LMS: Jay Middleton Bronson race notes

Jay Middleton Wins Inaugural ASA Late Model Southern Race
21-Year-Old Leads Every Lap at Bronson Motor Speedway

LAKE CITY, FL (March 6, 2006) -- There is now one race into the history books for the ASA Late Model Southern Division and one driver that has an absolutely perfect record. Jay Middleton put his #74 North Florida Medical Chevrolet out front for each of the 100 laps in this weekend's Bud Light 100 at Bronson Motor Speedway (FL) on the way to winning the inaugural race in the series.

The boxscore might lead you to believe that it was a boring race to watch and an easy race for Middleton to win, but sometimes the boxscore can lie. At Bronson, neither was the case by a long shot.

"It was a lot more interesting race than it sounded," said Middleton. "It was pretty close the entire time."

Middleton had to work hard to stay in the front for most of the event.

"We had a good car all of the way through practice and messed up in qualifying," said Middleton. "But we qualified sixth and they drew a six when they inverted the cars, so we started on the pole. I was pretty confident that if I could get out front that I could win the race.

"Once I got out there, the track tightened up a bunch and Bo Miller was all over me. I could hardly get away from him and he was running a really good race. There were so many cautions that we didn't have many long runs. I couldn't tell if I had a better car or not. We fell into lapped traffic and he fell to third and Ryan Carlson took over second. I was a little bit faster than him, but not very much. That was a close race too."

Carlson finished second and Miller was third at the conclusion of the race.

Staying out front while racing in a competitive series is never easy, but adding to the challenge for Middleton and his team was that the car they raced at Bronson had never seen a racetrack before practice. The #74 team barely finished getting it ready in time for the event. They might have worked hard preparing it for Bronson, but they did not have to do much to it once it got to the track.

"This new Port City car we have is awesome and we figured it out pretty quick. We didn't make many changes because it was fast right off the trailer."

Even at the age of 21, Middleton is a veteran of many different disciplines of short track racing. He's made a name for himself in Super Late Models and raced on the now-defunct ASA National Tour. Middleton likes a good series with close competition and what he observed in his first ASA Late Model race impressed him.

"I think that the ASA Late Models are a good deal," said Middleton. "The officials went over the cars real well. The motors don't have much horsepower, but that makes for a really good race. They are really difficult to drive and I like that. I like a level playing field. I've always said that if you give me the same car as someone else, then I think that I can go out there and beat them."

Next up for Middleton is a doubleheader weekend at Music City Motorplex in Nashville on March 18th. He will race in the CRA Super Series All-American 150 with his Super Late Model, as well as the ASA LM Challenge event with the same car that sat in victory lane at Bronson.

"I would say that this win makes us one of the favorites for Nashville," said Middleton. "We've run well there with the Super Late Model. I'm really looking forward to going there. I like the track and if we can keep the car from having any problems, I think that we'll be strong."

-JayMiddleton.net.