Pro Late Model Champion Chasing First SLM Win at Toledo

Pro Late Model Champion Chasing First SLM Win at Toledo

Over the weekend, Chase Burda clinched the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour title at Birch Run Speedway a race early by simply taking the green flag.  He then drove from 12th to second with the aid of only one yellow at the halfway point.

Now, the Lapeer, MI driver’s attention turns towards Toledo Speedway and the Glass City 200 Presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists and Courtyard by Marriott.  He made his Toledo Speedway half-mile debut last year with the ASA/CRA Super Series portion of the Glass City 200, finishing fourth in the race three years after he won a CRA Junior Late Model race on the 1/5th mile.

The Glass City 200 will be his second start with the ASA STARS National Tour after a 10th place run at the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway in July.

“There’ll be a stout field there so it would be cool to compare ourselves to them and see where we’re at, especially in the Super car,” said Burda.  “I’m excited and I can’t wait.”

Burda made the move to Pro Late Model racing in 2020 after winning the inaugural CRA Junior Late Model championship the year before, running full-time with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour.  After running part-time with the series last season, he returned full-time and won his first-career Pro Late Model race at Birch Run in May.  He also won the Masters of the Pro’s at Owosso Speedway and at Winchester Speedway during the World Stock Car Festival, all but clinching the series title in the process.

He began dabbling in select Super Late Model races in 2022, making his debut with the ASA Midwest Tour at the Milwaukee Mile and also competing in four ASA/CRA Super Series races.  

After a runner-up effort in the Super Late Model at Winchester, he hopes for more of the same success at Toledo. 

“With me just not being in it as much, it takes a few laps for me to get used to it.  I felt like last weekend at Winchester I was able to adapt to it a lot better than I have been.  Hopefully going to Toledo, we’ll be a lot better.

“We didn’t have a win until this year and now we have three wins, so that’s awesome.  We’ve been unloading fast cars everywhere we go and keeping up the momentum.”

His second at Winchester was his best run to date in the Super Late Model.  The goal for Burda at Toledo remains the same – complete all 200 laps and leave Ohio with a good finish.

“We’re just looking for a good, solid run.  A top-ten, top-five; just finish all the laps and on the lead lap and maybe a top-five, that’s the goal.”

The ASA STARS National Tour heads to Toledo Speedway on Saturday, September 16 for the Glass City 200 Presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists and Courtyard by Marriott. Tickets are on sale now at toledospeedway.com/glasscity200tickets.

The Glass City 200 will be co-sanctioned with the ASA/CRA Super Series, the fifth race of the CRA season. Gio Ruggiero leads the ASA/CRA Super Series points standings over Logan Bearden.

The ASA STARS National Tour opened the ten race, six-state schedule at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on March 11. Ty Majeski is the most recent winner, claiming the victory in the Gandrud Auto Group 250 on Tuesday, August 1.

For the full ASA STARS National Tour schedule, plus Super Late Model rules and other information, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: STARS National Series | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).

About the Glass City 200
The 35th Running of the Glass City 200 Presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists and Courtyard by Marriott roars to life under the ASA STARS National Tour banner in Toledo on Saturday, September 16th.  Built in 1960, Toledo Speedway first hosted its signature event in 1968, providing some of the most memorable moments in Ohio pavement short track racing history.  Local and national stars alike have raced in this historic event at Toledo Speedway, with a deep wins list that includes Joy Fair, Bob Senneker, Joe Ruttman, Danny Byrd, John Anderson, Brian Campbell, Junior Hanley, Harold Fair, Augie Grill, Johnny Van Doorn, J.R. and Tyler Roahrig, Tyler Ankrum, Carson Hocevar and many others. Click here for a full list of Glass City 200 winners.  New in 2023, the return to the 200-lap main event will prove to be a new endurance test for many of the top drivers in the country.  You can get your tickets now for this race by clicking the link.

ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March of 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced last October, many of the best drivers in America will compete in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.

The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner; the ASA CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.

The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program has been announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the Series, thanks to Team Construction.

Track Enterprises, a Racing Promotions Company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of the CRA sanctioning body in January and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President, Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.

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