Problems continue to mount for the troubled American Speed Association with the latest setback the cancellation of its scheduled July 4th race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. The ASA’s National Tour was to have raced at the one-mile track in Colorado Springs, Colo. as part of an Independence Day doubleheader with the USAC National Sprint Car Series. But on Friday, the series announced the ASA portion of the doubleheader was cancelled because “event sponsorship did not materialize in time.” The Pikes Peak turn of events comes in the wake of reports that ASA president Steve Dale informed teams at last weekend’s event at Berlin Raceway that there would be no guarantees of future purses or television exposure and that the sanctioning body was experiencing severe financial problems. Several sources reported Dale was emotional and distraught during the impassioned session. Earlier in the week, ASA television partner SPEED Channel announced it had renewed its deal to carry ASA National Tour events through the 2005 season. Since purchasing the ASA from the Robbins family nearly two years ago, Dale has made several drastic modifications to the sanctioning body’s business model. The majority of changes came to the premiere National Tour division including the addition of superspeedway events to the traditional short track oriented schedule and the controversial color scheme introduced on cars at the beginning of the season. The new design, which incorporates sponsor logos on the side door panels while relegating numbers to the rear quarter panels, has been widely criticized by fans, television viewers and even some drivers. Dale also expanded the ASA’s base of operations to include a touring late model stock car series (the former US Pro circuit), a modified division (SMART) and a regional west coast truck circuit. ASA also introduced its Member Track Program this season aimed at bringing weekly short tracks into the fold, similar in nature to NASCAR’s popular Dodge Weekly Racing Series. Turmoil within the organization was reported as early as April when a mass exodus of long-time management personnel took place including former vice president of marketing and series co-owner Mark Gundrum and media relations staffers Mike Miller and Kyle Larsen.(see full story at RacingOne) and from the ASA Racing site: The reason given was anticipated event sponsorship did not materialize in time.(6-20-2004)
