Gabe Sommers Racing made a pair of rare starts with the ASA STARS National Tour this past weekend, as the big boys from out of town came to test their mettle against homegrown Midwest talent at two of Wisconsin’s finest racing facilities.
The doubleheader weekend would kick off at the half mile Madison International Speedway for the Capitol 250. A grueling marathon for any racecar, especially a lightweight, high horsepower machine like a Super Late Model, this would be a test of mechanical components on every car in the field. In the opening practice of the day, Sommers would show speed right out of the box with a second place effort after turning just eighteen laps. Some adjustments in the pits looking for speed and consistency would be trialed in the second practice, which saw Gabe improve just under one hundredth of a second in time, but fall to third place on the time charts.
One final practice session before qualifying would see almost a tenth of a second in improvement, and regaining the second spot on the ladder after sitting atop the leaderboard for the majority of the session. The ASA STARS National Tour soon rolled into qualifying, a strong suit for GSR to this point in the season. Twenty-one drivers took time for the 250 lapper, and Gabe Sommers was good enough to beat everyone to the line for yet another pole position in 2025.
With a southern style “no invert” policy, the quick time for GSR meant the No. 15 would start from the inside of the front row, able to control the race with their pace. Once the green flag flew, Sommers rocketed out to the point, putting car lengths between himself and the rest of the field lap after lap. The seventy five lap Stage 1 flew by in short order, with Gabe holding a commanding lead of multiple seconds by the time the red and white checkered ASA STARS flag flew to signal the stage’s completion. Electing to stay out of the pits for track position instead of making adjustments to an already fast racecar, Sommers would restart the race still in the first spot. An epic battle for the front of the field would ensue for the next 15 laps, with Gabe eventually sliding back to the second spot. He’d continue to drop down through the top five through the remainder of Stage 2, which would conclude at Lap 150/250 without much excitement. A fresh set of Hoosier tires was waiting in the pits, and Sommers jumped at the chance for rubber and adjustments to tackle the final hundred laps. Hanging tough in fifth place still after going back green, Gabe would remain in the hunt through the next forty laps, not quite as strong as at the beginning of the race but definitely still in the conversation. On Lap 194/250, the No. 15 would slow to a stop near the outside wall in Turn 4. After the caution brought the field to a crawl, Gabe would bring his machine pit-side, limping along with something askew in the rear of the car. The official diagnosis, a broken right rear trailing arm. GSR was done early, 56 laps shy of the finish, and heading home with a twelfth place effort.
Saturday was a day to recuperate and retool, but Sunday was another day for racing. The GSR gang would head east to Slinger Super Speedway for a 300 lap event that was sure to dizzy even the biggest adrenaline junkie, turning eleven second laps around the world’s fastest quarter mile oval.
Rolling out for the first practice at Slinger, GSR looked to get their feet under them after the early exit at Madison. A thirteenth place effort and just over two tenths of a second off of the fastest posted time was the result, and the Travis Sauter led crew went to work on finding speed for their driver. They certainly found some in the second session, improving on their lap from the first session by a full two tenths of a second, placing themselves in fifth place on the time charts.
The third and final practice would see many teams mock up in qualifying trim, and GSR would be no exception. Gabe would manage to turn a 11.135 second lap, exactly one tenth off the top spot and still inside of the top ten. Now ready to hit the high banks for qualifying, it was all about Gabe hitting his marks and putting the power down. He’d do it near perfectly, popping off a strong enough lap to move to third place and stay there for the duration of qualifying.
After the pole sitter took a back to front challenge for the opportunity of an extra $5000 if he won, Gabe would slide forward in his line to start from the pole for the 300 lap feature. The green flag flew and the No. 15 would jet forward to lead the first three laps of the race before settling into second place. Quietly, the lead group of cars would work through lap traffic, and hot tires would start to bring new faces to the front of the field. Gabe would drop back to fourth at Lap 61/300, and remain in the hunt without losing a spot through Lap 110. A stage break caution would bunch the field back together, but as soon as the green dropped it became apparent there was trouble with the No. 15 Ford. After losing a half dozen spots in just eight laps, Gabe would bring his car to the pits early for the second race in a row. The cause for issues was different this time around, with a failed rear end as the unfortunate death rattle for their weekend.
GSR brought a pair of fast cars to Madison and Slinger to do battle against the ASA STARS National Tour, and they’ll look to complete every lap in their next race with their rocket ship at Norway Speedway on June 21, marking a return to the Michigan bullring for the ASA Midwest Tour after a decade long hiatus. Tune in on Track TV to catch all the action!