ASA STARS National Tour
Gio Ruggiero Draws Ire of William Byron on Path to ASA STARS Win at Hickory
May 26, 2023
Gio Ruggiero scored his first-career ASA STARS National Tour victory after loads of contact with William Byron on the final run of the race at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Ruggiero edged Byron out by a very narrow margin of 0.036 sec.
Cole Butcher finished in third followed by Ty Majeski and Caden Kvapil in fourth and fifth.
ASA STARS National Tour Tar Heel 250 Race Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Laps | Diff | Best Lap |
| 1 | 22 | Gio Ruggerio | 250 | -- | 14.951 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | 250 | 0.036 | 14.898 |
| 3 | 28 | Cole Butcher | 250 | 0.596 | 15.107 |
| 4 | 91 | Ty Majeski | 250 | 1.723 | 15.153 |
| 5 | 32 | Caden Kvapil | 250 | 1.895 | 15.146 |
| 6 | 9e | Chase Elliott | 250 | 2.235 | 15.118 |
| 7 | 51n | Stephen Nasse | 250 | 2.531 | 15.151 |
| 8 | 14n | Austin Nason | 250 | 3.067 | 15.221 |
| 9 | 50 | Jett Noland | 250 | 4.049 | 15.099 |
| 10 | 69 | Michael Hinde | 250 | 4.917 | 15.204 |
| 11 | 20 | Jesse Love | 250 | 7.698 | 15.062 |
| 12 | 18 | Casey Roderick | 249 | 1 lap | 15.035 |
| 13 | 90 | Ross Strmiska | 248 | 2 laps | 15.146 |
| 14 | 23 | Billy VanMeter | 248 | 2 laps | 15.285 |
| 15 | 54 | Matthew Craig | 247 | 3 laps | 14.795 |
| 16 | 33f | Albert Francis | 247 | 3 laps | 15.306 |
| 17 | 33s | Dustin Smith | 245 | 5 laps | 15.402 |
| 18 | 65 | Tyler Tanner | 244 | 6 laps | 15.452 |
| 19 | 7 | Jackson Boone | 240 | 10 laps | 15.209 |
| 20 | 98 | Blaine Rocha | 239 | 11 laps | 15.250 |
| 21 | 14h | Carson Hocevar | 238 | 12 laps | 15.250 |
| 22 | 45 | Kodie Conner | 200 | 50 laps | 15.089 |
| 23 | 26 | Bubba Pollard | 193 | 57 laps | 15.133 |
| 24 | 51f | Jake Finch | 149 | 101 laps | 15.363 |
| 25 | 08 | Tony Elrod | 80 | 170 laps | 15.508 |
Photo Credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America
