Wednesday, February 26, 2003 Justin Drawdy To Make ASA Debut at USA International Speedway Making the younger crop of the 2003 rookie class stronger, Justin Drawdy, of Ft. Pierce (FL), after four years of racing super late models in the Sunshine State, makes a move to the ASA Racing Series. In 2002, Drawdy won the Florida State Championship. The ultimate 2003 goal for Drawdy consists of winning the $50,000-to-win Rookie of the Year Championship and becoming the first competitor from Florida to win the prestigious award. "ASA is the series for drivers who want to move to the next level in the sport. It´s pretty evident when you look at the number of drivers who have moved from ASA to the Busch Series and beyond in the last few years," said Drawdy. "If you have aspirations of moving to the next level, ASA is a pretty good place to compete. It´s a good place to get your name out, especially as compared to running races and series around in Florida and Georgia or down in this region. Those just won´t get your name out like ASA will." Drawdy admits he will face a steep learning curve in 2003, but points out, it won´t be the first time he has made a huge leap in his racing career. "I´ve been racing super late models for four years and the first two years, I went through a lot of bumps and bruises, which I guess was the learning curve where I wiped a couple of cars out, but that was the first type of car I raced," Drawdy said. "The past two years, we´ve won quite a few races and this past season, we won the Florida State Championship, racing all around the state of Florida. In the last two years, we´ve set on the pole 15 times and won about 20 races." Justin Drawdy with Pete Orr's family members at New Smyrna Speedway in February Racing in the All American Challenge Series in 2002 Drawdy had to out duel the likes of Jimmy Cope, B.J. McLeod, Travis Kittleson, Dave Pletcher, to name a few. On the final race of the series he won the Championship in dramtic style beating out Cope in a head to head battle going sown to the wire. Currently, Drawdy, who is just 24, is a superintendent for his father´s concrete company, which has about 400 employees. Drawdy and the remainder of the ASA Racing Series competitors begin their season on March 22 at USA International Speedway in Lakeland (FL). This marks the fifth trip to the .75-mile oval with 2002 National Champion Joey Clanton winning the most recent race in March of 2002. Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! <news@karnac.org>or send a letter to the editor!