Persistent rainstorms on Saturday afternoon and evening at Iowa Speedway scuttled the final Great American Stockcar Series (GASS) race of season. With numerous scheduling conflicts preventing a make-up race date, Larry Clement of Fort Dodge was declared the 2010 champion of the six-race series for racers 45 years and older.
“Despite the rainout tonight, this was a great season of GASS racing and I’m just delighted to win this championship,” Clement said after the final series race was called off at 8 p.m. due to inclement weather. “I hate it that I can’t race Kevin (Culver) tonight for the win, but I feel good that I was the points leader and in a position to win the championship. And I want to thank (GASS founders) Chris Evans and Barney Bushore, and everyone with the Great American Stockcar Series, for providing such a tremendous opportunity for guys like me to go out and race and just have fun.”
Portland, Ore. native Kevin Culver, the defending GASS champion who was just eight points behind Clement entering Saturday’s scheduled finale, had to settle for season runner-up honors but was both upbeat and philosophical about the missed opportunity to race for a second championship.
“You can’t fight Mother Nature and I ought to know about that, living in Portland, Ore.,” a smiling Culver stated. “My season started out terribly, with a hard crash early in the first race of the year at Iowa Speedway, but my luck rebounded in the next five races, and I finally got a win in the last race here in August. I needed to beat Larry by at least five positions tonight to win the championship again, but it would’ve been fun trying. And, hey, there’s always next year, right?”
Third place in the GASS championship standings went to the top rookie contender and a championship-winning offshore boat racer, Joe Lamberti, hailing from Rye, New York, while the Oskaloosa father-son duo of Myron (fourth place) and Pat (fifth place) Gordin rounded out the top five in the 2010 season points tally. Thirty-four drivers competed in the 2010 series, racing equally prepared late model stock cars five times at Iowa Speedway, and once on the Portland International Raceway road course in Oregon.
Evans and Bushore are currently planning an expanded 2011 GASS racing season, and are slated to announce specific dates and venues on or before Oct. 31. As in the 2010 season, with all GASS races covered on Fox Sports nationwide, the 2011 events will also be televised nationally. Additional information on Great American Stockcar Series may be obtained on, www.racegass.com or www.gasstv.com.