florida native quietly went on a tear, collecting 6 straight top 10 finishes, 4 straight top 5’s, a pole, and eventually his first career win in the season finale at Belltown. Ayers rose up from 9th in the standings after his horrific Blu-Ray race all the way up to 5th by season’s end, a remarkable comeback to say the least. The 22 year old has been dying to get more attention on he and his team, and now with his recent on track performance he’s finally got his wish. With the extra attention however, also comes extra pressure that Ayers has yet to really face in his ASCA career. Throughout his Craftsman career, Ayers flew under the radar due to driving in what was underfunded equipment at the time, which allowed him to develop at his own pace with no rush to preform immediately. Even in his rookie season, despite taking over for ASCA legend Michael White Ayers still found himself flying under the radar due to all the hype fellow ROTY contender Doug Bowden was receiving. Entering this season, the script has completely flipped. Its now Ayers that has the expectations and pressure on him to carry Michael White Racing into the future, with two of his teammates being 33 years or older and his other teammate being a rookie. Will Ayers live up to this newfound hype, or crumble mightily under the added pressure?

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## **#21 Chris Barrymore | Age: 23**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Quaker State/Menards (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 4 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 1 pole, 176 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Ajax Cup win, Season 3 Ajax Cup ROTY, Season 3 Craftsman Series Champion

A season with 4 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, and 176 laps led with an 11th place points finish would be a satisfying one for about half of the Ajax Cup field. However, for Chris Barrymore it was another season well below expectations. Now entering his 5th season in Cup, many people expected the son of CJ Barrymore to have way more than one career win by now due to all the hype he received when he entered the Cup Series full time at just 19 years of age back in Season 3. The problem for Barrymore most certainly has not been raw speed, as he’s shown that winning poles and leading laps is easy work for him. Barrymore just seems to have forgotten how to close the deal it seems, which is shocking considering he had no problems becoming the youngest Cup Series winner in ASCA history at just 20 years of age in Season 4. Since then, the Arris 200 and Northern 200 in Season 5 and the Advocare 200 and Apple 225 last season come to mind as golden opportunities for Barrymore to win that he has let slip away. Even last season’s Windows 300 was incredibly disappointing for the Computerville native at his home track as he smacked the wall and wrecked out of the race well before halfway after being a heavy pre-race favorite. The good news for Barrymore is despite having four seasons of Cup experience under his belt already, he’s only 23 years old. Todd Kidd did not have a Cup win to his name until he turned 23, and neither did Greg Healey while Barrymore has already gotten that monkey off his back. The question now becomes, when will that 2nd career win come, and when will he live up to his true full potential as “the most talented driver in the ASCA” that Ronnie Woods and others in the garage says that he has?

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## **#22 Diego Orkedi | Age: 30**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: Shell/Pennzoil (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 3 wins, 10 top 5’s, 12 top 10’s, 1 pole, 487 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 1, Season 4 & Season 6 Ajax Cup Champion, 16 Ajax Cup wins

What more can you say about Diego Orkedi that hasn’t already been said before. Heading into last season, there was a serious debate over whether Orkedi, Randle Woods, or Jimmy Hood was the best driver of the ASCA’s modern era. After last season however, there’s quite frankly no debate no matter what way you spin it. The Belltown native started Season 6 in a hospital bed with a mild concussion after a hard crash in the non points Intel Shootout race, and the concussion was so bad he had to skip qualifying, the duels, and gave way to substitute Jack Fronwell only 20 laps into the Ajax 200. The effects of the concussion continued to linger for Orkedi throughout the early portion of the season, as he had already racked up 3 DNF’s in the first 6 races after having only 3 DNF’s in Seasons 4 & 5 combined, with the team sitting 12th in points. Questions began to swirl over whether the two time champion was “washed up” at age 29, as it looked certain that the worst season of his career was incoming. When Orkedi scored a 4th place finish at Denver, many dismissed it and didn’t think twice about it. However, that finish seemed to give this #22 camp the confidence they needed to turn around their season in an instant. 9 straight top 5’s later, Diego Orkedi had a 27 point margin over Greg Healey, enough to clinch the title an entire race early at Ajax Superspeedway, which will go down as arguably the biggest single season turnaround in **ASCA HISTORY**. So what’s next for the 30 year old to accomplish? He’s now won three titles in the past six seasons as well as three Windows 300’s throughout his career. You could say adding an Ajax 200 trophy to his display case, or reaching 20 career Ajax Cup wins. But if one thing’s for certain, this #22 team isn’t going away anytime soon.

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## **#24 Doug Bowden | Age: 24**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Axalta (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 7 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 pole, 243 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 5 Ajax Cup ROTY, Season 4 Craftsman Series Champion

If you would’ve told someone that Jared Ayers would collect a win before Doug Bowden at the Ajax Cup level, they probably would’ve called you crazy. After all, Bowden straight up out dueled him for the Season 4 Craftsman Championship, then did the same for Season 5 ROTY honors. However, as we’ve seen throughout his ASCA career, it generally takes the son of Tico Bowden a little while to figure out how to close the deal before he can finally get the job done. Taking a look back at his Craftsman career, it took him until his 18th career start to collect his first Craftsman win, and even that was because of a last lap bump and run on Ryan Dixon to get the job done. And since his win in the season finale that same year at Belltown, Bowden has not been able to even capture a Craftsman victory despite leading on the last lap in multiple races last season. Heading into his 3rd season in Cup now, expectations for the Belltown native are seemingly all over the place. Some only expect Bowden to capture that first career win, while others expect him to take the next step and become a serious championship contender. Remember that Bowden was 2nd in the standings at one point last season, but five DNF’s throughout the season were enough to bump him down to 10th at season’s end. Also, don’t forget that this #24 team is formerly the #5 team that Randle Woods took to five straight top 3 points finishes from Season 0 to Season 4, so the pressure on Bowden to step up his performance might be greater than you think.

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## **#42 Ryan Braun | Age: 31**

Hometown: Commerce, MI

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: CreditOne Bank (15 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins

If you’re still a Ryan Braun fan after last season, god bless you for sticking with the man despite the worst season of his career. For a guy that just two seasons ago won a pole, led 100 laps on the nose, and was sniffing the top 10 in points, and even last season led 28 laps in the Windows 300, Season 6 was an utter disaster for Braun and Dexter Andrews Motorsports as a whole. With three times as many DNF’s as top 10 finishes, zero laps led all season long, and an 18th place points finish, its safe to say that everything that could go wrong did go wrong for this #42 camp. Even still the Commerce native was the lead Dexter Andrews Motorsports car in the final standings, which highlights just how bad of a season it was for the team as a whole. With Braun effectively being a journeyman now at age 31 and having an expiring contract to boot, odds are that his tenure with DAM in this #42 car is coming to a close. Dexter Andrews had hoped that Braun would be the guy that could bring his team to prominence and get the squad’s first win in the Cup Series since 2011, but just like James Walton’s tenure in this ride things started off with a bang and have gotten progressively worse ever since. Despite the sheer amount of bad luck Braun has had, its clear that the relationship between he and Dexter Andrews Motorsports has devolved into a toxic one, even if it looks squeaky clean on the surface. The question now becomes after this season, where do Braun and DAM go from here heading into Season 8?

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## **#43 Rob Buddy | Age: 26**

Hometown: Denver, CO

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Aftershokz (8 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win

Last season was certainly a nightmare for Rob Buddy and this entire #43 team, but in hindsight it was clear that he was set up to fail from day 1. Dexter Andrews Motorsports as a whole took a major step back in Season 5 on the Ajax Cup side of things, and despite this Andrews decided that adding a third team with a rookie driver and no committed primary sponsor would be a brilliant idea. Needless to say, the season ended up being an abject disaster for #TheHomieRob and Dexter Andrews Motorsports as a whole. Just like his teammate Braun, Buddy also had three times as many DNF’s as top 10 finishes on the season, and the team combined racked up 19 DNF’s in 48 total starts. That means that nearly 40% of the time in Season 6 DAM brought back a totaled car to the shop, and only had 1 combined top 5 and 6 top 10’s to show for it. Its no wonder how the three drivers managed to finish right together with each other in 18th, 19th, and 20th in points. To make matters worse for the Colorado native, Click & Close left the team at season’s end, and STP also announced they’d be decreasing their share of races all the way down to five events in Season 7. This leaves Buddy without a true primary sponsor backing him, but at least Aftershokz headphones agreed to put their colors on the car for a little under half the season as a new sponsor to the ASCA. However, with the team in turmoil and Buddy’s sponsorship woes, despite this only being his second season in Ajax Cup the pressure on The Homie Rob to preform is most certainly higher than ever.

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## **#47 Nick Carey (R) | Age: 28**

Hometown: East Northport, NY

Team: Revolution Racing

Primary Sponsor: Kroger ClickList (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 4 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 68 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 3 ASCA Next Class Member

Like the other Nick entering the Cup Series this season, the potential of Nick Carey is largely unknown as he enters his rookie season. Believe it or not, the New Yorker is the 8th oldest driver already in the Cup Series, giving him an advantage when it comes to maturity and life experience over the young guns. The 28 year old was also extremely consistent over his Craftsman tenure, finishing 3rd in points over the last two seasons despite lacking the raw speed of his championship rivals. Despite this, Carey still has yet to collect a victory in his ASCA career, which has to be extremely concerning considering he has no championships or ROTY achievements either. The former CitiBank star’s closest chance to glory was the dominant performance he turned in during the Tinder 125, leading the opening 61 laps before being bamboozled on the final restart by Devin Smith and only bringing home a 2nd place finish to show for it. Outside of that one race, Carey only led 26 laps combined in his three season Craftsman career, which considering his advanced age and the fact that he drove for Ronnie Woods Motorsports, has to be quite concerning as well. Another reason to hold back some optimism is Revolution Racing is a brand spanking new team to the Ajax Cup scene. While they did run four races last season in preparation for Season 7, running full time is certainly a whole different ball game, especially with the Cup schedule now being expanded to 16 events. This rookie driver/rookie team combo is something we’ve seen tried before in Cup and led to disastrous results, so we shall see if that turns out to be the case with this Carey/Revolution Racing paring down the line.

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## **#48 Brynn Rennerd | Age: 29**

Hometown: Phoenix, AZ

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Lowe’s (All Races)

Season 6 Stats: 1 win, 5 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 30 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 5 Ajax Cup wins

An 8th place points finish is most certainly not indicative of the season Brynn Rennerd put together last year. For the first 3/4 of the season, this #48 camp was a serious title contender, right up there with Diego Orkedi, Greg Healey, and Todd Kidd. The Arizona native was essentially having a career renaissance, which all began with his come from behind victory in the Ajax 200 and seemingly carried on until the WesBanco 250. In that race however, things fell apart for Rennerd and co., and after that the bottom completely fell out on his season. A 13th place run at West Virginia effectively took Rennerd out of title contention, which was followed up by a 21st place finish due to a blown engine in the Apple 225, a 14th in the Fastenal 200, and an 11th at Belltown, finishing an embarrassing three laps down. With an end to the season like that, it’ll certainly be hard for this #48 team to find some positive momentum heading into this season, especially with the rumors that Lowe’s will be backing out of the sport entirely after Season 7. At age 29 Rennerd also isn’t getting any younger, and despite being the only driver in ASCA history to complete the modern day crown jewel sweep the fact of the matter is he only has 5 career wins in 8 full seasons of Cup competition. One has to wonder how much longer his leash will be with Ronnie Woods Motorsports before it becomes put up or shut up time. On the other hand, teammate Jimmy Hood was 28 when he begun to take over the ASCA and enter the prime of his career. So the jury on whether Brynn Rennerd will ever become a championship caliber driver and consistent race winner still remains out, but how much longer will that be the case?

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## **#88 Jimmy Hood | Age: 35**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Nationwide (16 Races)

Season 6 Stats: 2 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 1 pole, 18 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: Season 0 & Season 3 Ajax Cup Champion, 17 Ajax Cup wins, Seasons 2, 3, 4 & 6 Most Popular Driver

Father Time is undefeated folks. If you need any more proof of this being the case, look at the downfall of Jimmy Hood from prominence in less than two seasons. From a borderline title contender in Season 4 with multiple race wins, to a guy that now struggles to run in the top 5, only led 18 laps over the course of the entire season, and hasn’t won in 30+ starts and two and a half full seasons, the fall from grace for the former two time champion has been much swifter than anyone could’ve imagined. While in Season 5 Hood has the raw speed to compete in the top 5 but was just extremely inconsistent, last season the speed just wasn’t there for this #88 camp, and it showed with a 12th place points finish, the lowest of Hood’s career to date. With 9 top 10 finishes you could say the Belltown native was more consistent yes, but 2 top 5’s and 18 laps led show that maybe Hood just doesn’t have it anymore. At age 35, as crazy as it sounds Hood is now the oldest driver in the garage, and in the ASCA as a whole. Cup drivers continue to get younger and younger as the youth movement begins to fully take over the Cup Series, and with Hood starting his own Craftsman team this season it shows that even he’s starting to think about what’s next. At this point a third championship is seemingly out of the question for him, although you can never say never in the ASCA. And with that being said, its largely forgotten that Hood used to be referred to as the King of Short Tracks just two short seasons ago. Even still, he still managed to take home his 4th Most Popular Driver Award in 5 seasons, showing that despite his sudden regression Hood still has a legion of fans still supporting him known as #HoodNation. As Hood rides off into the sunset with his years left numbered, can he at least return to victory lane one last time potentially in Season 7?

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