2001 ASA SEASON ENDS AT I.R.P. BUT NOT WITHOUT CONTROVERSY
October 2, 2001 - Clermont, IN

ATI Performance Racing entered two cars into the ASA season finale at Indianapolis Raceway Park. J.C. Beattie Jr. drove the "Black Magic" # 09 while crew chief Dwayne Hudson would attempt to qualify ATI's second entry, # 39. J.C. was coming off a solid performance at Winchester and was in a battle for the 20th position overall in owners points.

In the last practice session the ATI cars were 27th and 28th respectively on the time chart. However, the track temperature dropped significantly for the start of qualifying and all the teams would have to make proper set-up adjustments. J.C. qualified the "Black Magic" 37th while Dwayne Hudson qualified 40th and did not make the field. "We didn't compensate enough for the cold weather," said crew chief Dwayne Hudson, "the cars were a little loose going into qualifying."

J.C. started deep in the field in the 37th starting spot for theTirerack.com 200. He gradually worked his way through the field all night. To secure a top 20 finish in owners points, J.C. had to finish ahead of the # 6 Go Go/Prestige Motorsports Chevy and the # 07 Yoder Racing Ford. At races end, unofficial results had J .C. finishing in the 20th spot ahead of both the # 06 and # 07. After doing the math, this would have put J.C. in 19th position overall in owner's points for the 2001 season.

ASA officials decided to review the unofficial results and put Beattie 2 laps down in 25th for passing the leader under caution. J.C. was now behind the # 6 (18th) but still ahead of the # 07 (30th). After recalculating, J.C. was now 20th in owner's points for the 2001 ASA season.

"We are not happy with ASA's decision, but we still accomplished what we set out to do for the point standings," commented Beattie.

Johnny Sauter dominated the tirerack.com 200 as he did the 2001 ASA AC Delco Series. In gathering his tenth win, he clinched the 2001 ASA AC Delco Series National Championship and wrapped up the Pat Schauer Memorial Rookie of the year title.

ATI Performance Racing sends their condolences to the family of Marv Palmer who passed away at IRP over the weekend.

Fans in the Baltimore area can listen for J.C. Beattie, Jr. on The Checkered Flag, a radio program covering NASCAR, CART, IRL, and Maryland racing. The Checkered Flag can be heard on WNST 1570 AM, Saturdays between 9 and 11 AM. Be sure to check www.jcbeattie.com or www.asaracing.com often for the latest information on J.C. Beattie, Jr. and the ATI Performance Racing team.


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