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Hot ASA Newcomer Aims to Improve Already-Great Record (07/17/00)
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -    Scott Fraser, who has gained more attention in his first three starts than any ASA driver in recent history, will seek to better an already-impressive record in the Time Warner Cable 200 at The Milwaukee Mile on Sunday.

   Fraser, 28, started his American Speed Association career in July at Chicago with a surprise second-fastest time in qualifying and an eighth-place finish. His second start, at Toledo, Ohio, saw qualifying rained out, resulting in a 36th-place start but another eighth-place finish. At Jennerstown, Pa., Fraser started sixth and finished fifth. Only he and Gary St. Amant have completed all laps in those three events. And only Fraser and Mike Garvey have led laps in all three events.

   That's good company for Fraser to keep. St. Amant and Garvey have 22 victories and 28 pole positions between them. St. Amant also has two ASA AC-Delco Series championships.

   As he makes his way over the 1,705-mile journey from Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Fraser will carry with him a huge banner with more than 1,000 signatures from his home track fans, all wishing him good luck in his next ASA AC-Delco Series outing.

   The banner was made available to the Fraser fans during a race at his home track, Scotia Speedworld, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this past weekend. For a donation to a local charity, the fans were offered the chance to publicly let Fraser know they were all behind his effort to advance his racing career. Fraser's No. 00 King Freight Lines ASA Monte Carlo was on display, and Fraser signed autographs for more than an hour. The banner will be displayed on pit wall at Fraser's pit stall in Milwaukee.

   "It was a neat deal," said Fraser. "It gives me a really good feeling to see all the hometown folks behind me. They asked me why I came back here between our ASA races this year and the answer is simple. It's for the fans and the sponsors that have been in my corner. Without their support I'd never have had this opportunity."

   FAlthough difficult to verify, speculation is that Fraser is the first driver in ASA history to score three top-10 finishes in his first three starts. Not one to be impressed by those numbers, however, the young Canadian driver sees Milwaukee as an opportunity to improve his record.

   "We're hoping to do well," said Fraser. "We want to improve on what we've done. We think we found a couple of things that will help in the areas we felt needed improvement."

   One of those items was the condition of the driver. Since his first ASA race, Fraser has been maintaining a daily workout program.

   "The ASA car is only 150 pounds heavier than the pro stock car I'm used to driving," said Fraser. "But the tires are wider, and that makes the car steer heavier. I was almost exhausted before my first ASA race was over. This past weekend a 250-lap pro stock race felt like a day at the park, so I guess the workout sessions are doing something."

   The Time Warner Cable 200 will be broadcast live on TNN at 3 p.m. (EST) Sunday.