A rare midweek show with NASCAR talent at the forefront delivered an exciting night of racing in the ASA STARS National Tour’s Michigan 300 at Owosso Speedway.
The eccentric Michigan racing facility not only delivered a compelling racing product with plenty of late-race drama, but also helped solidify the championship hopes of the tour’s top driver.
With these aspects in mind, here are three takeaways from ASA’s Michigan 300.
Owosso Continues to Draw NASCAR Talent
Over the last year or so, Owosso Speedway has made it clear that it intends to host a NASCAR race in the near future. A multi-stage renovation plan has been put in place by track owner Rex Wheeler specifcally to make the track a NASCAR fan-favorite.
With new grandstands, parking improvements, and an entire concrete operation on the grounds, it’s safe to say that the plan is working smoothly so far. But making fans enthralled with your facility is not all it takes to gain NASCAR’s attention. You also have to gain attention from personalities within NASCAR itself – and Owosso Speedway has done exactly that.
Last year’s ASA STARS National Tour event featured a NASCAR driver among the entrants: Chandler Smith. Arriving after a win in the prior day’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway, Smith went on to claim victory in the 2024 Michigan 200.
This year has seen multiple NASCAR names embark to the facility. Kevin and Keelan Harvick competed in July’s CRA Masters of the Pros event. This week’s ASA STARS Michigan 300 featured two NASCAR Cup Series racers in the field, with Erik Jones and Noah Gragson competing. Carson Hocevar was slated to be in attendance as well, but couldn’t make the event. Gragson finished 4th in Wednesday’s race, with Jones following in 17th.
Time will tell whether the track’s efforts bear fruit. But with enough NASCAR recognition at Owosso Speedway, the facility’s quest to become a famed NASCAR short track may not be as farfetched as it initially seems.
Cole Butcher’s Championship is Nearly Clinched
Coming into the week, Cole Butcher held a 99-point advantage over second place Carson Brown in the ASA STARS standings. Such a lead virtually ensures a one-race buffer for Butcher, meaning that the Nova Scotia native can miss a whole race and still maintain his position.
With Butcher at the top of his game as well as being a Platinum Program participant, there should be no worries of him missing a race to begin with. Still, it speaks volumes that Butcher was able to build such a comfortable lead within just a 12-race season.
Butcher backed up his season-long success with another strong run in this week’s Michigan 300, finishing in second to Bubba Pollard. Meanwhile, Butcher’s closest competition for the title, Brown, finished fifth after the pair traded paint. The late-race antics led to Brown being collected in a post-race “big one” while Butcher avoided the melee, adding more points to his championship advantage.
With just three races remaining in the ASA STARS National Tour season, this means that we are almost guaranteed to see Butcher clinch the championship before the series visits Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for its season finale in November.
Bubba is Back
Nothing can keep Pollard down for long, as the summer of 2025 has proven. Georgia’s finest has been on an impressive streak as of late, despite struggles plaguing his efforts earlier in the season.
When Pollard first joined forces with VanDoorn Racing Development in the spring, things got off to a rocky start. A string of mechanical issues and mishaps left fans perplexed as to why Pollard would leave his established pairing with Senneker Performance to run a VanDoorn car.
But when Pollard can get on a hot streak – and he usually finds ways to do so – he’s the perfect representative for your chassis. That’s exactly what VanDoorn has learned as of late. Pollard has won two straight races in ASA-affiliated series while running a VanDoorn machine.
Pollard’s first win of the month came on August 2nd, when he claimed an ASA Southern Super Series event at Mobile International Speedway. Pair that with his win in Wednesday’s Michigan 300 at Owosso, and the veteran’s suddenly looking unbeatable at the close of the summer stretch.
It’s a crucial time for racers to lock in and get their machinery dialed to its maximum potential. Crown Jewel season is just around the corner for Super Late Model racing. With just three races remaining in the ASA STARS season, it’ll be interesting to see how Pollard can close out 2025.
Up Next: The ASA STARS National Tour will return on Saturday, Sept. 13, with the running of the CorvetteParts.net Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway. The race will be streamed live on TrackTV with a tape-delayed broadcast to follow on the RACER Network.
