MORRIS, Ill. -- Wheaton, IL driver Eddie Hoffman won his first ever ASA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings event on Friday night at his home track in Morris, IL. Hoffman fought off a hard charging Jonathan Eilen in the Wayne Carter Classic ECHO Bear Cat 100 at Grundy County Speedway on July 20th.

LOCAL DRIVER SHOWED THE WAY FOR THE ASAMT

This was Hoffman's third Wayne Carter Classic victory, but first with the ASA Midwest Tour. Hoffman started on the outside of the second row with current point leader, Jonathan Eilen on the inside. This set up a great battle right from the start.

After assuming the lead, Hoffman thought about giving it to Eilen, but that thought did not last long. "I thought about giving up the spot to Jonathan for a little while, but then I thought, 'I'll probably never get it back'. Eilen finished a close second with Erik Darnell rounding out the top three.

WIMMER WRACKS UP HIS SECOND TRACK RECORD IN 2012

Chris Wimmer definitely knows what he is doing when it comes to qualifying. Wimmer broke the track record at Grundy County Speedway with a 14.741. This is Wimmer's third ECHO Quick Cut Qualifier award in 2012 and second track record. At the rate he is going he will have a garage full of ECHO chain saws.

ECHO AND ECHO BEAR CAT TOURING STARS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE FIELD

Jonathan Eilen once again led the way for the 2012 ECHO and ECHO Bear Cat Touring Stars on Friday night. Eilen was strong all night long and had plenty of opportunities to be a little more aggressive with Hoffman, but was thinking about more than just a win. "I could have stuck my nose in there a little more, but we really have to think about the big picture and that is a championship."

Fifth place finisher and fast qualifier, Chris Wimmer started in the top spot. Wimmer was really strong and looked to be the car to beat as he led much of the race, but unfortunately he faded in the closing laps ending his chances for a win. Nathan Haseleu also had a solid run finishing right behind Wimmer in sixth.

One Touring Star who just cannot catch a break is Skylar Holzhausen. As Wimmer took off with the lead, Holzhausen was not far behind. As he began to reel in Wimmer when they hit lapped traffic it looked like he had a good chance to take over the top spot. But halfway into the race something broke on Holzhausen's car causing him to slam into the backstretch wall at full speed. He walked away but was disappointed nonetheless.

Touring Stars, Andrew Morrissey, Nick Panitzke, Chris Weinkauf and Matt Tifft finished eighth through eleventh. Jason Weinkauf and Cardell Potter finished in 16th. ASAMT regular driver Brandon Hill finished in 12th.

POINTS BATTLES CONTINUE

With his continued consistency Jonathan Eilen remains on top of the ASAMT point standings with 862 points. Chris Wimmer has been making a return moving into second with 827 points followed by Chris Weinkauf with 820 points in third.

Matt Tifft continues to lead the Rookie of the Year point standings by only two points over Jason Weinkauf. Cardell Potter is in third.

NEXT EVENT

The next event for the ASA Midwest Tour is Sunday, August 5th at Madison International Speedway. For more information go to asamidwesttour.com.

Be sure to follow the ASA Midwest Tour on Facebook (asamidwesttour) and Twitter (@asamidwesttour).

To learn more about the ASA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings, log on to asamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (630) 212-6022 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or e-mail Tim Olson attim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.

To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association® Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association®, visit www.asaracing.com.