User blog:Ajaxcupseries/2022 Ajax Cup Series Season Preview

The Fallon Corner - February 2022

Its hard to believe we’re already approaching the eighth season of the ASCA’s Modern Era at this point.

With one of the sport’s all time greats entering his swan song campaign, Ford debuting a new car model for the first time since 2006, no Henderson on the grid for the first time in Ajax Cup history, and another year of experience for many of the sport’s top young prospects have quietly made this one of the most interesting seasons of the modern era.

Entering the 2022 campaign, 10 of the 23 full time drivers will be 25 years old of younger, compared to the 11 drivers under 25 last season. When you consider that the pioneers of this youth movement that have taken over the ASCA such as Todd Kidd and Ryan Dixon are no longer in this category, it really makes you sit back and realize how fast time flies.

Here’s some of the top storylines I’ll be excited to follow this upcoming Ajax Cup season.

Jimmy Hood’s Last Ride
From 2014-2018 it was not Diego Orkedi or Randle Woods that had put together 12 victories and two championships in that span.

It was Jimmy Hood.

The Belltown native was known as the “King of Short Tracks” for his prowess on tracks one mile or less throughout the ASCA’s Modern Era, and while many fans and pundits alike thought it’d be Randle Woods that would become the first driver not named Ronnie Woods to win a title for Ronnie Woods Motorsports, it was Hood instead.

Now at age 36, on a three year losing streak with his own full time Craftsman Series team and a wife and kids to take care of, its understandable why Hood has made the decision to retire from full time Ajax Cup competition at the end of the 2022 campaign.

After all, what else does he have to accomplish at this point?

2014 and 2017 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 2014 Windows 300 winner, 2017 Ajax 200 winner, sixth on the Ajax Cup all time wins list. He’s easily one of the best drivers of the ASCA’s Modern Era, and one of the best drivers in all of ASCA history for that matter.

Arguably the biggest story heading into this season will be how Jimmy Hood’s swan song season plays out, and whether or not he’ll snap his 52 race winless drought and secure one final victory on his way out.

How Much Longer Will the Diego Orkedi/Randle Woods Reign of Terror Last?
Last season I thought for sure the time was up for the old guard and drivers over the age of 30, it was time for the youth movement to take over and lead the sport into this next decade.

But, once again, I was sorely mistaken.

Diego Orkedi and Randle Woods shut me up really quickly, each combining to win the opening four races and winning 7 of the 16 races during the 2021 campaign.

While Greg Healey and Todd Kidd both started to come alive as the season went along and racked up some victories along with Chris Barrymore and Doug Bowden finally breaking through, overall I was extremely disappointed with how the young guns of the sport preformed.

Where exactly were Jared Ayers and Ryan Dixon all season? While Doug Bowden finally found victory lane, he was a no show the entire first half of the year, and Henry Brady was a complete flop all season long.

So, the question becomes how much more experience do these young drivers need to challenge the old guard, if they ever will?

There’s no doubt Greg Healey and Todd Kidd are perennial title contenders at this point entering the prime years of their career, but will Jared Ayers or Chris Barrymore ever enter that upper echelon of drivers like we thought they would at ages 23 and 24 respectively?

Who will take over at the top of the sport once Diego Orkedi and Randle Woods finally take a step back?

This season will go a very long way in giving us a glimpse into how things will go the rest of this decade.

2022 Rookie of the Year Battle - Youth vs. Wisdom
A battle that pretty much every ASCA team owner will be keeping at least one close eye on will be the Rookie of the Year dogfight between Laquon Scransen and Lucas Sambér.

On one hand, we have 19 year old Laquon Scransen, the third youngest driver to compete in the Cup Series full time with only Diego Orkedi and Chris Barrymore being younger. Many have dubbed Scransen as the ASCA’s “next big thing”, becoming the first rookie to win a championship in ASCA history last season and carrying Dexter Andrews Motorsports to their first title in the team’s history.

He’s one of the most exciting and polarizing prospects to enter the sport in a very long time, and the vast majority of people seem to be split between either thinking he’ll be the biggest bust of the ASCA’s Modern Era or the sport’s next Diego Orkedi that’ll tear up the Cup scene with ease.

On the other hand, there’s 27 year old Lucas Sambér who’ll be competing with brand new team Flores Motorsports in 2022. Sambér isn’t nearly as flashy as Scransen and doesn’t have the gaudy resumé that he does either, but there’s no doubt he has talent.

The Las Vegas native showed in his one full time season of Craftsman experience that he can be a championship contender in top tier equipment, and while he won’t be in quite the same level of cars as he was last season, the equipment should only be a step below with the Michael White Racing alliance that Flores Motorsports will have.

Whichever way the battle goes will shape a narrative that’ll likely be referenced quite a bit over the next few seasons.

If Scransen takes home the award, everyone will be quick to crown him the “next big thing” and count off how many Cup championships he’ll bring to Dexter Andrews Motorsports throughout this decade.

However, if Sambér gets the job done, these team owners may have to rethink their plans over the past few years to find that next 18 year old star and rush them to Cup ASAP to turn their organization around.

Season 8 Breakout Star - Shane Park
For the past two years, I’ve picked Doug Bowden for this category and we see how well that’s gone both times.

With Bowden’s ASCA career in serious jeopardy barring a miracle this season, its time for me to jinx a new driver for 2022 - Shane Park.

Despite taking home the 2020 Craftsman Series title and last season’s Rookie of the Year for Cup, people are STILL sleeping on the 21 year old heading into this season, and my question is why?

We’ve seen what he is capable of in championship contending equipment, and presuming he doesn’t break his wrist again in the Ajax 200 we’ll get to see a fully healthy Shane Park throughout the entirety of the 2022 campaign with a season of Cup experience under his belt, which is a scary thought.

During his rookie season, Park proved just like his father he has a TON of road racing prowess, and also showed flashes that he could become a great plate racer as well. Add in now the experience he got visiting those tracks in a Cup car once or even twice during last season, and I’m telling you, look out.

He may not score his first career win this season, but don’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse title contender and potentially finishes between 5th-8th in the final points standings.

And the winner of the 12th Annual Windows 300 is…..
Last season I went with Todd Kidd taking home the victory in this race, and while he finished 4th he was nowhere near having race winning speed. Instead, it was Michael White Racing that mastered the low downforce package to perfection on these high speed, aero sensitive tracks and absolutely obliterated the competition.

Which makes my pick for this year’s Windows 300 relatively easy - I’m going with Randle Woods.

Sure, it was a cool story that Norm Lester captured his first Ajax Cup victory since 2017 in this race last season, but I think we all pretty much knew Randle Woods deserved to win that race.

Woods won the pole, led the opening 60 or so laps, had a pit road penalty that dropped him back to 10th and STILL drove back to the lead before the next cycle of green flag pit stops. Ultimately, he led 114 laps on the night before his engine of course let go with 32 laps remaining, and most certainly got his redemption in the return trip to Computer Motor Speedway, leading 108 of 150 circuits in the Apple 225 and capturing the checkered flag with ease.

When you also take a look at the best drivers during the Modern Era so far simply based off all time wins, Woods is by far the best of them that has yet to capture a Windows 300 trophy.

Think about that for a second: the guy with 23 career Ajax Cup wins, 52 overall ASCA wins, and 2 Ajax Cup championships has yet to capture a Windows 300 in his career. Can you believe how crazy that sounds?

There’s no doubt in my mind that will change before Woods decides to call it a career, and my money is on that happening this year.

And the 2022 Ajax Cup Series Champion is……
Last season, I went with Greg Healey for this category which was close to being right, I guess? While he finished 71 points behind eventual champion Randle Woods, at least Healey did finish top 5 in points and proved his near championship run in 2020 was no fluke.

Plus did anyone really have the foresight to predict a 33 year old Randle Woods putting together one of the best seasons in ASCA history in 2021 after one of the worst years of his career in 2020?

Anyways, this season’s Ajax Cup champion will be…..Norm Lester.

Many people are going to question this selection and flame me on Twitter for it, but hear me out just a second.

Norm Lester had this No. 19 team fifth in points after his Windows 300 victory, and looked like a serious title contender rather than a pretender. He won two poles already at West Virginia and Belltown, led a decent amount of laps in both of those races as well as in the Windows 300 of course, and seemed like he was only a slight step behind Randle Woods in the speed department.

Then, the second half of the season happened and Lester finished 12th in points after 5 DNF’s in the final 8 events, but let’s be real here - NONE of those DNF’s were his fault.

Ironically, three of them you can blame on Doug Bowden. Bowden blew a tire in the Panasonic 200 and collected Lester, got loose and spun in the following week’s Amp Energy 200 and once again collected Lester, and then of course made contact with Lester with three laps to go in the Fastenal 200 to secure his first career win.

His other two DNF’s in that span were after getting dumped by Diego Orkedi in the Apple 225, and having Diego Orkedi once again dump a lap car in front of him while running 3rd in the Ajax Season Finale shows that Lester’s 2021 luck was quite possibly the worst of any driver I’ve ever seen in the ASCA.

All that will change in 2022.

Give this 35 year old race winning equipment and he can put it in victory lane, Lester proved just that in the biggest race of the season last year.

The New Orleans native knows his championship window is closing rapidly as he continues to get older by the day, but I also think the Diego Orkedi/Randle Woods era of dominance comes to an end as well this season.

With many questions about whether or not any of these young drivers will finally be mature enough to capture a championship, why not go with a veteran who has plenty of experience and now finally has the equipment to finally get the job done?

That’s all she wrote for my 2022 Ajax Cup preview and predictions. Speedweeks at Ajax Superspeedway will be here before you know it starting Febuary 25th with the Intel Shootout, and you will NOT want to miss a second of the action coming up this season!