User blog:Ajaxcupseries/2020 Ajax 200 Review: Brynn Rennerd Survives Record Attrition, Makes ASCA History With 5th Career Win

By: Charles Fallon - The Fallon Corner

What did I just witness.

That is what me and my entire watch party was thinking as the checkered flag flew in the Ajax 200.

Did that really just happen?

The ASCA designed a package SPECIFICALLY to spread out the field so that less crashes would happen, and it wouldn’t be possible for drivers to be overly aggressive.

Instead, the package led to the exact same results the ASCA ditched last season’s package for. Except this time, the attrition was even worse.

Five cars crossed the line after the checkered flag.

'''Five CARS. '''

So what went wrong on Sunday?

First off, lets focus on what went right on Sunday. And that was to see a class act like Brynn Rennerd cement his place in ASCA history.

With his 5th career win in the Ajax 200, Rennerd became the first driver in ASCA history to win the Ajax 200, Windows 300, and Northern 200 in their career.

Furthermore, Rennerd also became the first Ajax No Bull eligible driver to win a subsequent No Bull race, meaning he got to take home an extra million dollars to boot.

The 28 year old, even while being showed by champagne and confetti in victory lane, was as calm and thankful as ever in his post race interview.

“Man am I lucky. Working with these guys, this Lowe’s For Pros team, these are the best group of guys in the garage area. I couldn’t ask for any better than to have the privilege of going to battle with this 48 camp week in and week out.”

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Rennerd either. The Arizona native was nearly swept up in the first accident, spinning out due to a brake lockup.

“Yeah I saw those guys wrecking in front of me there, and natural reaction is to slam on the brakes. I felt the car wheel hop as I did and I started to lose control, so I had to just knock it out of gear, use up the brakes, and hope nobody hit me. Luckily it was finally our day for once here.”

The win marks the 2nd for Rennerd in the last 5 races dating back to last season, and also the 3rd for Chevy in that time span. Rennerd also became the 6th different winner of the Ajax 200, and the third different Ronnie Woods Motorsports driver to take home the event.

Now that was the good part about the race. Let’s get to the ugly part…..

#VonDuvedelDD Part 2?
Grant Von Duvedel is a very interesting story. After starting his career with one of the biggest upsets in ASCA history, taking home the Season 2 Ajax 200 in dramatic fashion. Since then however, his career has been all downhill.

Over the last two races at Ajax Superspeedway, the 28 year old Russian has been driving with a renewed sense of aggressive confidence. An aggressive confidence that has now resulted in over 20 torn up race cars.

Last season’s Fastenal 200 was dubbed the #VonDuvedelDD simply because Von Duvedel directly caused three out of the four cautions that flew in that race.

Well you mind as well dub this season’s Ajax 200 #VonDuvedelDD Part 2.

Von Duvedel was the direct cause of two major accidents on Sunday, which directly correlated to 12 cars exiting the race due to crash damage.

The former Ajax 200 winner seemed to try and sidestep the blame for his recent aggressive driving in his post race interview.

“That’s just plate racing,” Von Duvedel emphasized in his post race interview. “Ya know we’re all side drafting and doing this crazy s***, but I’m the only one getting blamed for it. These guys act like they’ve never screwed up at a plate track before.”

But fans and drivers alike seem to be getting sick of Von Duvedel’s antics.

“It’s sad honestly, it really is.” Dan Rodgers said in an interview after his lap 92 accident caused by Von Duvedel. “We all can control our s***, but this f***** (Von Duvedel) can’t make a simple sidedraft without wrecking the damn field. The ASCA needs to park his ass.”

Another driver that was highly critical of Von Duvedel was Dexter Andrews. Andrews, making his first start back after his injuries suffered in the Ajax Open, thought he had a great shot at his 2nd career win and first since 2011 before his accident.

“It’s just a shame really. That’s the best car I’ve had in an extremely long time, and now it’s junk. Just wish some of these guys out there would drive with a little more respect for others.” reiterated Andrews after the lap 92 accident.

The question now becomes, how does the ASCA get Von Duvedel back in check?

And the only way to do that? Send a message. Von Duvedel needs to be placed on probation, or even suspended for his repeated actions. He (and the blown tires of course) are the reason that a record low 5 cars finished on Sunday, not the new package. The package most certainly did its job in spreading the field out.

The Package
Speaking of which, the biggest point of conversation all Speedweeks long was the new plate package.

Before Season 5, the ASCA made one of the biggest changes to a plate package quite possibly in history. The series decided to put a wicker bill on the roof of the cars, to help increase downforce and help the cars handle better.

What this did was allow drivers to have a lot more confidence to make bolder moves, which created the incredible pack racing we saw in both races last season. However, after the Fastenal 200, drivers and owners started to not become fond of this package.

They felt as if the package, not the drivers, was the reason a record low 7 cars finished the Fastenal 200. And that if the ASCA continued to head down this path, that even fewer cars would finish the Ajax 200 this season.

So they decided it was time for a change.

The package the ASCA used this season got rid of the wicker bar at the top of the cars, lowered the spoiler down to two inches, and eliminated a mandated ride height for the cars. All of this was by design to eliminate downforce, and make the cars handle horribly so it would be borderline impossible to pack race. It was also by design to help the good cars really separate themselves from everybody else.

That being said, how did all of this impact the racing?

I believe its safe to say that the racing on Sunday was quite different from the plate racing anyone has ever seen in the ASCA no doubt.

Its also safe to say that fans weren’t used to seeing their favorite drivers not be able to go balls to the wall every lap, making moves. Instead they had to stay disciplined, stay in line, and wait until the EXACT right moment to decide to risk it all.

Like they said in the broadcast, it was basically a 200 mph game of chess.

It was something different, and I can respect that.

And to be completely honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing this package again for the Fastenal 200.

Just keep Grant Von Duvedel far away from Ajax Superspeedway that weekend.