2022 Ajax Cup Driver Introductions

#1 Derek Lewis | Age: 23
Hometown: Denver, CO

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Gearwrench (All Races)

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

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

For most drivers, a season with 1 top 5, 3 top 10’s and a 17th place points finish would be considered an extremely disappointing season with plenty of cause for concern. However, for Derek Lewis this season was good enough to beat out his two teammates and finish third out of the record six drivers competing in the Rookie of the Year race, even leading that battle for a couple weeks. Part of that just goes to show how bad of an organization Dexter Andrews Motorsports currently is, but the Colorado native also deserves some props for actually putting together a decent rookie season considering the circumstances and how badly his teammate Rob Buddy flopped in a very similar situation the past two years. While it was expected that Lewis would enter 2022 with an opportunity to learn a ton from two time Windows 300 winner Caleb Henderson Jr, the 29 year old’s surprise January retirement will mean that the Colorado native will be partnered with arguably the hottest young prospect across the ASCA, that being reigning Craftsman Champion Laquon Scransen. Last year was rather pressure free for Lewis, but that will not quite be the same entering this year. If Scransen is able to white wash Lewis like he was able to do with his Craftsman teammate Blake Stern last season, it’ll definitely cause Lewis’ talent level to be highly questioned. However, if Dexter Andrews’ successor is able to outperform Scransen and improve upon his rookie year, he may be able to turn a lot of team owner’s heads to potentially poach him away from DAM heading into 2023.

—————————————————————

#2 Nick Orkedi | Age: 32
Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: Discount Tire (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 6 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 127 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2016 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 12 Ajax Cup wins

Its hard to call a season with a win, double digit top 10 finishes and over 100 laps led a “down year”, but for Nick Orkedi you could very easily say that was the case in 2021. Towards the end of the season the Belltown native and the No. 2 team seemed to run out of fuel, with Orkedi posting his worst points finish of the ASCA’s Modern Era in 7th along with a career high 5 DNF’s to boot. While part of that can be attributed to Orkedi Bros Racing and the rest of the Ford camp falling behind Toyota and Chevy with their now outdated wooden boxcar known as the Fusion, you have to wonder with Orkedi now having raced more years than he probably has left if he’s starting to slow down a bit. The 32 year old has a wife and a baby boy on the way, and has seemingly cleaned up his driving act tremendously. Think about how many on track rivalries the elder Orkedi has been involved in over the course of the past two years ever since Miller Lite dropped their primary sponsorship of him for “poor sportsmanship” following the 2019 season. The biggest reason why Orkedi has not been a serious title contender the past two years despite getting himself into less trouble is due to the sheer amount of DNF’s he has accumulated during that span. 9 DNF’s over the course of his past 32 starts means that he’s ended up in the garage nearly 30 PERCENT of the time he fires up his engine and takes the green flag. Compare that to someone like a Greg Healey that’s had only 4 DNF’s in that span and its easy to see how the elder Orkedi’s championship bids have fallen short the past two campaigns despite relatively decent stats. While the new Mustang and Orkedi’s advancing age will definitely have an impact on his performance, if he can simply cut down on his accidents don’t be surprised to once again see him in the title hunt come the 2022 Ajax Season Finale.

—————————————————————

#3 Greg Healey | Age: 25
Hometown: Pensacola, FL

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: DOW Chemicals (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 wins, 6 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 225 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 4 Ajax Cup wins, 2018 Ajax Cup Series ROTY

While 2020 was the year Greg Healey burst onto the Ajax Cup scene as a breakout star, 2021 was the year that he cemented his place as one of the top drivers in the sport. Healey was never really a serious title contender at any point of the season more so due to simply how dominant Randle Woods was all season long, but he was in the top 5 in points for the majority of the campaign and continued to show his elite short track prowess, becoming the first driver to sweep Belltown in the modern era. A 4th place points finish not far behind Chevy counterparts Brynn Rennerd and Todd Kidd and ahead of three time champion Diego Orkedi, and multiple victories for the second straight season which is something that only two other drivers have accomplished in that span once again vindicates the 6 year/45 million dollar contract team owner Baby Snoots gave to Healey prior to the 2020 season. But now that the Pensacola native has proven that he’s here to stay as one of the elite drivers in the sport, the expectations have now begun to ramp up for the 25 year old. Heading into the prime years of his career, its clear the goal for Snoots Enterprises and this No. 3 team HAS to be championship or bust. Healey and co. have been in the title chase the past two seasons, so they do not have the inexperience to fall back on. Its also clear that equipment is not the problem based on what he has done the past two years, so you can throw out that excuse. Add in that the two drivers that have won the championship the past four years in Diego Orkedi and Randle Woods are 31 and 34 years old respectively and exiting the prime years of their careers and you can ditch the excuse of having to race those two as well. The Healey + Snoots Enterprises rise to prominence has been the feel good story of the ASCA the past couple years, but for the novel to have a happy ending they MUST capitalize on their championship window now before its too late.

—————————————————————

#4 Nathaniel Cherry | Age: 21
Hometown: Ontario, Canada

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Busch Beer (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: Best Finish | 14th

ASCA Career Achievements: 2018 ASCA Next Class Member

When people predicted that Nathaniel Cherry would struggle in his rookie year, maybe they could’ve predicted a dead last points finish. Maybe they could’ve foreseen the Canadian scoring zero top 10’s in 16 races. But even the biggest Cherry detractors could not have seen coming him having a worse rookie season than Hunter Bradley of all people. Not only did Cherry end up in the garage before the end of the race 50% of the time in 2021, he did not finish any higher than 14TH the entire season. Think about that for a second, and then remember that only 23 cars compete in the Cup Series full time. In Cherry’s defense it was blatantly clear to almost everyone that he was set up to fail from day one. A 20 year old that barely managed to crack the top 10 in Craftsman points in 2020, taking over in a ride that Norm Lester, yes that same Norm Lester that was a championship contender the first half of last season finished 17th in points driving in 2020. What’s the worst that could happen? Add in the fact that his teammate Nick Painter didn’t preform much better in his rookie season only finishing 21st in points, and its rather clear that the equipment Cherry was in was some of, if not the worst in the garage. 2022 will be a crucial year in terms of Cherry’s ASCA career. If he puts together another abomination of a campaign such as this one, he may be handed his walking papers at season’s end and could very well see his racing days in the ASCA over before his 22nd birthday. However, if he can string together a few top 12’s and sneak a top 10 in here and there next season, Cherry could very well put himself back into Tico Bowden Motorsports’ long term rebuilding plans.

—————————————————————

#6 Ryan Dixon | Age: 27
Hometown: Brisbane, Australia

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Wyndham Rewards (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 3 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 57 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 4 Ajax Cup wins, 2016 Craftsman Series Champion

Entering year seven of his career, its pretty clear by this point the caliber of driver Ryan Dixon will most likely be until he decides to call it quits. The Australian proved in 2021 that he will never really be a serious title contender no matter how much more experience he gets, rather a solid driver around the 6th-10th range in the sport. Remember when many fans and pundits alike thought Dixon was a better driver than Kidd just because he scored his first Cup win sooner in his career than Kidd did? Those days certainly seem like a distant memory now, and it goes to show that you have to give these young, early twenty something year old prospects at LEAST half a decade before you can truly figure out how great of a talent they actually are. Now this isn’t a hit piece out against Dixon, because as we’ve seen in the modern era you can do much, much worse than the Cup career the nephew of Indycar legend Scott Dixon has carved out for himself. He has 4 Cup Series wins to his name, which is only one less than his good pal Todd Kidd and the same amount as Greg Healey that the sport continues to promote as their biggest young stars, and he’s around the same age as both of them as well. Dixon also has a great relationship with his team owner CJ Barrymore and has committed funding with Wyndham Rewards for the next couple years at least, so his seat with the No. 6 team should be rather safe barring a catastrophic unforeseen incident. But its rather hard to be bullish on Dixon and CJ Barrymore Racing as a whole heading into 2022 even with them switching to the Mustang and bringing in Cameron Atwood. Can Dixon shock the world and bring home this season’s Ajax Cup Championship? Its certainly possible, but it’s a lot more likely to once again see him in the 6th-8th range in the final points standings with maybe a victory in there as well if he’s lucky.

—————————————————————

#8 Shane Park | Age: 21
Hometown: Long Island, NY

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 1 pole, 62 laps led

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

What may become the next Diego Orkedi vs. Randle Woods historic rivalry of the 2020’s could very well be the budding battle between Shane Park and Devin Smith that has developed over the past couple years. Smith was the highly touted, new, shiny Ford Development Program prospect that took over for reigning Craftsman champion Henry Brady heading into 2020, and it looked like he’d run away with the title that season with ease…..until Shane Park arrived and put that storyline to bed. Last season, many fans and pundits alike thought that with Devin Smith moving up to Cup to replace Dan Rodgers in the No. 11 with Michael White Racing, Smith would step up and prove how talented of a prospect he truly is and easily run away with Rookie of the Year against his record five competitors. But once again, Shane Park stepped up to the plate to shut down that narrative and steal the spotlight for himself. That’s taking nothing away from Devin Smith and the comparisons he’s gotten as the “next Randle Woods” or “next Jimmy Hood”, but more so that its time to stop sleeping on Shane Park. Even after suffering a broken wrist in the season opening Ajax 200, Park raced through the pain and didn’t miss a single start. But where the talent of former NASCAR driver Steve Park’s son REALLY shined was on the ASCA’s trickiest venues. How many 20 year olds can pull off top 5 finishes at both the Streets of Computerville AND Colgate Motorsports Park in their rookie seasons? You don’t even have to look that up, the answer is not many. While he finished 13th in the final standings, which was a far cry behind his teammate Greg Healey, its very clear this renumbered No. 8 team was MILES ahead of where the No. 31 camp and Adam Petty Jr. were in the 2020 season. The sky is the limit for the Long Island native, and don’t be surprised to see him become the breakout star of the 2022 Ajax Cup campaign.

—————————————————————

#9 Todd Kidd | Age: 26
Hometown: Silicon Valley, CA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: NAPA Auto Parts (15 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 wins, 7 top 5’s, 12 top 10’s, 1 pole, 182 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 5 Ajax Cup wins, 2016 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2015 Craftsman Series Champion

Folks, its time to stop calling Todd Kidd a “young gun” or being a part of the ASCA’s “youth movement”. At age 26 and currently just starting a 5 year/50 million dollar extension signed during the middle of last season, the Silicon Valley native is currently in the prime of his career and one of the biggest stars in the sport. This also means that just like his Chevy counterpart Greg Healey, every season until Kidd is able to finally get the job done is championship or bust from here on out. Now entering his 7th season in Cup and Jimmy Hood announcing that 2022 will be his swan song campaign, Kidd has become the de facto “face” of Ronnie Woods Motorsports if you will. For that team to score a championship this decade, the driver you’d most likely suspect it’d come from would be Kidd rather than a Brynn Rennerd, Doug Bowden, or even a Ross Jackson. He’s the highest paid driver on the team by a pretty wide margin and he’s scored four of the team’s six victories over the past two seasons so that title is well deserved. However, with lots of money and great power comes great responsibility. Its no secret Ronnie Woods Motorsports has been, and expects to be for a very long time one of the best teams in the garage. Team owner Ronnie Woods is the most decorated driver in Ajax Cup Series history with the most wins (32) and most championships (4) than anyone else. The team has also given other all time ASCA greats opportunities like the aforementioned Jimmy Hood and Ronnie Woods’ son, Randle Woods. To be the lead driver at RWM is a privilege, not a right, and a job where 2nd and 3rd place finishes are not acceptable, only wins and championships are. Todd Kidd has proven that he can handle the expectations and pressure to date in his career, but does he have what it takes to bring a Cup title back to Ronnie Woods Motorsports for the first time since 2017?

—————————————————————

#10 Ryan Braun | Age: 32
Hometown: Commerce, MI

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Smithfield (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 5, 2 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins

The journeyman career of Ryan Braun will take another twist in 2022 as he begins work with his 4th different team in 8 seasons, Tico Bowden Motorsports. At the age of 32, Braun’s race winning days are long behind him, but what he at least can do for your team is bring the car home in one piece more often than not and offer a nice mentorship opportunity to young drivers just trying to secure their home in the Cup Series. With Cameron Atwood departing the team after last season, team owner Tico Bowden knew he had to find some sort of veteran leadership to help guide his two young drivers in the right direction, and with the hiring of Braun its safe to say he did exactly that. The Commerce native will likely not be able to elevate this No. 10 even close to the levels Atwood had them at, but maybe that is for the best long term. It seems like TBM has been in a perpetual state of rebuilding ever since the aforementioned Bowden retired at the end of the 2016 campaign and the team switched from Chevy to Ford, but they haven’t quite hit rock bottom yet. They’ve had drivers like Norm Lester and eventually Cameron Atwood be able to make their equipment look a lot better than it actually was, which convinces the team they’re taking steps in the right direction while the rest of the team burns in flames around them. Its incredibly clear that something drastic needs to change for TBM to even come close to competing for top 10’s on a weekly basis, let alone fighting for wins and championships, but who knows what that could be right now. As for the time being, with the team’s #1 choice Sean Wooden opting to stick around with the Ford Development Program, this team could’ve done a lot worse finding Cameron Atwood’s successor. Don’t expect to see this car in the top 10 a lot in 2022, but also don’t expect to see it in the garage a lot either unless something catastrophic happens to Braun’s driving abilities overnight.

—————————————————————

#11 Devin Smith | Age: 23
Hometown: Livonia, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: FedEx (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 1 pole, 137 laps led

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

2021 was most certainly a tale of two different seasons for Devin Smith. The first half of the year was eight races Smith most definitely wanted to forget, arguably the worst eight race stretch of his racing career. Only 2 top 10 finishes, 4 DNF’s, sitting 19th in points and 4th in the Rookie of the Year standings, it looked like the Livonia native was well in over his head and Michael White Racing made a massive mistake booting 14 time Ajax Cup winner Dan Rodgers out of the car for Smith. However, the final eight race stretch helped really show the true potential Smith put on full display in the Craftsman Series in 2020, and the capability he has of becoming the next big thing in the sport throughout this decade. Specifically over the course of the last five events, Smith pieced together 1 top 5, 5 top 10’s, and led 96 laps in that span, even making a late charge for ROTY and only coming up 8 points short of Shane Park. Something seemed to click over the course of the second half of the season for this No. 11 camp, and whatever speed they managed to find to finally catch up to their three teammates at the end of last season needs to be duplicated for the entire 2022 season. With the amount of hype surrounding Smith entering the Cup scene as a “transcendent talent”, even if it was unwanted or unjustified the pressure will always be on him to live up to that label whether he likes it or not. Thus, a sophomore slump that has been common for young drivers recently will not be tolerated for a guy like Smith, especially considering the teammates around him. Randle Woods and Norm Lester are both on the wrong side of 30 at this point in their careers, and barring a miracle both will likely be on the decline the next couple of seasons and won’t be able to carry this team any longer, specifically Woods. That means that if MWR wants to succeed throughout the rest of this decade, it will be up to Jared Ayers and Smith to live up to the hype this year and beyond to carry their weight moving forward.

—————————————————————

#12 Henry Brady | Age: 26
Hometown: Easton, MD

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: PPG Paints (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 10

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2019 Craftsman Series Champion

Its hard to believe that just two years ago, Henry Brady was regarded as one of the top prospects in the sport and quite possibly the future of Orkedi Bros Racing at just 24 years of age coming off of his Craftsman championship. Fast forward to 2022 and we’re wondering whether or not Brady’s ASCA career will be over barring a miracle at the age of 26. Life (and the ASCA) can come at you fast, and this sport has a harsh way of humbling drivers and team owners. The campaign started off relatively well for Brady with an extremely strong 6th place run in the September West Virginia race, but it only went downhill from there. The Easton native racked up a league high 9 DNF’s throughout 2021, which means in over 50% of his starts last season he ended up in the garage! While many people are quick to point out the massive equipment disparity at Orkedi Bros Racing between Diego, Nick, and the third OBR team throughout the years, that does not explain all the accidents Brady found himself in and how he somehow managed to finish worse than rookie Nick Carey in points in title contending equipment. Heading into this season, there’s not very much Brady can do short of winning multiple races and contending for a championship to save his spot with this No. 12 camp and OBR in 2023. This year will more so be an audition tape to the rest of the ASCA that he’s still that same driver that won 2 Craftsman Series races and won a Craftsman championship back in 2019. And for whoever replaces Brady in this ride in 2023, good luck not flaming out on what seemingly seems like one of the ASCA’s cursed teams at this point.

—————————————————————

#14 Nick Painter | Age: 23
Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI

Team: Tico Bowden Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: PEAK Anitfreeze (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 top 10

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

While his best finish all season long was a 10th place effort in the season opening Ajax 200 and he only managed to bring home a 21st place points finish, its hard to say that 2021 was a complete failure for Nick Painter unlike his rookie teammate. Only 4 DNF’s all season showed that Painter was at least competent when it came to bringing his equipment home in one piece more often than not, and he also had some really nice qualifying efforts to build off of as well. Overall, while it was still a disastrous season for this No. 14 camp, it at least was an improvement on 2020 with Grant Von Duvedel, although that’s really not saying much. Looking forward to this season, the team brings in its 4th different primary sponsor in the last 4 years, but this one may actually help them take a big step forward in 2022. PEAK Antifreeze signed a multi year deal with the team, which gives Painter some much needed confidence and stability as a young driver getting set to enter his sophomore campaign. This won’t necessarily be a make it or break it type season for the Ann Arbor native due to his strong relationship with team owner Tico Bowden and now the committed multi year sponsorship deal, but it will be a crucial one in his long term development. Will we see a sophomore slump and steep regression from the 23 year old, or with Cameron Atwood now out of the TBM fold will Painter step up to the plate and become the young driver that vastly outperforms his equipment?

—————————————————————

#17 Cameron Atwood | Age: 26
Hometown: Antioch, TN

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Fastenal (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 3 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s, 67 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Ajax Cup win

Throughout his entire life, Cameron Atwood has been in the shadows of somebody else. Growing up as the son of former hotshot NASCAR prospect Casey Atwood certainly was not easy, but even that wasn’t enough to get him the spotlight he probably deserved when he made his Craftsman Series full time debut in 2016. His Craftsman rookie class featured future Cup stars Chris Barrymore and Greg Healey, and his Cup rookie class in 2018 as well featured Healey, meaning Atwood was never able to capture an ASCA ROTY award. Over the past couple seasons, while many will remember his victory in the inaugural Denver race in a Tico Bowden Motorsports car as one of the biggest upsets of the ASCA’s Modern Era to date, Atwood was largely forgotten about as his talent was being wasted away in arguably the worst equipment in the garage area. That’s why during his contract negotiations with TBM last season, he turned down an offer to become the second highest paid driver of $11 million dollars per season to instead take over in the storied No. 17 for CJ Barrymore Racing in 2022. FINALLY, at the age of 26, Atwood has secured his big break and his time in the spotlight…..or has he? Many questions surround this #17 camp entering this season, but one thing’s that for certain is that this team as it stands currently has no speed. Atwood finished ahead of this team and the man he’s replacing, Caleb Henderson Jr, in points last year, and the team only had 1 top 5 finish that came at Ajax Superspeedway. The days that this ride was winning back to back Windows 300’s and competing for championships are long since gone, as it stands this is a mid pack team at best that needs a complete overhaul. That’s the exact reason team owner CJ Barrymore made the tough decision to let Caleb Henderson Jr. walk after the season and brought in Atwood, but the question is can Atwood now handle the newfound extra pressure and scrutiny of having to elevate one of the most storied Cup Series rides back to its former glory?

—————————————————————

#18 Randle Woods | Age: 34
Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: M&M’s (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 3 wins, 10 top 5’s, 14 top 10’s, 3 poles, 615 laps led

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

Remember when people were questioning whether or not Randle Woods was “washed up” after his 2020 campaign that saw him finish 7th in points and rack up 4 DNF’s? Last season, the 33 year old responded to those critics by putting together the BEST season to date of the ASCA’s Modern Era - and it honestly isn’t even close. In 16 races, Woods managed to equal the points total that Diego Orkedi had when he won the strike shortened, 9 race, 2015 championship, just let that sink in for a second. In seven more starts than Orkedi made in his 2015 championship season, Woods EQUALED his points total, and remember the name of the game in the ASCA is to have the least amount of points at season’s end. Don’t even get me started on the modern era record 615 laps he led throughout the season, or the ASCA record 50 points he won the championship by over 2nd place Brynn Rennerd. Many people certainly expected Woods to bounce back and once again be a title contender after a “down” year in 2020, but be honest: did you really expect him to wipe the floor with everyone in the manner that he did especially at his advancing age? For the past half decade of the ASCA, team owners have been searching far and wide for the top young talent, trying to find the sport’s next superstars while since 2017, the winner of the Ajax Cup title has been 27 years or older. That being said, Father Time has to catch up to the Computerville native eventually right? Entering his age 34 season and his 14th year in the Cup Series, how much more does Woods realistically have left in the tank? We’ve seen his former teammate Jimmy Hood announce his retirement after 2022, and Woods is only two years younger than him. He’s got a wife and now a newborn son, RaSean Woods, waiting for him at home. He’s now got two Ajax Cup titles, is 3rd on the Ajax Cup all time wins list, and with one more victory he will be the all time ASCA wins leader counting both Cup and Craftsman wins. It seems we may be entering the twilight of Woods’ career folks, so enjoy watching this all time ASCA great race while it lasts.

—————————————————————

#19 Norm Lester | Age: 35
Hometown: New Orleans, LA

Team: Michael White Racing

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

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 4 top 5’s, 9 top 10’s, 2 poles, 153 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 4 Ajax Cup wins

Despite a disappointing 12th place points finish at season’s end, its hard to say 2021 was anything close to a failure for Norm Lester. Besides snapping his 58 race winless drought by winning the most prestigious race in the ASCA, the Windows 300, Lester was a legit title contender after the first half of the season sitting 5th in points and made Michael White look like a genius poaching him away from Tico Bowden Motorsports. However, the second half of the season for this No. 19 group was an absolute nightmare. 5 DNF’s throughout the final 8 races derailed any dark horse championship hopes this team had after that 300 victory, and ending the season being caught up in 3 straight accidents not of Lester’s doing really had to have left a sour taste in the New Orleans native’s mouth. But overall, this team preformed the best they had last season since 2015 with Sean Wooden, and showed flashes of championship potential, especially early in the year. Looking forward to 2022, considering Lester is the second oldest driver in the series the goal almost has to be championship or bust. This will most likely be his best shot at a title, and possibly his final one depending on how fast Father Time catches up with him. New primary sponsorship from Auto Owner’s Insurance will give Lester a fresh new look heading into the new year, and for his sake hopefully the new scheme gives him some new luck as well. The question becomes, will Lester be able to capitalize on this golden opportunity and become a dark horse title contender, or at age 35 has his championship window already passed even in elite equipment?

—————————————————————

#20 Jared Ayers | Age: 23
Hometown: Daytona Beach, FL

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Stanley Tools (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 6 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 2 poles, 44 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Ajax Cup win, 2016 ASCA Next Class Member

Looking at the raw statistics for Jared Ayers between 2020 and 2021, he had the exact same amount of top 5’s and top 10’s and more poles last season than he did in his breakout 2020 campaign. However, he also didn’t have a win in 2021, and finished 9th in points in his third season compared to a top 5 points finish in his sophomore campaign which is why many consider last year for Ayers as a disappointment. Part of the reason Ayers wasn’t able to finish as high in points as he probably should have was due to his feud throughout the second half of the season with Diego Orkedi that stemmed back to the Streets of Computerville. It seemed like after that race, if those two weren’t running into each other on the track that they were going back and forth on Twitter after the race talking smack to one another. That rivalry directly contributed to 2 late season DNF’s for Ayers at West Virginia and the finale at Belltown, and with the Daytona Beach native only finishing 6 points behind Jimmy Hood for 6th in points we could be having a vastly different discussion about the outlook for Ayers heading into this season if those accidents did not happen. Looking forward to year 4 of his career as Michael White’s successor in the No. 20, the expectations will continue to become bigger and bigger for Ayers as he begins to hit the prime of his career and Michael White Racing as a whole continues to rack up wins. The days that Ayers was able to fly under the radar are over, and the longstanding debate between whether he or Doug Bowden is the better driver are also pretty much over as well as its rather clear right now Ayers has the advantage there. That means that for the 23 year old in 2022, the goal has to be on a championship, or at least to be contending for one. Less fights on Twitter and less rivalries on the track will hopefully lead to a return to victory lane and a title contending season for Ayers to prove his 2020 breakout campaign wasn’t a fluke.

—————————————————————

#21 Chris Barrymore | Age: 24
Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: CJ Barrymore Racing

Primary Sponsor: Ford Motorcraft (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 4 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 158 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2 Ajax Cup wins, 2017 Ajax Cup Series ROTY, 2017 Craftsman Series Champion

FINALLY the most scrutinized and discussed winless drought in the ASCA is no more. 43 races, or nearly 4 full seasons of races, is how long it took Chris Barrymore to once more break through for his 2nd career Ajax Cup victory in the Northern 200. When you look at the raw statistics, Barrymore believe it or not led less laps and only scored 1 more top 10 in 2021 compared to 2020, but finally breaking through for that victory and ending the winless streak will completely change the perception of his season and rightfully so. However, at age 24 and entering his 6th season in the Cup Series, the son of ASCA all time wins leader CJ Barrymore is no longer a “young driver”. Sure, he’s a year younger than guys like Greg Healey and Doug Bowden, and only a year older than guys like Devin Smith and Jared Ayers, but he already has 5 years of Cup experience under his belt. This season is going to be absolutely CRITICAL in foreshadowing how the rest of Barrymore’s career will play out. Either he will take the next step, rattle off multiple victories and be a serious title contender like Todd Kidd and Greg Healey both did in their age 24 campaigns, or the Computerville native will put together another season like 2021 and prove that he’s not the “next big thing” many people thought he would become as a 19 year old rookie back in 2017. While a win, double digit top 10’s, and an 8th place points finish certainly isn’t terrible, many people expected he’d be much further along in his development and would at least be contending for titles by this point in his career. It’d be unwise to write Barrymore off just yet as a “bust” until we see how his 2022 season goes, but if it doesn’t go as planned he could be the next cautionary tale to ASCA team owners to stop rushing these young kids to Cup so soon.

—————————————————————

#22 Diego Orkedi | Age: 31
Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Orkedi Bros Racing

Primary Sponsor: Shell/Pennzoil (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 4 wins, 5 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 1 pole, 323 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2015, 2018, 2020 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 20 Ajax Cup wins

Fresh off of signing the most lucrative contract extension in ASCA history at a hefty $12 million dollar per year amount that lasts until the conclusion of the 2029 season, its safe to say 100% of three time champion Diego Orkedi’s focus will now be on 2022 which is scary for the competition. The 2021 campaign was a mixed bag for Orkedi to say the least. The positives? Finally completing the crown jewel sweep with a dramatic comeback Ajax 200 victory, a career high in wins during a single season (4), becoming the youngest driver in Ajax Cup history to reach 20 career wins at just the ripe old age of 30, and leading 323 laps in the process. The negatives? Concluding the offseason with a warrant out for his arrest for being late on child support payments, a midseason arrest for a false domestic violence claim which also led to multiple trips back and forth to court, the most DNF’s he’s had in a season since 2014 (4), and the first time Orkedi has finished outside the top 2 in points and with less than 6 top 5’s since 2016. Looking forward to this season, the only two things that could potentially separate the Belltown native from a 4th title are his advancing age and the brand new Ford Mustang. As for the Mustang, this was a much needed change for the entire Ford camp, especially Orkedi Bros Racing. All season long, pundits were discussing just how uncharacteristically bad OBR was at both Computer Motor Speedway and West Virginia, with Diego specifically only scoring 1 top 5 finish between those tracks. In theory, the Mustang should help him at least be able to compete at those high speed, aero sensitive tracks, but the only problem is will it take Ford as long to figure out the Mustang as it took Chevy to figure out the Camaro? As for Orkedi’s age, at 31 its not like he’ll be retiring anytime soon, but Father Time will start creeping up on him sometime in the next 3-4 years. Will Orkedi be able to score that 4th title before that championship window slams shut on him?

—————————————————————

#24 Doug Bowden | Age: 25
Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Axalta (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 5 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 1 pole, 182 laps led

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

When it was announced that Doug Bowden would be replacing Randle Woods at Ronnie Woods Motorsports prior to the start of the 2019 season, many people thought this move was a match made in heaven. After all, this was a guy that in two years of Craftsman competition was consistently able to elevate vastly inferior subpar Tico Bowden Motorsports equipment to race wins and even a championship in 2018, levels of performance that team was nowhere near before Bowden came along and have come nowhere close to since his departure. The thought was, if the son of Tico Bowden can do this in subpar equipment, imagine what he could do with the top equipment in the garage? In his rookie season, the Belltown native took home Rookie of the Year honors by a slim margin over Jared Ayers, further seemingly cementing the narrative that he would become the sport’s next young breakout star. His sophomore campaign started with 3 straight top 5 finishes and Bowden sitting 2nd in points after 3 races - but everything pretty much went downhill from there. A 10th place points finish that season was followed up by an 11th place points finish last year, and despite Bowden FINALLY scoring his first career win at Ajax Superspeedway in controversial fashion after 51 Cup starts, a career low points finish and in top 10 finishes show that Bowden somehow managed to regress in a campaign where his other three teammates finished in the top six in points. Add in the moments he had throughout the season berating his pit crew and his 4 DNF’s, and its safe to say Bowden was the most disappointing driver of 2021 with all the expectations he and that team had before the season started. Looking forward to a contract year for Bowden in 2022, the 4th year of his career will be all about auditioning to other ASCA teams that he’s still that same driver that gave Tico Bowden Motorsports a championship in 2018. At this point, the bridge between he and RWM has long since been burned, and it’d be a shocking development if he returns to the No. 24 in 2023 barring a championship. The question then becomes, where does Bowden end up next year, and where does RWM go with this car next year?

—————————————————————

#42 Laquon Scransen (R) | Age: 19
Hometown: Compton, CA

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: FirstData (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats (Craftsman): 3 wins, 9 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 1 pole, 186 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 Craftsman Series Champion, 2021 Craftsman Series ROTY, 3 Craftsman Series wins, 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

Where do we even begin with this one? Even if your first year of watching the ASCA was last season, I’m sure you’re already well aware of who Laquon Scransen is, but for those new viewers that are just joining us for 2022 let’s get you up to speed. Coming from the streets of Compton, California, Scransen was already a polarizing prospect before he even made his Craftsman debut last year with his already lengthy criminal record. In April 2016, Scransen was arrested for aggravated assault due to a post race scuffle and was locked up behind bars for 90 days as a result. Following this, between 2019 and 2020 Scransen racked up FIVE speeding tickets that had his road license suspended and eventually completely revoked towards the end of 2021. Despite all of this, Dexter Andrews Motorsports was desperate for a spark. While they had promising young talent Derek Lewis in the fold already, it was rather clear their Rob Buddy experiment failed miserably and Ryan Braun at age 31 was only a stop gap option at best. If this team wanted to see a drastic turnaround in performance similar to a team such as Snoots Enterprises, specifically in Cup, they needed that breakout young star like Greg Healey was for SE. This is why Dexter Andrews took the gamble on Laquon Scransen despite his troubled past, and boy did it pay off. After a DNF in Belltown that was his 3rd one of the season in the opening 6 Craftsman races, Scransen finished no worse than 6th the rest of the season despite nearly being shot to death during that span, ripped off the same amount of wins in 4 weeks last season than the entire DAM organization had throughout the ASCA dating back to 2011, and scored the team’s first ever ASCA title, becoming the first rookie and youngest driver to do so at only 18 years of age. Originally the plan was for Scransen to get another season of development in Craftsman for 2022, but those plans changed with Caleb Henderson Jr’s shocking January retirement which means the Compton native’s hype train now moves to Cup at the ripe young age of 19. Let’s be real here, nobody knows what to expect out of this kid heading into this season, but whatever happens will be really, really good or really, really bad. All that can be said is, at least for now, it appears Dexter Andrews may have stumbled upon the sport’s next big thing.

—————————————————————

#47 Nick Carey | Age: 29
Hometown: East Northport, NY

Team: Revolution Racing

Primary Sponsor: Kroger ClickList (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 3 top 10’s, 1 pole, 28 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2017 ASCA Next Class Member

2021 was most certainly a step in the right direction for Nick Carey and Revolution Racing in both of their first full time Ajax Cup campaigns. While a 19th place points finish isn’t necessarily ideal, when you consider the fact that Carey was able to sneak in 3 top 10 finishes despite that car clearly lacking speed everywhere besides plate tracks and road courses, winning the pole and leading 28 laps in the Fastenal 200, and outscoring an Orkedi Bros Racing car in the final standings, that’s certainly a strong foundation for this No. 47 camp to build on heading into 2022. While for many teams, a driver that’s nearly 30 years old with zero ASCA wins to their credit would be considered an absolute detriment to their organization, for Revolution Racing it seems Nick Carey is the perfect fit. As stated earlier, he had this car competitive at Ajax Superspeedway and in the road course events, and only DNF’ed 4 times in 2021 which was around the league average last season. If team owner Jason Cain put a 20 year old rookie like Nathaniel Cherry in this car who clearly wasn’t ready for Cup, we’d probably be having a vastly different discussion about the future of this team heading into this season. Speaking of that, the goals for 2022 for the East Northport native won’t be to become a championship contender or contend for race wins, its rather clear this team is years away from doing either of those things. Instead, the objectives should be to cut down on the DNF’s and increase the top 10 count, and you might just find these guys in the top 15 in points at season’s end. If all that goes to plan, we could be looking at a race winning car and team heading into the 2023 campaign.

—————————————————————

#48 Brynn Rennerd | Age: 30
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Ally Financial (All Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 1 win, 8 top 5’s, 12 top 10’s, 1 pole, 62 laps led

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

New contract and a new primary sponsor are the major storylines heading into 2022 for Brynn Rennerd, but are we seeing a brand new version of him as well? Heading into last season, the question was whether or not he would ever become a true championship contender or if those days were well past him at this stage of his career. After all, the Phoenix native had not finished in the top 5 in points since 2015, and while he was a title contender throughout most of the 2020 season, this No. 48 camp fell apart towards the end of that campaign and only had an 8th place finish to show for it. While Rennerd had definitely proven up to that point in his career that he would be a top 10 driver in the sport year in and year out, the allure about Ronnie Woods Motorsports is that they do not accept mediocrity over there. Team owner Ronnie Woods is indeed extremely patient with his young drivers and sometimes gives them arguably too much time to develop, he won’t hesitate to pull the trigger to find someone better if he has to, just ask Doug Bowden. And heading into his 9th season in Cup, pundits were beginning to wonder how much longer he would be able to get away with scoring one win a year and bottom half of the top 10 points finishes consistently while his teammates were either competing for titles or had already won multiple. To his credit, Rennerd seemingly flipped a switch in 2021, putting together the best season of his career to date along with a runner up points finish. THIS type of a campaign was what we needed to see out of Rennerd that he did indeed still have that championship caliber talent level many people thought he would have when he entered the Cup Series back in 2012. Now in his milestone 10th Cup season at the ripe old age of 30, will 2022 be Rennerd’s time to shine and capture his first Cup title before its too late?

—————————————————————

#88 Jimmy Hood | Age: 36
Hometown: Belltown, MI

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Nationwide (16 Races)

Season 7 (2021) Stats: 6 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 78 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2014, 2017 Ajax Cup Series Champion, 17 Ajax Cup wins, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 Ajax Cup Series Most Popular Driver

While many people were extremely quick to write Jimmy Hood off entering last season after a disastrous 2020 campaign finishing outside the top 10 in points for the first time since 2011, the two time Cup champion looked like he turned back the clock last season, rebounding in a big way. Hood’s top 5 and top 10 numbers were the most he had put together in a season since 2018, and his 6th place points finish was also his highest since that season as well. Notice a trend here? 2018 was the last time Hood won a race in that year’s Menards 200, and while the Belltown native ironically really only had race winning speed at Belltown, the No. 88 team tripling their top 10 numbers last season compared to 2020 shows a drastic improvement from that team that not many people saw coming heading into the year. 2022 will be an emotional season for Hood and Ronnie Woods Motorsports as a whole, as in case you missed it the 36 year old announced that he will be retiring from full time Ajax Cup competition at season’s end. Considering the fact that Hood now runs his own full time Craftsman outfit in Hood Motorsports, has a wife and kids, has not won in 52 starts, and as the oldest driver in the ASCA won’t be getting any younger, its always best to walk away too soon rather than doing it too late. As one of the most decorated drivers in the ASCA’s Modern Era and the ASCA as a whole, Hood walking away from the sport will mark a new era for the No. 88 team, RWM, and the Ajax Cup Series as a whole. While he has clearly taken a step back in performance the last 3 seasons, that doesn’t take away from his remarkable run from 2014-18 where he won a ridiculous 12 races and 2 championships in that span. No matter how this season plays out, it will be a sentimental swan song campaign for one of the best drivers the Cup Series has ever seen, and I’m sure many fans would like to see the fan favorite win at least one more time before he officially calls it quits at season’s end.

—————————————————————

#95 Lucas Sambér (R) | Age: 27
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

Team: Flores Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Procore (All Races)

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

ASCA Career Achievements: 2019 ASCA Next Class Member

As stated a few times before, many team owners in this current day and age try to strike gold with that next 18 year old hotshot young talent that’ll race for their team for the next two decades and deliver multiple championships and numerous race wins to that organization. There is something to be said for that working out, just look at Orkedi Bros Racing in the ASCA’s Modern Era with Diego + Nick Orkedi or Laquon Scransen right now with Dexter Andrews Motorsports. However, you can also point out notable massive flops and disappointments such as Adam Petty Jr or a Doug Bowden currently that just didn’t quite pan out for whatever reason. There is something to be said though for the team owners that try to head in the opposite direction of the current trend and look to groom drivers 25 years and older with a lot more life experience under their belt than many of these teenagers have coming into Cup. While Michael White Racing took his chance on 31 year old Timmy Barbat for his No. 18 Craftsman ride back in 2018 and fired him after one season, he decided to go down that older driver route again with 26 year old Lucas Sambér last season, with a much better return on his investment this time around. After a couple years of developing and grooming the Las Vegas native behind the scenes, White gave him his big break in 2021 and Sambér took the opportunity and ran with it. You may be concerned that he didn’t score any wins in Craftsman, but don’t be. Even with a goose egg in the wins column, Sambér was consistent enough to be a title contender all season long, and if it wasn’t for Laquon Scransen putting together the best rookie season in ASCA history he would’ve taken home Rookie of the Year honors as well. Brand new ASCA team owner Manny Flores saw Sambér’s excellent performance, and took note of how 28 year old rookie Nick Carey was the perfect fit to help build up new team Revolution Racing, so he called up Michael White and asked if he was willing to “loan” Sambér to this No. 95 camp for the next few years, with White obliging. Flores Motorsports may be a brand new team, but remember they’ll be using top tier Michael White Racing equipment this season. All that can be said is that the sudden promotion of Laquon Scransen to Cup has made this ROTY battle between him and Sambér a must watch dogfight in 2022.

—————————————————————