ASA Glass City 200 Notebook: Storylines From STARS At Toledo

With the eighth race of the ASA STARS National Tour now in the rear view mirror, here is a look back at some of the storylines and notes from the Hearn Industrial Services Glass City 200 presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists and Courtyard by Marriott.

Burda Follows Pro Late Model Title With Podium Run: One week after Chase Burda clinched the CRA/JEGS All-Stars Tour championship for the 2023 season, Chase Burda took on the Super Late Model standouts of the ASA STARS National Tour and left the Glass City 200 with a third place finish.

Burda has won three races this season with the CRA-sanctioned Pro Late Model series, and finished second last weekend at Winchester Speedway during the World Stock Car Festival to clinch the series championship with one race to go.

That momentum carried to Toledo on Saturday, where Burda finished on the podium in his second ASA STARS National Tour appearance.

“This is incredible,” said Burda. “Originally, our goal was a top-five. To come out here and run up front with these guys all day was awesome. For us to get a podium out of it is incredible. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

Pollard Perseveres for Top-Five Finish: Bubba Pollard was never particularly happy with his race car in the Glass City 200, but he left Toledo with a fourth-place finish.

After running outside the top five in the early stages of the race, Pollard and his team made wholesale changes to the No. 26 on pit road. Pollard inherited track position late in the second stage while several competitors ran out of fuel, and used that to his advantage to finish fourth.

“We struggled,” said Pollard. “We had to pit, we had to make it better. We just missed it. At the start of the race, we missed it. Just one of those days. We kept working trying to get it a little better. We got it better at the end, it just still wasn’t enough. I was just super free.

“It’s one of those days. We learn, and we made it better to come out with a decent finish. All in all, not a bad day.”

Dimayuga Continues Impressive Start to Super Late Model Career: Andrik Dimayuga’s education in Super Late Model racing continues to impress, as the driver from Mexico City finished fifth in his first ASA STARS National Tour event.

Dimayuga has finishes of fourth, third and fifth in his last three Super Late Model races. The third-place finish came during the ASA/CRA Super Series portion of the World Stock Car Festival at Winchester Speedway, giving him plenty of confidence entering the Glass City 200.

“I’m very proud. I’m very happy with all of the results,” said Dimayuga. “For being a rookie in this class, I think we are doing a very good job.

“You need to keep digging all the laps. You need to be, lap-by-lap, digging. You can’t be so relaxed. If you get relaxed, you are going to lose.”

Soft Walls Get Tested at Toledo: One of Toledo Speedway’s notable features is the collection of foam blocks lining the outside walls in the corners to soften the blow of any potential impacts. Unfortunately, they were heavily tested twice over the course of the 200-lap race, but both drivers walked away from the incidents.

The first instance came on lap 40, as Michael Simko took a hard nose-first impact into the turn one wall. Simko had already hit the frontstretch wall after contact with Scotty Tomasik as they raced for position. The damage from that initial impact meant Simko could not control the car as it careened into the turn one wall.

“The spotter said I got hooked, the 32 car hooked me into the fence,” said Simko. “It piledrove the right-front into the wall and I was out of control from there. No control of the car after that. I was just along for the ride.”

The second incident involved Kyle Crump. Crump had led 22 laps during the first stage of the race, but he also brushed the wall off turn four before hitting the turn one wall with both ends of his No. 50 machine. Crump walked away under his own power.

Butcher Gains Ground in ASA STARS National Tour Points Battle: With his second place finish and an engine failure for Ty Majeski, Cole Butcher gained some ground in the season-long battle for the first ASA STARS National Tour championship.

Butcher won the first stage in the race and finished second in the race, while also setting fast time in qualifying and leading the most laps in the race. While results are still unofficial and points standings have not been updated accordingly, Butcher gained approximately 30 points on Majeski on Saturday. Majeski entered the race with a 93-point advantage.

Two races remain for the ASA STARS National Tour, the Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway and the All American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. While Majeski still holds the upper hand going into those two races, Butcher’s performance ensured the title chase is far from over.

-Photo credit: Koty Geyer/ASA STARS National Tour