Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part investigation into the sale of the American Sprint Car Series. This week, we focus on what happened, while next week’s conclusion explores what’s ahead for the 33-year-old sanctioning body.
The drama behind one of the hottest storylines of the offseason has been as juicy as any gossip heard at the neighborhood bar.
It involved hot checks and a well-known racing series being repossessed and then sold to a company some feared was the enemy.
Sour feelings overshadowed the recent transition of the American Sprint Car Series from Terry Mattox back to series founder Emmett Hahn, and eventually to World Racing Group.
A chaotic few weeks began in early February, when point fund checks were being returned due to insufficient funds. On March 1, a lot of uncertainty was quelled when World Racing Group announced it had acquired ASCS — the top 360 winged sprint car series that features a national series tour and multiple regional tours.
However, that brought up a new concern about the division’s future since World Racing Group owns the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and therefore is assumed by some to hate the 360 sprint car division.
During those wild weeks in February and in the months since, Mattox’s reputation within the sprint car industry has taken a beating. Yet, there has been a surprising source of support for him — several of the drivers who are currently owed thousands of dollars in unpaid point fund money.
“All of us have been pretty quiet about it,” defending ASCS National Tour champion Jason Martin said. “Once the dust settled, the situation was a lot more complicated than it seemed.
“Once you hear the real story, we all feel a little bad for the situation he was in.”
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