Austin Thom Getting Busy at the All-Star Showdown
Dundee, OR racer Austin Thom / HossPower Racing will make the trek to Irwindale Speedway for the $25,000-to-win All-Star Showdown on February 5th. The season opener for the Spears Srl Southwest Tour Series will see Thom make his first start of a busy 2022 slate for the 2019 South Sound Speedway Super Late Model champion. Thom made three SRL starts in 2021, with a best finish of 8th at Kern County Raceway Park. His lone Irwindale Speedway start resulted in a 15th-place result.
Thom returned to a full schedule in the circle track wars in 2019, after taking six years off for college. He had a monster season competing in 32 races, with four different teams. He scored seven Super Late Model wins at two different tracks. The season included the South Sound Speedway track championship. Like many racers, Thom ran a limited schedule in 2020 with two starts at South Sound Speedway, winning the season finale in his Super Late Model. He also participated in two ARCA CRA Super Series Late Model events, where he finished 22nd in the “Redbud 400” after a failed oil line, and 11th in the “Tom Wood Honda 125” at Anderson Speedway. He also finished fourth in the “Chilly Willy 150” at Tucson Speedway. and ran ninth at the LVMS Bullring and Dirt Track in the “Star Nursery 150” Open Comp for Super Late Models.
In 2021, Thom got his first Northwest Super Late Model Series win at South Sound Speedway, also finishing 10th at the Wenatchee Valley Super-Oval in three series starts. He ran 13th in the “Chilly Willy 150” and participated in the “Redbud 400” at Anderson Speedway, coming home 15th in the CRA Super Series event. His 2022 season will be busy as he heads to New Smyrna Speedway for the World Series of Asphalt Short Track Racing. He will compete in both the Super Late Model and Pro Late Model schedules. If all goes well enough, that will be 14 feature events in nine days at the ½-mile facility.
With such an ambitious schedule, Thom is thankful for the support he has received to participate at the All-Star Showdown.
Sherwin-Williams is our primary sponsor. We also welcome back ProTire of McMinnville, Oregon, Premier Property Realtors, Team Irish, HGI ( Hydro Graphics, Inc. ), Finish Line Industries, Ironclad Gloves, VanDoorn Racing Development, Race Car Supply, and new to the HossPower team this year is our new partner, Short Track Heroes. Short Track Heroes will have a primary focus of helping drivers and teams promote Short Track Racing.”
The “All-Star Showdown 200” will take place on February 5th at Irwindale Speedway. It will kick off the 22nd season for the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour and the second for the SPEARS Pro Late Models presented by Sigma Performance Services. The Spears Modified Series will take part in their second event of the season, after opening at Havasu 95 Speedway, with a Jaron Giannini win. The Super Late Models will race for $25,000-to-win, with the Pro Late Models competing for $10,000-to-win and the SPEARS Modified Series will shoot for $5,000. Qualifying for all three divisions will commence at 2:00pm. 44 Super Late Models appeared in 2021 with 38 Pro Late Models and 22 Modifieds answering the call.
Celebrating its twenty-second season in 2022, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race
