ASCAR Racing Series
The ASCAR Racing Series, was a stock car racing series that raced at circuits around the United Kingdom and Europe from 2001 until 2008. The series went through many guises during its seven year period and was known as the Mintex ASCAR Series (ASCAR Mintex Cup) from 2001 to 2004, later known as the Days of Thunder Racing Series (2004) and the Stock Car Speed Association (2005 to 2007) before its final season as the MAC Tools VSR V8 Trophy. Although going through these varying identities the series was commonly referred to and known by its original name of ASCAR. The series predominantly raced the oval tracks at the Rockingham Motor Speedway and the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in the early years but in its final season in 2008 was solely road racing series that would visit various tracks in the UK most notably Brands Hatch and in France at Croix en Ternois. The series folded in 2008 and merged into part of the European Late Model Series in 2009, racing in Belgium and the UK. Constructor cars consisted of NASCAR style Chevrolet, Ford and Pontiac racers with a field that peaked at 37 cars during the 2002 season.
 VSR V8 Trophy (Series final logo) | |
| Category | Stock cars |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom (2001–2008) Germany (2001–2003) France (2008) |
| Inaugural season | 2001 |
| Folded | 2008 |
| Constructors | Chevrolet, Ford, Pontiac |
| Last Drivers' champion | Duncan Jones |
History
The Mintex ASCAR Series made its debut in 2001 racing the entire series at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, with other race events in Germany and the Republic of Ireland cancelled, over the next three seasons the Series ran entirely from Rockingham and Germany's Oval circuit the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. The 2002 season saw the peak number of drivers racing in the series with 37 taking part during the year, representing a total of 13 teams. Each race event would partner the BRSCC Pickup Truck Racing series accompany it.
From 2001 to 2003 the series was known as ASCAR. In 2003 the series took on the additional name of "Days of Thunder" after the film of the same name. This was done as a marketing tool as starting in this year they promoted the series as a day out for all the family and had appearances from bands such as Busted and The Darkness. In 2004 the ASCAR label was dropped completely and the series was labelled as the "Days of Thunder Racing Series". 2005 saw the series renamed "Stock Car Speed Association" (SCSA) after a link-up with the American Speed Association and incorporated the Pickup Truck Racing Series under the same banner, which had accompanied the races since 2003.
In 2006 the SCSA and Pickup Truck Racing ran at Rockingham as part of the Thunder Sundays package organised by the BRSCC. The SCSA name remained for 2007; as part of a new sponsorship deal competitors competed for the 'SCSA MAC Tools V8 Trophy'. On Wednesday 5 September, British motorsport publication Motorsport News reported that the SCSA would come to an end after the final race of this season. However, the teams, and the organisers of the Mac Tools V8 Trophy vowed to continue in 2008, whether as a MSA Sanctioned championship, or just as a "series".
2008 heralded a new direction for the series with a focus on road courses due to a lack of dates offered by the oval tracks. The cars ran as part of the VSR Series, with the stock cars known as the VSR V8 Trophy. In 2009 the series joined with CAMSO V8 to form the new European Late Model Series.
Tracks
Between 2004 and 2007 all of the ASCAR races were held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in England. The circuit was overlooked by the 6280 seat Rockingham Building, a steel-framed, glass-fronted grandstand building containing suites, offices, bars and kitchens, and by four grandstands. Together the building and grandstands offered a total seating capacity of 52,000. The inner pit and paddock complex was accessed from the Rockingham Building via two pedestrian tunnels and there was a further spectator viewing area on top of the pit garages. The 1.48 mile American-style banked oval circuit was 18.3 metres (60.0 ft) wide and had a maximum bank angle of seven degrees and comprised four very distinct corners. Rockingham's oval was unique in the UK and one of only two speedways in Europe (the other is Lausitzring). The oval circuit could also be converted to a road course layout for events by positioning temporary chicanes and curves both on the main area and apron of the circuit.
In 2002 and 2003 the series also raced in Germany at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz but the venue was eventually dropped due to the costs involved and the projected grid numbers of cars willing to make the journey. The entire 2008 season was a road racing based series as opposed to the Oval circuits. This incorporated trips to Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Lydden Race Circuit, Brands Hatch, Pembrey Circuit, Mallory Park and the French race track at Croix en Ternois.
Past champions
| Year | # | Driver | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | – |  Duncan Jones |
– | – |
| 2007 | 78 | Colin White |
1940 | CWS Racing |
| 2006 | 88 | Oli Playle |
1985 | Team West-Tec |
| 2005 | 28 |  Michael Vergers |
2245 | Team West-Tec |
| 2004 | 24 | Stevie Hodgson |
2010 | TorqueSpeed |
| 2003 | 84 | Ben Collins |
2299 | RML |
| 2002 | 8 |  Nicolas Minassian |
2535 | RML |
| 2001 | 24 | John Mickel |
860 | TorqueSpeed |
List of race winners
| Wins | Driver | Seasons competed |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Colin White |
2001–2007 |
| 10 | Oli Playle |
2003–2006 |
| 9 | Ian McKellar Jr. |
2002–2005 |
| Michael Vergers |
2001, 2003–2005 | |
| 7 | Ben Collins |
2002–2004 |
| 6 | Darren Turner |
2002 |
| 5 | John Mickel |
2001–2005 |
| 3 | Kelvin Burt |
2002 |
| Stevie Hodgson |
2002–2005 | |
| 2 | Kevin McGarrity |
2002 |
 Roland Rehfeld |
2002–2003 | |
| Hunter Abbott |
2005–2007 | |
| 1 | John Steward |
2001–2007 |
| Rob Speak |
2001–2004 | |
| Nicolas Minassian |
2002 | |
| Darren Manning |
2002 | |
| Lee O'Keefe |
2002, 2006–2007 | |
| Mark Willis |
2004, 2006–2007 | |
Notable Drivers
| Season | Driver | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Amanda Stretton
| Team West-Tec |
| 2001–2004 | Rob Speak
| Team West-Tec, Colin Blower Motorsport, Team Turn Four |
| 2001 | John Cleland
| Cleland SpeedSport |
| 2001–2005 | Mark Proctor
| Oughtred & Harrison, Fast Tec Motorsport |
| 2001–2005 | John Mickel
| TorqueSpeed |
| 2001–2007 | Colin White
| CWS Racing |
| 2001 |  Aaron Slight
| TJ Motorsport |
| 2002 | Kevin McGarrity
| Hodgson Motorsport |
| 2002 | Kelvin Burt
| RML Group |
| 2002 | Nicolas Minassian
| RML Group |
| 2002–2004 | Ben Collins
| Fast Tec Motorsport, RML Group, Team Turn Four |
| 2002 | Paula Cook
| Fast Tec Motorsport |
| 2002 |  Randy Tolsma
| Deuce Racing |
| 2002 | Brandon Whitt
| Deuce Racing |
| 2002 |  Toby Scheckter
| Deuce Racing |
| 2002–2003 | Derek Hayes
| Deuce Racing, Team West-Tec, Team HTML |
| 2002 | Colin McRae
| Xcel Motorsport |
| 2002 | Darren Manning
| Xcel Motorsport |
| 2002 | Matt Neal
| Xcel Motorsport |
| 2002 | Jason Plato
| Xcel Motorsport |
| 2002 | Darren Turner
| Team HTML |
| 2003 | Steve Grissom
| RML Group |
| 2003– | Andrew Kirkaldy
| Xcel Motorsport |
| 2003 |  Kieran Dynes
| Scott Racing Services |
| 2003 |  Max Papis
| Team HTML |
| 2004, 2006 | Steve Dance
| TorqueSpeed, Team Catchpole Racing |
| 2004 | Chris Harris
| TorqueSpeed |
| 2005 | Gavin Seager
| Kidd Richardson Racing |
| 2005–2006 | Hunter Abbott
| TorqueSpeed, Steward Racing |
| 2006–2007 | Pete Wilkinson
| Team Ranger Racing |
| 2006 | Paul Poulter
| Steward Racing |
| 2007–2008 | Carl Boardley
| CB Racing |
