Stock car

Stephen Leicht Illiana debut summary

Stephen Leicht Makes ASA Debut with Help from Steve Dale Motorsports, FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (September 24, 2002) o If running neck and neck for the 2002 American Speed Association (ASA) championship weren't enough, the Steve Dale Motorsports team has ...

Published: Sep 26, 2002, 12:28 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Stephen Leicht Makes ASA Debut with Help from Steve Dale Motorsports,

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (September 24, 2002) o If running neck and neck for the 2002 American Speed Association (ASA) championship weren't enough, the Steve Dale Motorsports team has recently decided to help a young driver get his feet wet in the short track series. Fifteen-year old driving sensation Stephen Leicht, made his ASA debut this past weekend at Illiana (Ind.) Motor Speedway in the running of the Citgo MDA 300 with the help of the Georgia-based team.

While Leicht may be young, he is no stranger to racing. Speed is in the blood of the teen, whose father and grandfather also took turns behind the wheel of a racecar. The youngest Leicht's experience has come by way of the Bandolero cars and late model stocks. While youth and experience may propel him to a career in motorsports, Leicht added another feather in his cap or should we say, helmet this past weekend.

Steve Dale Motorsports' crew chief Bond Suss and driver Joey Clanton, along with the entire team, readied a Pontiac Grand Prix for Leicht's first ASA race. Along with the winning equipment of Steve Dale Motorsports, Leicht drew upon the experience of the team. Both Clanton's No. 83 entry and Leicht's No. 23 Action Performance car were set up for the event in similar fashion, and following each practice session at Illiana Motor Speedway, Clanton and Leicht shared information. The combination the two drivers came up with following the three practice sessions worked. Clanton went on to qualify second for the event while Leicht took the ninth starting position. Leicht's No. 23 Action Performance Grand Prix took home the 14th-place finishing position, completing 298 of the 300 laps. Car owner, Steve Dale, was extremely pleased with the youngster's performance.

"The ASA Series is extremely competitive, and Illiana is a tough track to get comfortable with," explained Dale. "Stephen qualified ahead of several ASA veterans and then went on to capture a top-15 finish. Not bad for a guy who is just in his sophomore year in high school."

Stephen Leicht will need to balance his schoolwork and racing for another week as he heads to Indianapolis Raceway Park for the second-to-last event on the 2002 ASA schedule. Leicht will once again step behind the wheel of the No. 23 Action Performance Grand Prix with hopes of improving on his solid debut.

The Texas Roadhouse 200 will take place on Saturday, September 28 beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

-sdm-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article This Week in Ford Racing - Ryan Newman

Next article Millington: Billy Harper event summary

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Race

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

7 min

F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Race

Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

2 h

Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'

Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

3 h

Kyle Busch Remembered: Rowdy's wildest and most impressive Talladega moments

Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title

Lamborghini Super Trofeo

LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo

World Finals - Monza 2026

3 h

Lamborghini World Finals PRO-PRO/AM Race 2: Leitch/Stasi dominate to seal title

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts