The world of

auto racing has taken center stage recently due to the tragic death of

Dale Earnhardt, but there is something that Fayette County residents have

reason to cheer about.

Joey Clanton,

a member of the Steve Dale Racing Team, based in Fayetteville, won the

ASARacing.com 300 at St. Augustine Speedway during the first week of the

ASA season and is a contender for the ASA Series Championship this year.

Clanton, rookie

of the year last year, is a graduate of Georgia Tech with a bachelor of

sciences degree in mechanical engineering. He began his racing career

at the age of 16 racing on dirt tracks in the B-Cadet, now called Sportsman,

division. He then proceeded to move into other forms of racing, including

Legends racing. It was through his Legends shop that he met Steve Dale

and got the opportunity to race in the American Speed Association AC Delco

Series.

Dale has lived

in the area for 21 years. He raced on the Ford factory team when he got

out of college before becoming a business man. Several years ago he decided

to get back into racing and began racing Legends cars in Atlanta Motor

Speedway's Thursday Thunder series as well as in the Charlotte Summer

Shootout. He is the only racer to win both series in the same year.

After meeting,

Clayton and Dale decided to do business with each other and Clanton is

driving the Steve Dale Motorsports/Zaxby's Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The cars in

ASA racing drive at between 95 and 130 miles per hour. The season lasts

from February to September and is 20 races long.

Racing is Clanton's

full time job and the hours can be long. During the summer many of the

races are in northern states. The team must get the cars up to the raceway

during the week and then back in the shop down here before leaving the

following week for the next race.

ASA racing

is a stepping stone for many drivers to NASCAR. The difference between

ASA and NASCAR racing is that the cars in ASA have fuel injected engines,

BF Goodrich radials and fiberglass bodies.

"The tracks

are all the same," said Clanton, who professes no favorites. "I

love the big tracks, though, like Chicago."

One difference

that Clanton does recognize is ASA's safety standards. For instance, the

HANS (head and neck support) device that has been in the news since Earnhardt's

death has been mandatory for next season and many ASA drivers already

use the system. In fact, the number of orders for the device have increased

since the Daytona 500. ASA racers also have safe chassis with an impact

zone.

Dale is high

on his driver and hopes to see the team jump up to the next level of racing.

"Joey has natural talent and good instincts," Dale said. "He

is also very experienced and he is savvy with the business side of racing

as well."

Dale is the

spotter for the team as well as the owner. As a spotter, he becomes the

eyes for Clanton, communicating with him as he is passing other cars or

getting passed. As an owner, Dale makes sure the team is equipped with

people, resources and equipment so that they stay competitive. He also

forms relationships with sponsors.

The team has

to get 12 people and two cars out to every event, the next race being

in California. It is a time-consuming endeavor and must be controlled

like a business. On top of the racing business, Dale owns a race shop

inside Atlanta Motor Speedway. First and foremost, he dedicates his time

and energy to Clanton and the team.

"We are

especially proud of Joey winning the coveted Rookie of The Year award

last year," said Dale. "Almost every ASA Rookie of the Year

has gone on to race at higher levels of racing, be it Cart, IRL or NASCAR."

Some famous racers that got their start in ASA are Mark Martin and Rusty

Wallace.

All of the

ASA races will be televised live this year on TNN, which is a 25 percent

partner in the ASA. The next race will be Saturday, March 10 from Irwindale,

Calif. at 9 p.m.

When he's not

racing, Clanton lives in Stockbridge with his wife, Brandi, and his son,

Christopher.

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