2023 Ajax Cup Driver Introductions

## **#1 Derek Lewis | Age: 24**

Hometown: Denver, CO

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Gearwrench (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 5 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win, 2019 Craftsman Series ROTY

In the first quarter of 2022, Derek Lewis was rather quietly setting the ASCA on fire sitting 7th in the standings with three top 10 finishes and no DNF’s to boot. While many people expected it would be his rookie teammate Laquon Scransen that would be the one to put Dexter Andrews Motorsports back on the map in the Ajax Cup scene, it looked to be the Denver native IF the campaign ended after the Arris 200 at The Stoneyard. The problem is, there were still 12 more races to be run, and Lewis eventually fell back down to earth with only two more top 10 results the remainder of the season, dropping all the way down to 16th in the final points. In his defense though, this was about where the No. 1 team was at in terms of raw speed each week, and to Lewis’ credit he tied with series champion Greg Healey for the least amount of DNF’s last year with only two. Now at the age of 24 with two seasons of Cup experience under his belt, its pretty clear the type of driver that Lewis could be. While he’ll never necessarily be an elite level talent that can drag a back marker car up the grid like his teammate has shown the potential to be, he can at least bring the car home in one piece and has proven to be a pretty good plate racer as well with three straight finishes of 6th or better at Ajax Superspeedway. If there’s one thing DAM needs right now with all the chaos surrounding that organization currently it would be stability, and Lewis provides just that. While you shouldn’t expect fireworks from this group in 2023, you can certainly do a lot worse than a mid level driver in this sport that’s for sure.

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## **#2 Nick Orkedi | Age: 33**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: Discount Tire (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 8 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 19 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2016 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 14 Ajax Cup wins

With the recent retirement of Jimmy Hood after last season, Nick Orkedi has quietly become the third most successful active driver in the sport currently with 14 career Ajax Cup victories and a series championship back in 2016. While his days of being a yearly title contender appear to be a couple years in his rearview mirror, the Belltown native proved in 2022 he’s far from washed up either with his third straight campaign featuring a victory, this time at the Michigan Road Course, and the second most top 5’s of any driver only behind his little brother. Its clear that now at the age of 33 and having a wife and kids to go home to every night, Orkedi’s performance on the track has slipped just a tad with more priorities in life than just turning an 850 HP stock car left a few hundred times for four months, but that doesn’t quite mean he’s washed up just yet. In fact, one could argue his Friday qualifying pace has gotten better over the years, but these days his laps led and win count lags greatly behind his brother as Nick continues to fade further and further into Diego’s shadow. So what’s next for the man tied for 8th on the sport’s Cup all time wins list? While there have been rumors swirling around that Orkedi’s relationship with his family team, Orkedi Bros Racing, has been “rapidly deteriorating” in recent years, Nick has vehemently denied these claims with his contract not set to expire with the organization until 2024. Retirement also seems a bit premature with Orkedi just now entering his mid 30’s, so that could be ruled out. This upcoming season will be an important one to judge just how much the elder Orkedi brother really has left in the tank.

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## **#3 Greg Healey | Age: 26**

Hometown: Pensacola, FL

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: DOW Chemicals (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 3 wins, 6 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 2 poles, 389 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2022 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 7 Ajax Cup wins, 2018 Ajax Cup Series ROTY

6 Craftsman Series wins, Cup Series Rookie of the Year, 7 Ajax Cup Series wins, Windows 300 champion, and now the second youngest Cup champion in ASCA history. Those are all things that Greg Healey has accomplished in his five year career at the top level of the sport all before he crossed the age of 25! Out of the stars to come from the series’ youth movement that took form towards the end of last decade, who would’ve guessed that the Pensacola native working with an upstart team would become the brightest new young face of the sport? People were giving Snoots Enterprises PLENTY of flack for signing Healey to a $45 million dollar extension at the start of the decade considering the young man had yet to even win his first Cup race at that point, but with all the success this group has had over the course of the past three seasons plus the inflation we’ve seen in driver deals since then, that contract looks like a bargain now with Healey currently only being the SIXTH highest paid driver in the sport. At the age of 26, despite the incredible past three years he’s put together many could argue Healey is just NOW entering the prime of his career, meaning much more dominance from this No. 3 group and Baby Snoots’ team should be expected throughout the course of this decade. With the departure of Shane Park to Ronnie Woods Motorsports and the downsizing of the organization’s Craftsman effort from four cars to three, expect even more attention from the team to go to Healey’s title defense bid, which should be a scary thought for the competition in 2023. Folks, if you thought Healey’s breakout year at the start of the decade was a fluke…..think again. This kid is here to stay as one of the best the ASCA has to offer for a long time to come.

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## **#4 Doug Bowden | Age: 26**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Busch Beer (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 6 top 10’s, 1 pole, 69 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Ajax Cup win, 2019 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2018 Craftsman Series Champion, 2016 ASCA Next Class Member

If there’s a driver that many people would’ve pegged to become the next face of the sport at the start of this decade, that would’ve been Doug Bowden. After all, this was the son of an ASCA legend, former Craftsman Series champion and Cup Series Rookie of the Year, driving for one of the most successful teams in the sport’s history. What could possibly go wrong? Well, as we’ve found out over the course of the past three years, many things can and did go wrong for Bowden and his very tumultuous relationship with Ronnie Woods Motorsports. For starters, outside of the No. 9 team with Todd Kidd, RWM had not shown a consistent ability to win races with the Camaro ZL1. While Brynn Rennerd was a title contender for 2020 and 2021, he only scored two victories in that span (one coming in a plate race where only five cars finished), and the No. 24 and No. 88 teams of Bowden and Jimmy Hood lagged much further behind even that. The majority of the Belltown native’s laps led throughout his RWM tenure came at his home track, as outside of that venue he was never really a threat to win on a consistent basis. Add in his incredibly condescending attitude towards his pit crew and team as a whole during the final two years of his tenure, and that his on track results kept getting worse and worse along with his behavior, and you can see why team owner Ronnie Woods was celebrating when he was able to show Bowden the door after 2022. Heading into this year, the 26 year old returns to his father’s team he enjoyed so much success with throughout his Craftsman days on a long term deal through the 2027 campaign…..only this time the Cup side of the organization is in MUCH worse shape than they were a half decade ago. It is possible though that this could be the humbling experience Bowden needs to change his attitude for the better long term.

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## **#6 Ryan Dixon | Age: 28**

Hometown: Brisbane, Australia

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Wyndham Rewards (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 3 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 23 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 5 Ajax Cup wins, 2016 Craftsman Series Champion

Did you know that Ryan Dixon has won more crown jewel events than Randle Woods to date in his Ajax Cup career? While the 28 year old has seemingly plateaued at around the 6th-10th best driver in the sport, you can certainly do a LOT worse in this business than a guy that owns Ajax 200 and Northern 200 trophies in his mantle along with 5 career Cup Series wins to boot, which is why CJ Barrymore Racing extended his current deal through 2026 with a $2 million raise starting in 2024. Sure, the Australian was the worst of his three teammates last season, but finishing 8th in the final standings directly ahead of the likes of Brynn Rennerd and the aforementioned Woods shows that he’s far from a subpar talent. Dixon isn’t necessarily capable of winning multiple races in a campaign like he did over a half decade ago, but in those races where many of the elite level drivers face issues (i.e. both of his crown jewel victories), he’s proven he can be there to pick up the pieces and take advantage of it. Heading into 2023, don’t expect anything spectacular from this No. 6 camp, but they certainly won’t be pushovers either. Another back half of the top 10 points finish has become the norm for this group the past couple years, but if things get frosty at the front of the pack in one of these races (which is certainly bound to happen at least once), expect Dixon to be waiting in the shadows, ready to pounce.

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## **#8 Bryce Mann (R) | Age: 26**

Hometown: Wichita, KS

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Liberty National (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats (Craftsman): 4 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2019 ASCA Next Class Member

Its rather hard to believe that Bryce Mann is the same age as his Snoots Enterprises teammate Greg Healey. While Healey has been in the sport since 2015, he has 13 overall ASCA victories in that span along with a Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award and of course is the reigning champion of the top level of the sport. On the other hand, the only accolade on Mann’s resume despite entering the ASCA back in 2019 with Michael White Racing…..is that he was a former ASCA Next Class member from that year. While the organization was put in a really tough spot with the surprise announcement that Shane Park would be joining Ronnie Woods Motorsports following the 2022 campaign so late in the season, one has to wonder was the Wichita native really their best option? There’s no doubt that the 26 year old was the best of his Craftsman Series teammates last year finishing 5th in the final standings, but only four top 5 finishes along with no poles, no laps led, and most importantly no wins despite three years of experience in the series for a driver over the age of 25 have a lot of pundits scratching their heads about this promotion. While Mann was probably the safest option the team had on such short notice, one has to wonder if they’ll regret passing up on the long term potential of a Cameron Barrymore even if he wasn’t Cup ready either. In any case, at least Mann can rest assured that with Healey the top dawg at the team for more than likely the rest of his career, there won’t be as much pressure on him to perform like his rookie counterparts in 2023.

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## **#9 Todd Kidd | Age: 27**

Hometown: Silicon Valley, CA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: NAPA Auto Parts (15 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 wins, 5 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 294 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 7 Ajax Cup wins, 2016 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2015 Craftsman Series Champion

5th, 5th, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd. Those are Todd Kidd’s points finishes in succession over the course of the past half decade, and unfortunately for Kidd and Ronnie Woods Motorsports despite 7 victories in that time span they still have no championships to show for it. Very similar to how it took the Silicon Valley native 56 Cup starts to score his first career triumph, it appears that it might just take Kidd finding new and unique ways to lose the title before he finally gets himself one, similar to another driver that drove for RWM for many years by the name of Randle Woods. 2022 was easily Kidd’s best opportunity to get this monkey off his back yet, as after Greg Healey ran into trouble during the penultimate race of the campaign at Ajax Superspeedway and Diego Orkedi’s transmission destroyed his engine in the season finale at Belltown, all signs pointed towards the fan favorite cruising home with his first title with ease. After all, he was running comftorably in the top 5 with one of the fastest cars on track doing exactly what he needed to do to hold Greg Healey at bay, what could possibly go wrong? That is, until lap car Henry Brady blew a tire and slid up the track directly in front of Kidd, taking them both out of contention. The question now becomes heading into 2023, will this FINALLY be the 27 year old’s year? Kidd is one of only three drivers to have won multiple races every season throughout the 2020’s to date, so there’s no doubt this No. 9 team has elite level speed. But how much longer will that last considering his teammates throughout the same time span have struggled to find victory lane on a consistent basis? Only time will tell, but what we do know is that if RWM hopes to snap their Ajax Cup title drought dating back to 2017 with Jimmy Hood, their best bet is easily putting their trust in their $50 million dollar man and newly minted reality TV star to get the job done.

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## **#10 Ryan Braun | Age: 33**

Hometown: Commerce, MI

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Smithfield (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 4 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins

If Tico Bowden Motorsports needed a true litmus test on just how far their cars have slipped on pace throughout the modern era, Ryan Braun certainly provided it for them in 2022. Despite racking up double the top 10’s of his teammates combined last year, scoring a runner up finish in the penultimate race of the campaign at Ajax Superspeedway, and keeping his DNF numbers relatively low compared to his TBM counterparts, Braun still only managed to finish 20th in the standings in a close fight with upstart organization Flores Motorsports and Lucas Sambér in their debut season. Now at the age of 33, one has to wonder how many more years the journeyman Braun has left in him, especially uncompetitive, wasted ones like last season. Even with the addition of Doug Bowden, a proven Cup winner and former Craftsman champion to TBM entering 2023, considering this team had all three of their cars finishing 20th or lower in the final points last year its going to take a LOT more than that to fix the massive hole this team has dug itself into over the past half decade with poor management, poor cars and poor choices in who they put behind the wheel of said rides. Don’t expect much from the Commerce native this season, except for maybe a surprise retirement at the end of it if he’s fed up with being a part of yet another rebuilding project with the latter years of his career.

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## **#11 Devin Smith | Age: 24**

Hometown: Livonia, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: FedEx (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 4 top 10’s, 1 pole, 27 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 Craftsman Series ROTY, 4 Craftsman Series wins, 2019 ASCA Next Class Member

Before the start of last year, many were convinced that the end of 2021 would be the norm for Devin Smith’s career. The rookie put together five straight top 10 finishes and made a late run at Shane Park for Rookie of the Year, only coming up just short. The Livonia native was pegged by many as a breakout candidate for 2022, with some even calling him a top 10 driver in the sport as a whole. Then…..the actual season happened, and Smith’s stock has dipped to about as bearish as it’s ever been. Only one top 5 finish, only four top 10 finish, finishing below both Dexter Andrews Motorsports cars and the Revolution Racing entry of Nick Carey in Michael White Racing equipment mind you, along with a whopping EIGHT DNF’s in a 16 race campaign drives home the point that Smith had quite the sophomore slump. However, when your rookie season was already underwhelming to begin with, there’s no room for a second year as bad as this one if you want a long career in this sport. Especially when you consider Smith’s direct rival coming out the Craftsman Series in Shane Park has continued to improve each week, while the driver who he replaced, 14 time Ajax Cup winner Dan Rodgers, is thriving even at the advanced age of 41 over in the Smithfield Cup Series, Michael White has to be KICKING himself for dropping the ball yet again on developing yet another young talent. While the 24 year old will be back in the No. 11 for this upcoming season, the chances of him returning to this ride for 2024 are rather slim to none, and slim just died with the recent rise of team prospect Braeden Bennett to one of the hottest young talents in the sport. That being said, if Smith wants ANY chance of finding another Cup ride after 2023, he must consider this year an audition tape to the rest of the sport’s team owners to give him one last chance to prove he still has the immense amount of talent he flashed during his Craftsman Series days.

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## **#12 Carson Schmidt (R) | Age: 20**

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Menards (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats (Craftsman): 1 win, 5 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 27 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Craftsman Series wins, 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

If you do not have the last name Orkedi, signing up to join Orkedi Bros Racing has been basically an automatic death sentence to your career before it can really take off. Just ask Grant Von Duvedel or former Craftsman Series champion Henry Brady about that one. Nonetheless, that didn’t deter 20 year old Carson Schmidt from stepping up to the plate and taking the two year contract offer when OBR came calling to get his Cup career off the ground as quickly as possible. While rumor has it that team owner Louis Orkedi supplies only the Orkedi brothers the top tier equipment while giving the third team car the leftovers and experimental parts, one has to also wonder if the drivers behind the wheel themselves had a part to play in why this team generally runs so far behind the other two regardless of the number. Its been well documented how bad Grant Von Duvedel was for many years, but should it have been more obvious that Henry Brady was going to be a bust as well? After all, both he and Devin Smith drove the flagship No. 6 from 2018-20 while the Ford Development was at its peak, and while they both preformed extremely well in the ride they also both struggled immensely the second they got up to Cup once they weren’t driving what many considered the best car in the Craftsman field. This doesn’t bode well for the Dallas native Schmidt, who has driven that car the past two seasons and “underperformed” in it according to many of his detractors, now making the jump to an organization that’s notorious for not supporting its third car at such a young age as well. While Schmidt could certainly prove a lot of people wrong in 2023 if he can take home Rookie of the Year honors, a lot of signs point to this being a potentially toxic relationship from the start for both driver and team.

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## **#14 Nick Painter | Age: 24**

Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: PEAK Anitfreeze (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 10

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021, 2022 Ajax Cup Series Most Popular Driver, 1 Craftsman Series win, 2017 ASCA Next Class Member

Does Nick Painter deserve a shot in true, top tier equipment? Many would argue yes after the Ann Arbor native scored his first career Craftsman victory at Belltown last year, albeit in controversial fashion and the ride he drove failing post race inspection. Some would also point to his MASSIVE fan base that’s won him the sport’s Most Popular Driver award back to back seasons as a reason, arguing that if Painter was put in a top ride imagine all the merchandise sales he could generate. Another reason pundits would point to giving him a big break is the instant success that Norm Lester and Cameron Atwood found as soon as they left Tico Bowden Motorsports. However, when you look at the 24 year old’s overall body of work since becoming a full time driver in the sport back in 2018…..it leaves a lot to be desired to say the least. No ASCA victories until last season, a highest finish of 5th in the standings throughout his entire Craftsman Series career, and only a grand total of two top 10 finishes in his first two full time Ajax Cup campaigns. While you can easily argue that in TBM equipment his entire career that Painter was set up to fail from the start, at least guys like Lester and Atwood showed flashes of potential that they can drag their car up the grid despite this and bring home good results. Not counting his fluke top 5 in the 2020 Ajax 200, Painter’s best race has been his 9th place effort at Belltown last year. With his contract expiring after this upcoming season, the pressure will most certainly be on Painter to prove to team owners that it IS the equipment, and not his talent, as the reason why he’s finished 21st and 22nd in points the past two years. If he can at least preform on the level of new teammate Doug Bowden, there’s a chance team owners could become bullish on his stock and one of them might just pull the trigger and give him his big break for 2024. If not, then his ASCA career might be over before he even hits the age of 25.

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## **#17 Cameron Atwood | Age: 27**

Hometown: Antioch, TN

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Fastenal (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 7 top 5’s, 12 top 10’s, 2 poles, 215 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins

Believe it or not, heading into 2022 there were plenty of questions regarding whether or not this new partnership between Cameron Atwood and CJ Barrymore Racing would work out. After all, this No. 17 team finished 16th in the final points standings with six time Cup winner Caleb Henderson Jr. in 2021, so many were rather bearish when it came to predicting the pace this camp would have with a new driver and switching to a new car model in the Mustang. Turns out though that CBR certainly did their homework when it came to prepping for a brand new radical car design, and it certainly paid off with the organization combining to win more races than anyone else last year. However, while many expected that it would be the team owner’s son Chris Barrymore to keep the team afloat in the championship fight all year long, while he did bring home the most trophies of the trio it was actually the Antioch native Atwood that proved to everyone he was certainly the right man for this job. In his first campaign not driving for Tico Bowden Motorsports since 2017, Atwood certainly proved it was the subpar equipment at that team holding him back with a league leading 12 top 10’s, the third most top 5’s of any driver, and a career high 4th place finish in the points along with snapping his own 40 race winless drought as the final cherry on top. Now looking forward to 2023, the 27 year old in what seems to be the prime of his career won’t exactly be flying under the radar like he has throughout the majority of his ASCA career. We know he has the talent, and now we know he has the equipment to back it up, which together makes Cameron Atwood a championship favorite this upcoming campaign.

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## **#18 Randle Woods | Age: 35**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Skittles (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 6 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 2 poles, 106 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2019, 2021 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 23 Ajax Cup wins, 2007 Craftsman Series Champion

Last season may have been the most uncharacteristic performance we’ve seen out of Randle Woods throughout his entire career. For starters, the two time Ajax Cup champion did not win a race for the first time dating back all the way to his rookie year back in 2008! That’s 12 straight campaigns from 2009-21 that Woods had won at least one race a year until 2022. Add in the fact that the Computerville native racked up a career high SIX DNF’s after only having one during his latest championship run a couple years back along with his lowest points finish of his ASCA career in 10th, and one has to wonder are the days of Randle Woods being an elite level driver in this sport behind us? His statistics from last year aren’t inherently bad, with Woods even leading more laps than he did during his final campaign with Ronnie Woods Motorsports a half decade ago, but with the full on emergence of the sport’s “youth movement” as of late along with Woods’ advancing age, one has to wonder whether the end of the line for him will be coming sooner than later. At the age of 35, believe it or not Woods is the second oldest full time competitor in the sport right now as the days of him being that fresh, new young kid on the block are long behind him. The son of Ajax Cup all time wins leader Ronnie Woods has his own family at home to tend to now, along with a legacy that will put him right up there with his dad as one of the best drivers to ever step foot in an ASCA sanctioned stock car even while missing two crown jewel trophies on his resumé. 2023 will be the biggest sign yet on how many more years Woods’ career will last. If he puts in another winless campaign, we may just see him hang it up within the next 2-3 years before Father Time fully catches up with him. However, if he’s once again a title contender all year long…..with the lifetime contract he has with Michael White Racing, don’t be surprised to see Woods racing into his 40’s.

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## **#19 Norm Lester | Age: 36**

Hometown: New Orleans, LA

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Auto Owner’s Insurance (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 wins, 7 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 260 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 6 Ajax Cup wins

When Michael White first made the decision to bring in Norm Lester from Tico Bowden Motorsports a couple years ago, many people questioned the move to say the least. After all, this was a veteran in the sport with only three career Cup victories to his credit with his most recent one at the time being a rain shortened Belltown race back in 2017. Add in the fact that the New Orleans native was entering his mid 30’s and it seemed like the prime of Lester’s career was well in the past. That is, until he actually got the chance to prove what a stable team environment and top tier equipment can do for a driver’s career. In the span of a couple years, Lester has reinvented himself from a journeyman afterthought on the grid to a weekly race win contender, and more importantly a Windows 300 champion in 2021. Last year was easily the best of Lester’s career to date with multiple wins in a campaign for the first time in his career, a sweep of the non points events in the Intel Shootout and All-Star Race, plus the first top 5 points finish of his decade long career. What might’ve been even more shocking is this No. 19 team was easily the best of the Michael White Racing four car fleet by a country mile, and that’s at an organization that’s supposed to feature two time champion Randle Woods as its lead driver! With the retirement of Jimmy Hood, the 36 year old now enters 2023 as the oldest full time Cup driver on the grid and, for the first time in his career will enter the campaign with championship expectations. With a contract extension inked towards the end of last year set to keep Lester around until at least 2025, its rather likely he’ll end his career with this team. The question is, can Lester deliver MWR their third title in five years before his championship window slams shut?

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## **#20 Jared Ayers | Age: 24**

Hometown: Daytona Beach, FL

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Stanley Tools (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 4 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 1 pole, 181 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins, 2016 ASCA Next Class Member

Last season was certainly a mixed bag for Jared Ayers. On one hand, the Daytona Beach native snapped a 23 race winless drought by moving veteran teammate Randle Woods out of the way to capture the 100th Modern Era Ajax Cup race at the Streets of Computerville, set a new career high for laps led in a season, and who can forget his thorough domination of the 2022 edition of ASCA Speedweeks in just about every event he participated in. However, everything else about Ayers’ campaign was his worst since his rookie year. A decrease in top 5’s and top 10’s along with an uptick in DNF’s led to Ayers finishing 12th in the final standings, tied for his lowest career points finish in his four year career to date. Despite the slight regression from his first two seasons of the new decade, Michael White Racing felt comfortable enough to ink the 24 year old to a three year extension to his current deal that will keep him with this No. 20 team through the 2026 campaign. This all but solidifies him as the face of MWR once the inevitable retirements of Randle Woods and Norm Lester come to fruition, but the question becomes, was it worth paying a guy with only one top 5 points finish to his credit and two Cup wins to his name $9 million per year? In the organization’s defense, Shane Park’s recent payday with Ronnie Woods Motorsports has blown the contract demands for these young drivers WIDE open, but there’s always an inherent risk when it comes to paying a driver elite level money only based on his potential. Nonetheless, 2023 will be a critical year for Ayers’ career to justify whether that massive early contract extension was indeed warranted or not.

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## **#21 Chris Barrymore | Age: 25**

Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Ford Motorcraft (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 wins, 6 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 1 pole, 178 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 4 Ajax Cup wins, 2017 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2017 Craftsman Series Champion

2022 was FINALLY the year that many Chris Barrymore defenders have been waiting for him to put together just to show the casual ASCA fan how talented this guy really can be. With CJ Barrymore Racing going all in for preparation with the new Mustang, the early season results show the sacrifices the organization made in their 2021 performance to ensure the transition to the new car model would go off without a hitch was certainly worth it. While Orkedi Bros Racing and Tico Bowden Motorsports struggled to wrap their heads around the Mustang for the first half of the campaign, CBR took advantage of this by putting all three of their cars in early season title contention, and Barrymore was the one that led the charge with two victories in the opening five races and even leading the points briefly post Denver. For the first time last year it feels like we finally saw quite a bit of maturation from Barrymore as a driver. You could argue that none of his five DNF’s from 2022 were directly his fault, meaning that if luck was on his side he could’ve easily have been a title contender throughout the whole year. A career high in wins, multiple weekend sweeps, and a 6th place final points finish show that Barrymore does indeed have the potential to become an elite level driver like Ronnie Woods and many others have said he could be since he entered the ASCA at the tender age of 17. Now at 25 years old entering his 7th Cup campaign believe it or not, and his first under a new deal that makes him the third highest paid driver in the entire sport, expectations will be extremely high and so will the pressure for Barrymore to prove he deserves to be talked about as one of the elite level talents in this sport entering the prime of his career.

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## **#22 Diego Orkedi | Age: 32**

Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: Shell/Pennzoil (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 wins, 10 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 519 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2015, 2018, 2020 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 22 Ajax Cup wins

Love him or hate him, one has to admit that not many drivers, if any at all, could pull off a comeback nearly as impressive as Diego Orkedi almost did last year. Despite being as low as 20th in the standings, four DNF’s in the opening six races, and zero wins or laps led in the first half of 2022, that didn’t stop Orkedi from ripping off one of the most impressive second halves of a season we’ve ever seen in ASCA history. Two victories, seven top 10 finishes, and 519 laps led later, the Belltown native battled his way back from 16th in points after the first Belltown race to the points leader heading into the finale at his home track. While he wasn’t able to finish the job with a record tying fourth title due to a transmission failure early on in the final race, the younger Orkedi brother certainly justified the massive contract extension he inked before the start of last year and then some with the way he was able to battle back and give the Cup Series its closest championship fight since 2017. Looking forward to this upcoming season, one has to wonder now at the age of 32 when will this man slow down, if ever? Last year Orkedi posted his lowest amount of wins in a season since 2017 - with only two, despite having multiple pit road speeding in races he led the most laps in. The child support charges, false domestic violence claim, nor the switch to the new Mustang proved to be big enough obstacles to slow this No. 22 team down. However, this offseason brought a new hurdle for Orkedi to overcome after narrowly escaping a hit on his life allegedly orchestrated by one of his biggest on track rivals from last year in Laquon Scransen. If that nor Father Time proves to slow Orkedi down in 2023…..we may very well see a new addition to the four time champion club come December 19th in Belltown.

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## **#24 Shane Park | Age: 22**

Hometown: Long Island, NY

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Axalta (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 3 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 pole, 77 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2020 Craftsman Series Champion, 2018 ASCA Next Class Member

Raise your hand if you expected before the start of last season for Shane Park to be named as the new driver of the No. 24 for 2023. Be honest, absolutely NOBODY saw this one coming. The 22 year old has certainly shown he has tons of talent and elite level potential throughout his short ASCA career to date. After all, you don’t win a Craftsman Series championship, score multiple Craftsman Series victories and capture Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors by accident…..unless your name is Henry Brady. That being said, Park seemed as if he was relatively comfortable in a rather low pressure role at Snoots Enterprises. While he was rather clearly the second driver on the team behind Greg Healey, this gave him an opportunity to develop out of the spotlight and finally gave the organization that stable second team they had spent the first four years of the team’s existence looking for after Adam Petty Jr. flopped out of Cup. However, when Ronnie Woods came calling offering the Long Island native $10 million reasons a year to come to his team, you’d be hard pressed to turn that offer down, and Park certainly did not. Moving from the 8 to the 24 like Kobe, the expectations for Park this upcoming year have SKYROCKETED considering he is tied for being the fourth highest paid driver in the Cup Series right now. Let this sink in - Park will be making the same amount of money as his new teammate Todd Kidd this season, and he hasn’t even won a Cup race yet! Sure, he came close to his first triumph leading 59 laps at Michigan last year before a late lockup thwarted his chances, but close doesn’t cut it when you’re making elite level money in this sport. If Shane Park truly has elite level potential, he’s going to have to show it real fast or his new contract will go down as one of the worst in ASCA history.

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## **#42 Laquon Scransen | Age: 20**

Hometown: Compton, CA

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: McDonald’s (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s, 1 pole, 59 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2022 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2021 Craftsman Series Champion, 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

Laquon Scransen’s rookie campaign was certainly a mixed bag to say the least. On one hand, the Compton native flashed glimpses of his elite level potential that have some pegging him as the “next Diego Orkedi”. Capturing pole position for the season opening Ajax 200, an astounding five front row starts in Dexter Andrews Motorsports equipment mind you, and leading 51 laps at The Stoneyard as a rookie shows that this kid has the talent to become an elite level driver in this sport someday. However, there were also PLENTY of red flags to take notice of throughout the year as well. A staggering eight DNF’s compared to his teammate’s two shows that Scransen has to do a much better job of taking care of his equipment going forward considering its pretty hard to gather much needed on track experience as a young driver from the garage area. Additionally, Scransen’s hot temper led to numerous run in’s throughout the year with both Jared Ayers and three time champion Diego Orkedi, the latter rivalry nearly costing him his career this offseason after it was discovered he and a friend were behind the drive by shooting of Orkedi’s Belltown estate at the tail end of 2022. The 20 year old was arrested for his involvement in the shooting and suspended indefinitely by DAM and the ASCA as a result, but after he was able to post bail and his lawyer able to file a motion to delay the case going to trial until January 2024 at the earliest, Scransen was reinstated into the sport but on EXTREMELY thin ice. One has to wonder, just how much longer will Scransen’s career last if he cannot stay out of trouble on and off the track? With five kids to take care of at home and the future of an organization riding on his shoulders, maybe that will be the fire Scransen needs under him to finally start to mature and begin to harness the immense amount of talent he’s been shown to possess in the past.

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## **#47 Nick Carey | Age: 30**

Hometown: East Northport, NY

Team: Revolution Racing

Primary Sponsor: Kroger ClickList (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2017 ASCA Next Class Member

How far can you go with a 30 year old driver that has yet to win a single ASCA event despite being in the sport for over a half decade now? That’s the question that Revolution Racing have to ask themselves heading into the organization’s third year of existence in the sport - is the driver good enough to reflect the progress the team is making? This was a problem that notably Snoots Enterprises dealt with in their initial years by bringing in Josh Player and calling up future colossal Cup bust Adam Petty Jr to the team. Everyone assumed the team was just a laughingstock with not much hope of getting any better in the future until they fired Player and called up Greg Healey to drive their flagship No. 3 ride, and the results speak for themselves since then. While Nick Carey’s first two seasons with this No. 47 team haven’t been a total disaster, they also haven’t been anything spectacular either, and if Revolution Racing wants to become the next breakout organization of the ASCA, they’re going to need an elite level talent to take them there. Just look at the meteoric rise of Snoots Enterprises once Healey began his full time career or even Michael White Racing once they brought in Randle Woods on a lifetime contract and secured massive amounts of funding from Toyota as a result. The East Northport native has proven he can keep the car in one piece and consistently can be counted on to put in good efforts at plate tracks and road courses, but is that his ceiling in this sport? This upcoming campaign will go a long way to answering that question, but with Carey’s contract up at season’s end don’t be surprised if RR looks elsewhere come 2024.

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## **#48 Brynn Rennerd | Age: 31**

Hometown: Phoenix, AZ

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Ally Financial (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 5 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 pole, 21 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 6 Ajax Cup wins, 2012 Craftsman Series Champion

The last time Brynn Rennerd’s seat at Ronnie Woods Motorsports was in jeopardy due to subpar performance, the guy only went out and scored the Camaro ZL1’s first victory in the ASCA by snapping a 34 race winless drought with a victory in the Northern 200 along with becoming the first driver to complete the modern era Cup Series crown jewel sweep with a victory in the Ajax 200 to kick off the new decade. However, if the 31 year old wants to save his spot in the No. 48 this time around, it will require a LOT more heroics on his part to do the trick. While Rennerd didn’t necessarily have an awful 2022 campaign, he and this team went winless for the first time since 2018 and regressed massively from their runner up points finish just a couple years ago. Add in the retirement of Jimmy Hood and all the reshuffling Ronnie Woods has done with his organization, including stepping down from his full time broadcasting gig, to ensure his team ends their six year title drought and you can see why the pressure is most certainly on all of RWM to compete at a high level in 2023. With the aforementioned Hood retirement, the Phoenix native has now become the longest tenured driver at the group having been employed since 2012, but now with a decade of Cup experience under his belt and only six victories to show for it in what many would consider the best equipment this sport has to offer, one has to question just how talented is Rennerd really? When Rennerd first came into the sport, many thought he’d be the ASCA’s next big thing, and while he has put together elite level seasons…..his resume in the sport as a whole minus the crown jewel victories leaves a lot to be desired. Rennerd’s days as the third longest tenured driver in the sport with RWM might just be numbered if a championship caliber effort isn’t put forth by him this upcoming season.

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## **#88 Ross Jackson (R) | Age: 22**

Hometown: Spokane, WA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Valvoline (16 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats (Craftsman): 3 wins, 7 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 245 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2022 Craftsman Series Champion, 4 Craftsman Series wins, 2018 ASCA Next Class Member

When it comes to pressure to preform on a rookie, Ross Jackson may have the most hype surrounding a driver entering the top level of the sport in a very long time. Not only is this a 22 year old kid coming off of a breakout Craftsman campaign that saw him score three victories and capture Ronnie Woods Motorsports’ first Craftsman title since 2015 in dominant fashion, but he’s also taking over for one of the best drivers this sport has ever seen, replacing multi time champion and four time Most Popular Driver Jimmy Hood in the No. 88 this upcoming season. Add in the recent emphasis that team owner Ronnie Woods has put into improving his outfit to ensure each one of his teams in both Craftsman and Cup are weekly race win contenders and yearly title players, and one has to acknowledge that Ross Jackson has a LOT on his plate at such a young age. Not to mention the fact that his competition for Rookie of the Year won’t be easy either having to go up against Carson Schmidt in Orkedi Bros Racing equipment and Bryce Mann in Snoots Enterprises equipment for that honor. That being said, its clear that Ronnie Woods Motorsports have taken all the precautions necessary to ensure they didn’t rush the Spokane native to Cup too soon. Starting Jackson off with the upstart South Point Racing Team and making him work his way up to the main Craftsman group, giving him an unconventional three years to develop in the lower level, Woods took his time grooming Jackson with plenty of experience before throwing him out to the wolves. The question is, will this elongated development cycle pay off in the long run, or will the pressure to succeed Jimmy Hood prove to be way too much for a rookie driver to handle?

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## **#95 Lucas Sambér | Age: 28**

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

Team: Flores Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Procore (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2019 ASCA Next Class Member

Its hard to say that Flores Motorsports’ debut campaign in the sport was either a success or failure. On one hand, the team made in through their inaugural season without folding and posted two top 10 finishes with a rookie driver along with nearly finishing in the top 20 in points which is a plus….but it was certainly clear that on most weeks this team had a LONG ways to go when it comes to finding raw speed, and Lucas Sambér posting an astonishing seven DNF’s did not help matters much either. Similar to the dilemma that single car startup team Revolution Racing is having with an older driver not having any ASCA victories to his credit in Nick Carey, Flores Motorsports has this same dynamic going with 28 year old Sambér behind the wheel. While he is only just now entering his second full time season in Cup and third full time season in the sport as a whole, one has to wonder just how high the ceiling can possibly be for a driver rapidly approaching the age of 30 when it comes to taking a brand new team to the next level. The Las Vegas native’s contract is already up after 2023, and billionaire team owner Manny Flores is going to have a critical decision to make whether or not he believes inking Sambér to a long term contract extension will stall the long term prospects of this organization becoming a weekly race win contender. That being said, Sambér at least proved that road courses and plate tracks are places where he can drag this car up the grid to compete with the big boys, which is a plus. Add in the fact that Flores also upped his technical alliance with Michael White Racing to receive even more support from the factory Toyota camp, and if Sambér is indeed the right man for the job this No. 95 team could be one to watch this upcoming season.

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