2023 Craftsman Series Driver Introductions

#00 Felix Anderson | Age: 24
Hometown: Sandusky, OH

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Jacob Companies (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 4 top 10’s, 17 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

Despite a number change in the offseason to presumably begin a clean slate for what has consistently been the worst Ford Development Program team for over half a decade, that didn’t prevent Felix Anderson’s rookie campaign still being one to forget in 2022. With a league leading SIX DNF’s and only four top 10 finishes to back that up, the Ohio native was never a significant threat to win races like his other four team cars were each and every week plus tore up a lot of equipment in the process. Heading into 2023, the FDP has a big decision to make regarding Anderson and this No. 00 team as a whole. Anderson showed flashes of potential in his debut a few years back at West Virginia running as high as second and in the top five most of the night, but he hasn’t shown much since then. With plenty of new young hotshot prospects itching to have a shot at the most successful team in Craftsman Series history, if the 24 year old cannot pick up the pace this upcoming season, he’ll likely see his ASCA career end before it even got a chance to really get started.

—————————————————————

#08 Adam Petty Jr. | Age: 26
Hometown: High Point, NC

Team: Hood Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Panini Trading Cards (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 3 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 72 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2015 Craftsman Series ROTY

Adam Petty Jr may be the same age as his former Ajax Cup teammate Greg Healey, but the trajectories of their careers couldn’t be any further apart since the duo were first paired up at Snoots Enterprises back in 2018. Half a decade later and Greg Healey has taken he and Snoots Enterprises to the pinnacle of the ASCA as the Cup Series’ reigning champion, while Adam Petty Jr fights to save his ASCA career once more down in the Craftsman Series, still searching for his first ASCA triumph in the sport’s top two divisions. While last season was certainly a step back for the High Point native and Hood Motorsports as a whole in their sophomore season together, finishing a disappointing 8th in the standings after being a dark horse title contender throughout much of 2021, the bright side is this team showed they CAN build a car with race winning speed in the 2022 TreatMyPC.com 150. While that car did so happen to also be illegal, its a step in the right direction for a new team like this still looking to find their footing long term in the ASCA. With a new season brings along a new number, new sponsor, new Camaro model, and potentially new expectations for the fifth generation Petty as he and the team enter their third year together. Team owner Jimmy Hood believes he has assembled an ensemble good enough to win races, but the question now becomes is Petty the right guy to get the job done?

—————————————————————

#1 Rob Buddy | Age: 28
Hometown: Denver, CO

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Nestle BabyRuth (All Races)

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

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win

After a mutual release from Dexter Andrews Motorsports following the conclusion of the 2021 season, many people left Rob Buddy’s ASCA career for dead and wrote him off for good. This was a guy with only one Craftsman Series victory to his credit despite driving for the Ford Development Program who just flamed out of the Cup Series after two years at the age of 26, surely The Homie Rob’s career had to be toast right? It sure did seem that way…..that is until Ronnie Woods gave him a call to run a few races in his No. 5 Craftsman Series entry for 2022. While it may not have been the opportunity the Denver native wanted, it was the opportunity he needed, and its safe to say he took advantage of it quite well. In his five starts last year, Buddy did not record a single DNF with his worst finish being an 11th in the season opener at Ajax Superspeedway after a last lap crash. The results weren’t flashy either with only one top 5 finish, but they were stable enough that Woods felt comfortable enough giving Buddy a full time seat for this season to mentor the two new young talents RWM signed on for 2023, a la what Sean Wooden has done for the Ford Development Program the past couple years. While Buddy was able to finesse his way into a second chance in the sport, this may very well be his last one so he cannot afford to squander this opportunity.

—————————————————————

#2 Cameron Barrymore | Age: 22
Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Shore Lodge (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s

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

Despite only having one less top 5 and top 10 plus finishing in the same spot in points as he did during his rookie campaign, 2022 certainly felt like a sophomore slump for Cameron Barrymore without a win or even coming anywhere close to one throughout the year. In a season where his teammates Bryce Mann and even Ben McDonnell to an extent showed significant improvement, the younger brother of Ajax Cup star Chris Barrymore stayed rather stagnant in his development, even regressing a tad you could argue. What makes matters worse is that the 22 year old is reportedly on “extremely bad terms” with Snoots Enterprises management over the direction the team has gone in the past couple years, meaning that once Barrymore’s contract expires after this upcoming season its rather unlikely he returns to the No. 2 ride for 2024. The Belltown native has always been adamant that he doesn’t want to use his last name to receive opportunities in this sport, but if he cannot pick up the pace in 2023 that’s what he may have to resort to just to save his potentially fledgling ASCA career.

—————————————————————

#3 Lance Davidson (R) | Age: 20
Hometown: Bristol, TN

Team: Snoots Enterprises

Primary Sponsor: Yuengling Light Lager (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 3 top 10’s (4 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 ASCA Next Class Member

Its rather hard to believe that this No. 3 team won a Craftsman Series championship just a couple years ago seeing how far they have regressed since then. The decision to have Shane Park succeeded by Ben McDonnell in this flagship Snoots Enterprises entry may have set the team back half a decade as McDonnell turned out to be one of the biggest busts the sport has ever seen and was unceremoniously dumped after the 2022 campaign. Now, in steps former four star prospect Lance Davidson to inherit what’s left of this championship winning team from the start of the decade to try and bring this ride from the back of the grid to a race win contender as it was throughout the Shane Park years. While Davidson didn’t set the ASCA ablaze in his four part time starts from last season with a best finish of 6th at Ajax Superspeedway, he also only had one DNF during that span, meaning at least the Bristol native can say he knows how to keep the car in one piece. Adding in the fact that the organization as a whole is in flux with its driver development considering the high possibility that Cameron Barrymore will be leaving the team after this season means that a LOT of pressure will be on the 20 year old to prove he can be a long term solution to Snoots Enterprises’ history of driver development issues minus Greg Healey.

—————————————————————

#6 Alex Dennis (R) | Age: 19
Hometown: Concord, New Hampshire

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: Roush Performance (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: Best Finish | 11th (5 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 ASCA Next Class Member

Many people have been rather bearish on Alex Dennis’ ASCA career especially after the absolutely abysmal performance he put in during his five starts in 2022, and that’s for good reason. The New England native accounted for four of the No. 60 team’s six DNF’s last season, which single handedly cost the team any shot at the owner’s championship despite their four wins, and did not score a single top 10 finish in his limited action, giving him only one of those now in 10 career Craftsman Series starts dating back to 2021. Despite all these red flags and warnings that Dennis just might not have it, the Ford Development Program threw caution to the wind and made the incredibly bold decision to promote the 19 year old not to just a full time ride - but to the team’s flagship No. 6 entry which has won three titles in just the past decade alone and has scored a win every year dating back to 2016! If you thought Carson Schmidt was under qualified for this ride when he was handed this seat a couple years back…..this sets the bar to a whole new low for who gets the once in a lifetime opportunity to pilot one of the most storied rides in Craftsman Series, and even ASCA history. The expectations will be at an all time high for Dennis, who’s father is the head of marketing for the FDP, but if you expect him to come anywhere close to reaching them…..I want what you’re on.

—————————————————————

#7 Jack Alows | Age: 24
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario

Team: True North Motorsport

Primary Sponsor: Brandt (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 3 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2020 ASCA Next Class Member

Despite not making much progress in terms of on the stat sheet or in the final point standings, 2022 felt like another year of progress for Jack Alows and this now two year old True North Motorsport outfit. A top 5 effort in the season opener at Ajax Superspeedway got this Canadian group started off on the right foot, and while they didn’t put together another result that impressive the rest of the campaign, they also weren’t exactly a weekly back marker either. Alows continued to prove his excellent road racing ability with a 6th place result at the Streets of Computerville and a top 5 run going at the Michigan Road Course before a heavy lockup entering turn 1 took him out of contention. Entering 2023 with Brandt Agriculture as the full season primary sponsor, the organization was able to round up the funds to purchase the new Chevy Camaro bodies, which will be HUGE for their development if Chevrolet did their homework right and designed something ready to compete with the Ford Development Program and Toyota’s new Supra’s. Look out for Alows and TNM to be potential breakout candidates this year if things go their way.

—————————————————————

#8 Toby Beckett (R) | Age: 19
Hometown: Anaheim, CA

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Hellmann’s (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 2 top 10’s (2 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2022 ASCA Next Class Member

With only receiving the opportunity to make two starts in Ronnie Woods Motorsports’ No. 5 leech car last year, the pressure was on Anaheim native Toby Beckett to preform and make a name for himself and boy did he ever with his limited track time. Even with his ASCA debut coming in the biggest Craftsman event of the season, the TreatMyPC.com 150, the moment didn’t prove to be too much for Beckett as he drove his way as high up as 2nd at one point before bringing home a top 5 finish at the end of the afternoon. That performance along with another top 10 result in his other start at the newly renamed Disney Motor Speedway was enough for Ronnie Woods to feel comfortable enough giving the 19 year old a full time drive in 2023, taking over for the series’ reigning champion Ross Jackson on this newly renumbered No. 8 team. While RWM currently has three drivers in the Ajax Cup ranks 27 years old or younger, the uncertain future of Brynn Rennerd at this team past this upcoming season means there could be a Cup ride open sooner than later for Beckett if he can prove his performances from last season were not a fluke.

—————————————————————

#9 Colin Ward (R) | Age: 21
Hometown: South Bend, IN

Team: Ronnie Woods Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: Switch (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 3 top 10’s, 1 pole (4 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 ASCA Next Class Member

When Colin Ward received a call from Ronnie Woods asking him to drive one of his Craftsman Series entries full time in 2023, despite Ward already being signed to Michael White Racing’s development program, in his own words it was an “offer I could not refuse.” The South Bend native is one of the few in the ASCA to cut his teeth on dirt tracks across the United States as one of the best dirt racers in the entire country. At the age of 21, Ward has already won the two biggest dirt races out there - the Morgantown Nationals in 2021 and the Lasagna Bowl this offseason, proving that if he cannot make it in the ASCA, a future on dirt could most certainly be a possibility as a potential backup plan. However, Ward was rated as a four star prospect for a reason - because he’s pretty good on pavement too. In his debut race at Disney Motor Speedway last year, Ward captured pole position and led the opening 37 laps of that event before bringing home a top 5 result that day. While that was easily his best performance of the season, Ward still put together a couple more top 10 efforts to boot with his only DNF coming at Advocare Speedpark, where he was running in the top 5 before an accident on a late race restart. While this may be the same No. 5 team that has failed to reach victory lane since Randle Woods departed the team after 2018, with a new driver, new number, and new Camaro the clean slate may be just what Colin Ward needs to burst onto the scene this upcoming season.

—————————————————————

#11 Marcus Edwards | Age: 20
Hometown: Portland, OR

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: LeafFilter (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 4 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s

ASCA Career Achievements: 2021 ASCA Next Class Member

After a slow start to the campaign with Edwards failing to bring home a top 5 finish until the first Belltown race, the second half of 2022 was much more kind to Laquon Scransen’s successor with the former SFCS driver putting together three more top 5 results after that along with a 7th place end of season points finish. The Portland native has certainly proven that Scransen’s title run with this No. 11 team was no fluke, as the balance of power at Dexter Andrews Motorsports’ Craftsman shop has seemingly flipped with this group now being miles ahead of their in house counterparts working on the No. 42. While the 20 year old said himself he wanted to stay in the Craftsman Series until he became a consistent winner, those plans could change in an instant if the motion to delay Scransen’s court case until 2024 is lifted and he is forced to vacate his No. 42 Ajax Cup seat to serve time behind bars. Edwards is the only prospect signed to the organization with any sort of prior ASCA experience heading into 2023, so if anyone would be getting the surprise call up to Cup it would be him. However, whether or not that does or does not happen, expect with a year of experience in the sport under his belt for Edwards to emerge as a potential breakout Craftsman Series driver this upcoming season.

—————————————————————

#12 Sean Wooden | Age: 33
Hometown: Chicago, IL

Team: Ford Development Program

Primary Sponsor: PPG Paints (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 7 top 5’s, 10 top 10’s, 49 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 2010 Craftsman Series Champion, 2 Ajax Cup wins, 8 Craftsman Series wins

By all intents and purposes, Sean Wooden should have been a championship contender throughout the 2022 season. The problem is, unlike in 2021, luck was most certainly not on his side this time around. In all three of Wooden’s DNF’s last season he was running in the top 5 at the time of his involvement in misfortune in each circumstance, not to mention the fact that he was running second in the penultimate event of the campaign at Ajax Superspeedway before an ill timed block set him back to a 19th place effort. Despite all of this, the oldest Craftsman regular in the field STILL managed a 4th place finish just behind the likes of his former mentee Carson Schmidt and Braeden Bennett in 2nd and 3rd, and with his protege now graduated up to the Cup Series full time its safe to say the Ford Development Program has to be happy with what they’ve seen out of the Chicago native the past two years. However, this upcoming campaign might be his most difficult mentorship task yet taking on the job of turning the new driver of the No. 6, Alex Dennis, from a weekly caution clock to a championship contender in what many would consider the best car in the field. If the 33 year old is somehow able to pull that one off…..it may be regarded as a greater achievement for him and the team than becoming the first driver in ASCA history to win two Craftsman championships would be.

—————————————————————

#18 Braeden Bennett | Age: 22
Hometown: Tupelo, MS

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: iK9 (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 7 top 5’s, 11 top 10’s, 3 poles, 94 laps led

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win, 2022 Craftsman Series ROTY

To most people, the biggest pleasant surprise across the ASCA from 2022 was the emergence of Braeden Bennett from relatively unknown Michael White Racing development driver to Craftsman Series title contender just about overnight. The young man from Elvis Presley’s hometown took the points lead after West Virginia with back to back top 5 efforts to open the campaign, and remained a serious title threat throughout the year until a last place effort at The Stoneyard by virtue of a DNF effectively eliminated him from serious championship contention. Bennett ran away with ROTY honors by the halfway point of the season, and the milestone moment of his rookie campaign had to be passing the Craftsman Series all time wins leader Randle Woods with 10 laps to go to score he and the No. 18 team’s first triumph at Disney Motor Speedway. Heading into 2023 though, while not many people expected much out of the 22 year old last year, this season by many he’s considered the favorite for the championship. Add in the possibility that its rather unlikely Devin Smith returns to the No. 11 Cup entry for MWR in 2024, and the pressure will certainly be on Bennett to prove that last season was no fluke. With a new sponsor and new car model for Toyota with the Supra making its Craftsman Series debut, will the changes and newfound pressure be too much for the second year driver to handle?

—————————————————————

#19 Michael White Racing Leech Car
Primary Sponsor: Menards (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 2 wins, 6 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 6 poles, 302 laps led

If there’s one thing Michael White Racing can say they mastered in 2022, it was most certainly qualifying. The organization as a whole took a record shattering 10 pole positions in 14 races last season, with this No. 19 team capturing a whopping SIX pole positions throughout the campaign. The problem is, only two of those first place starting spots led to convincing victories, but at least this group can rest on the fact that for yet another year they were the best of the leech cars, but still nowhere close to the owner’s championship. Heading into this upcoming season, there will be some major changes to this group. A new primary sponsor, the switch from the Camry model that has run in the Craftsman Series since 2016 to a new Supra design, as well as new development drivers behind the wheel. With Colin Ward departing to take a full time opportunity at Ronnie Woods Motorsports, MWR development driver Bradley Thielen will pick up the slack and pilot this car for the 2023 standalone events along with fellow team prospect Dustin Adams scheduled to make his debut at the second Disney Motor Speedway race. As for Cup drivers in this ride, Jared Ayers is expected to get the bulk of the starts for the team while Norm Lester will once again run both Belltown races and Devin Smith scheduled to run the early season event at West Virginia. If this team can turn the insane qualifying pace they had from last year into race pace this year with the new Supra….they might just run away with their first owner’s championship with ease.

—————————————————————

#20 Tommy Woods | Age: 23
Hometown: Computerville, MI

Team: Michael White Racing

Primary Sponsor: Rheem (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 5, 4 top 10’s (7 starts)

ASCA Career Achievements: 1 Craftsman Series win

Believe it or not, 2022 was looking to be a breakout year for Tommy Woods. After the sixth race of the season at the Streets of Computerville, Woods sat fourth in the standings, only SIX points behind the points leader Ross Jackson. Then….the TreatMyPC.com 150 happened. Just before halfway in the event, Woods got loose on one of the dreaded Computer Motor Speedway seams, lost control of the car, and slid down the track only to be absolutely CLOBBERED by Caylen Summers at around 155 miles per hour in the driver’s side door. That vicious shot knocked the younger brother of Randle Woods unconscious for a brief moment, and left him with a mild concussion and broken leg, effectively ending his campaign seven races too soon. After months and months of rehab, the 23 year old is finally back to 100 percent and ready to go for the 2023 season to compete for the championship he was robbed of the opportunity of competing for last year. Believe it or not, this is the Computerville native’s sixth Craftsman Series campaign, so despite his young age he has plenty of experience racing some of the best young stars this sport has developed over the course of the past half decade. The question is, will the new Supra model plus Woods’ bevy of experience pay off in a big way with the amount of inexperienced drivers entering the series this upcoming season?

—————————————————————

#22 Ford Development Program Leech Car
Primary Sponsor: Fitzgerald Glider Kits (7 Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 3 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 1 pole, 16 laps led

If there’s a team that regressed the most of anybody from 2021 to 2022, one of those options would most certainly have to be this No. 22 camp. While they only scored one less top 10 from the season prior, their top 5 numbers were cut in half and in their only win of the year they were handed an L1 infraction in post race inspection and docked 10 points. This Ford Development Program entry piloted by mostly Cup drivers managed to finish 13th in the overall drivers/owner’s standings, dead last of the leech cars by a pretty wide margin as well. What may have hurt this team more than many people would like to admit is the lack of star Cup drivers behind the wheel in recent times, specifically last season. Guys like Nick Painter, Nathaniel Cherry, Henry Brady, and Keegan Bartoli all received starts in this ride throughout the course of 2022, which certainly helped their development overall but not necessarily bringing home great results to the team. For 2023, the leech schedule has been revamped to reflect the recent driver movement at Orkedi Bros Racing and Tico Bowden Motorsports. Doug Bowden and Carson Schmidt will take over the majority of the schedule, with FDP prospect Caylen Summers back for the standalone event, Keegan Bartoli back for the road races, and fellow development driver Cody Turner expected to make his debut at some point this upcoming season. With sponsors not happy about the way this team preformed last year, if putting some bigger names behind the wheel can’t do the trick the FDP may have to hit the reset button on this bunch come 2024.

—————————————————————

#33 Snoots Enterprises Leech Car
Primary Sponsor: Nexteer (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 win, 5 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 pole, 73 laps led

While they weren’t quite as dominant as they were to open the 2021 campaign, this No. 33 team was quietly a bit more consistent throughout 2022 and it showed up in the final points standings as they finished just two points behind Michael White Racing’s No. 19 leech entry. Even with the team’s only statement victory coming with Shane Park at the Streets of Computerville and Greg Healey going winless in his starts, as a whole the group added one more top 5 and top 10 result along with subtracting a couple DNF’s, so it was a general step in the right direction. Snoots Enterprises made the rather surprising announcement late last season that they would be disbanding the No. 9 team they’ve used full time dating all the way back to 2015 with Greg Healey and other full time Cup drivers at the time to downsize the team from four to three cars to help improve the performance of their Craftsman outfit as a whole. The reigning Cup champion of course will be back with this group to make a few starts throughout 2023 as will his new teammate Bryce Mann, and you can also expect to see team prospect Chad Nelson picking up the standalone events as well. Even with the future of Snoots Enterprises in this series remaining uncertain as they have yet to announce any plans to switch to the new Camaro as of now, with a driver the caliber of Healey behind the wheel expect to see this car up front quite a few times this year regardless.

—————————————————————

#42 Aiden Romo (R) | Age: 19
Hometown: San Antonio, TX

Team: Dexter Andrews Motorsports

Primary Sponsor: ParkerStore (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: N/A

ASCA Career Achievements: 2022 ASCA Next Class Member

Doesn’t that last name look familiar? Yes, Aiden Romo is related to THAT Tony Romo as his nephew. The 19 year old might just have the potential of his uncle as well considering the four star ranking he was given before making the decision to sign with Dexter Andrews Motorsports. While the San Antonio native didn’t begin his racing career until around 15 years of age, he quickly showed he was a special talent behind the wheel by destroying the competition at his local Texas short tracks and having his family move him out to Michigan to have a better shot of making it in the ASCA. And while a full time Craftsman Series contract offer from DAM may have been regarded as a joke at the start of the decade, after the success that Derek Lewis and Laquon Scransen have had with the team in this series in recent years, Romo jumped at the opportunity to become the next rising star to come from this camp. While this No. 42 team has regressed back into a back marker outfit with Blake Stern behind the wheel, one has to wonder if it was the driver or the equipment that caused this as the aforementioned Scransen and now Marcus Edwards have proven running up at the front of the field is certainly possible at this organization. If Romo can pan out and become the sport’s next hot young star like many pundits think he has the potential to be…..the sky is the limit for the opportunities that will present themselves for him in 2024.

—————————————————————

#60 Ford Development Program Leech Car
Primary Sponsor: Ford Development (All Races)

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 4 wins, 5 top 5’s, 7 top 10’s, 1 pole, 178 laps led

The stats may not exactly show it, but Craftsman Series weekly viewers knew that for the majority of 2022, this No. 60 team was the car to beat. With four wins on the campaign (three coming from Chris Barrymore alone) and 178 laps led, you may be wondering how in the world a leech car this dominant only managed an 8th place overall finish in the final standings? There’s two explanations for this - plain old bad luck…..and Alex Dennis. As for the bad luck side of things, an argument could be made this team could’ve very well taken home six wins had Cameron Atwood not been taken out battling for the lead with Devin Smith at Disney and avoided the pit penalty handed to him while leading at The Stoneyard. Even if they did hit that astonishing six win mark though, it STILL wouldn’t have been enough for the team to overcome the anchor holding the group down known as Alex Dennis. The 19 year old accounted for FOUR of the team’s six DNF’s in his five starts, while only bringing home a best finish of 11th at the standalone Disney race. However, with Dennis now in his own full time ride and not holding this ensemble back anymore, expect this camp to once again be the favorites for the 2023 Craftsman Series Owner’s title. With a star studded lineup of all three CJ Barrymore Racing drivers scheduled to make starts throughout the year along with four star Ford Development Program prospect Ian Adande to participate in the standalone events, if you want to win a Craftsman event during this upcoming season, this will most likely be the car you have to beat.

—————————————————————

#62 Will Moon (R) | Age: 19
Hometown: Tuscon, AZ

Team: South Point Racing Team

Primary Sponsor: South Point Hotel & Casino

Season 8 (2022) Stats: 1 top 10 (1 start)

ASCA Career Achievements: 2022 ASCA Next Class Member

Can the real South Point Racing Team please stand up? Back when the team made their debut in the Craftsman Series in 2020 with Ross Jackson, they were actually around a mid pack team capable of even putting together a top 5 effort here and there. Fast forward a couple years later though…..and this team has become the joke of the sport after back to back last place points finishes with Joey Elliott. While there’s no doubt the reigning Craftsman champion was a much better driver than a generic failed Ronnie Woods Motorsports prospect, was Jackson’s presence behind the wheel really making THAT much of a difference or was Elliott just single handedly dragging this team down to the back of the grid? The answer to that question will likely come by December of this year as 19 year old Will Moon steps into the team as the next driver hoping to gather some experience in this ride before moving over to the main RWM outfit if all goes well. The Tuscon native was a former Ford Development Program prospect that was coerced over to this team after the team made it evident the direction they’d be going to find their successor for the No. 6 ride. With only one ASCA start under his belt prior to 2023, its relatively unclear what the real talent level of Moon could be, but considering the amount of debt this outfit is in after all the torn up cars they’ve brought home the past couple seasons…..don’t expect much out of these guys this upcoming campaign barring a miracle.

—————————————————————