| B.J. McLeod Returns To Nashville and the ASA | On October 18th ,1997 he became the youngest driver ever to qualify for a major sanctioned race. He finished 18th in the ASA race at Kinley , North Carolina out of a field of 32 cars. One month before his 14th birthday. This weekend
B.J. McLeod returns to the ASA and Nashville Speedway USA where he finished 7th in July 1999 in the 125 lap Southern All-Stars event.
McLeod will be racing for the Herzog Motorsports team in a number 22 race car instead of the familiar 78. Herzog Motorsports is a successful championship-winning race team based in St. Joseph, MO Charlotte, NC; and Milwaukee, WI. Herzog Motorsports fields teams in the NASCAR Busch Series with driver Jimmie Johnson, and the American Speed Association.
B.J. McLeod has been racing Late Models competitively since he was twelve years old, winning two Championships at two different tracks in Florida at age 13. He went onto win the Southern All Star Series Rookie of the Year award in 1999, coming in second in the overall points standings.
In 2000 the McLeod Motorsports team looked at running the USAR Hooters ProCup series and made a few races, but being well short of the sponsorships and financing the team went back to focusing on Late Model racing in Florida. The team continued to struggle throughout the 2000 season and came into 2001 with hopes the monkey was off their backs. Pete Orr, owner of Winner's Circle Racing School in Orlando, had worked with McLeod in previous years was brought back aboard to help get the number 78 back in Victory Lane on a more consist ant basis.
McLeod, represented by Magnum Sports and Entertainment, was by all accounts very successful at a recent testing session with Herzog Motorsports in Concord, NC. The team invited him to run the American Speed Association race this Saturday night in Nashville immediately after the testing session. Herzog Motorsports issued a press statement on Tuesday announcing McLeod as their new driver, the fifth of the 2001 season. Jimmie Johnson, the team's Busch entry, has already inked a deal with Hendricks Motorsports for the 2002 Winston Cup. The Herzog team is committed to finding another championship caliber driver in it's racing efforts. The test session in Concord included several other drivers vying for a shot at the ASA ride.
McLeod is a lifelong resident of Wauchula, Florida and is a familiar face at Orlando Speedworld, New Smyrna Speedway and DeSoto Speedway in the Florida market. He also races in the Sunbelt Super Late Model Series. The McLeod family is taking their first trip to a race track this weekend as simply spectators. Darwin McLeod, B.J.' engine builder as well as father said "we're just going and walk around like tourists", obviously very happy to see his son finally get a chance to show his talent to a national television audience and with a good solid team. The McLeod's have devoted all their energies and resources to help give their seventeen year old son the opportunity to excel in the sport of stock car racing and are rightfully very proud of his accomplishments to date.
The youngster has been busy ringing up victories since the Florida Triple Crown when he won the first leg at Orlando Speedworld. Since then he has had several more wins at Orlando Speedworld and in May he won the 125 super late model event at the very fast DeSoto Speedway.
Other Florida racers running in the ASA are Mike Cope, Ed Brown, Travis Kittleson, Ricky Carlton and Wayne Anderson. Cope is 11th in the ASA points race after 7 events. Anderson had a third place finish last time out and Kittleson found his first top ten run with an eighth place finish.
The ASA race from Nashville can be seen on TNN at 9 PM this Saturday night.
-Jack Smith
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