User blog:Ajaxcupseries/Chevrolet's Investment in Youth is FINALLY Paying Off

The Fallon Corner - August 2023

For years, Chevrolet used to be the manufacturer to beat in the ASCA.

With ironic teams such as Ronnie Woods Motorsports plus generational talents like Ajax Cup all time wins leader Ronnie Woods, his son Randle Woods, multi time champion Jimmy Hood, and 2008 series champ Tico Bowden, if you wanted to win a championship at the top level of the sport there’s a good chance you had to beat a Chevy driver to do it.

But throughout the course of the Modern Era, Chevrolet has only brought home two titles in eight years, which includes a notable four year drought from 2018-21 that Diego Orkedi and Randle Woods traded championships back and forth in their Ford and Toyota’s.

So one has to ask, has Chevy magically forgotten how to properly scout talent since the Modern Era began in 2015?

Or have they been planning ahead for the future this whole time?

My hypothesis on this is the latter, and when you look at the young talented drivers currently in Chevrolet’s, it’s clear this manufacturer have set themselves up to dominate the rest of the decade if all goes to plan.

It all begins with arguably the brand’s shining torchbearer, that being reigning Cup Series champion Greg Healey.

At the age of 26, Healey has accomplished more since the turn of the decade than most drivers would ever DREAM of accomplishing in the ASCA.

Seven career Ajax Cup wins, last season’s Windows 300 champion, and the second youngest series champion in the sport’s history along with single handedly bringing his team, Snoots Enterprises, from the bottom to the top rung of the sport.

Many pundits and fans alike were laughing when Snoots Enterprises signed him to at the time, the second largest contract extension in ASCA history, but considering what he has done for them and Chevrolet as a whole since inking that deal along with the amount of money being thrown at young drivers just a few short years later…..its safe to say team owner Baby Snoots brought back the Pensacola native on a bargain considering the amount of money he’d probably make if he hit the open market now.

The thing is, while Healey is Chevy’s bright young superstar and arguably the face of the brand in the ASCA, he’s not even the only elite level driver the manufacturer has up their sleeve at the moment.

Enter in 27 year old Todd Kidd - a man who has had lofty expectations of being the face of the sport’s “youth movement” since day one, and has lived up to those marks and then some throughout his seven year Ajax Cup career to date.

Sure, it took him 56 career starts to finally reach victory lane for the first time, but once the Silicon Valley native started winning, nobody’s been able to stop him since.

Seven career Ajax Cup victories, including wins at some of the sport’s toughest tracks in The Stoneyard and Colgate Motorsports Park along with five straight top 5 points finishes proves that the California Kidd has fully developed into the real deal and a serial championship contender right in the prime of his career.

Chevrolet has both of these incredible talents locked up until at least 2025 - but that’s just scratching the surface of their talent cupboard.

How about the fact that the past three Craftsman Series champions all also currently drive bowties and are each under contract until at least 2024 or later?

2020 Craftsman champion 22 year old Shane Park, just inked a multi year pact with Ronnie Woods Motorsports to make him the fourth highest paid driver in the sport for the opportunity to take over the No. 24 until 2025.

Despite his numerous legal issues, 2021 Craftsman champ Laquon Scransen, now 20 years of age, is under contract with Dexter Andrews Motorsports until 2024, and showed flashes of his immense potential throughout his rookie campaign that have many still incredibly bullish on his stock if he can limit the off track shenanigans.

And of course there’s reigning 22 year old Craftsman champion Ross Jackson, fresh off of a three win title run stepping into an all time great’s ride at Ronnie Woods Motorsports and also under contract with the organization through 2025.

Furthermore, that’s STILL not even all the aces the bowtie brigade have up their sleeve when it comes to young talent.

Heading down to the Craftsman Series, Ronnie Woods Motorsports have refreshed their full time lineup for this upcoming season with highly touted four star rated prospects in 19 year old Toby Beckett and 21 year old Colin Ward behind the wheel.

Snoots Enterprises has their own pair of four star talents they’re looking to groom with 20 year old Lance Davidson competing full time in their flagship No. 3 entry, while Chad Nelson, 18 years of age, plans to get his feet wet with sporadic starts in the team’s No. 33 entry throughout the year.

Dexter Andrews Motorsports has their own four star kid in Aiden Romo, 19, competing full time for them in 2023, while his teammate is no slouch either as 20 year old Marcus Edwards is a proven SFCS winner and finished second in the Rookie of the Year race last season.

So while long time household names of the brand in Jimmy Hood and Brynn Rennerd either retire or seem poised to depart the manufacturer, there’s about 5-10 young, hungry kids ready to step up and take their spots right away.

Plus when you also consider Ford struggling to find drivers to fill the void of the Orkedi brothers as they continue to creep into their mid 30’s and Toyota trying to do the same with Norm Lester and Randle Woods seemingly approaching the end of their careers, as long as Chevrolet can keep up the monopoly on young talent that they have right now they will be the manufacture to beat throughout the remainder of the 2020’s.