Randel ‘The Rocket' King broke traditional thinking when making the move from his success in karting to pursue his dream of racing in NASCAR. He's proving it might be much more than just a dream as he captured the 2006 Rookie of the Year honors in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge Series becoming the youngest ever winner of this award. Only recently have stock car enthusiasts seen the benefits of karting, and only recently has become more recognized in the states with NASCAR's Elite such as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and the like giving credit to karting as an introduction to racing at any level.

King climbed out a 350 pound / 29 horsepower kart and into a 2500 pound / 350HP ASA Speed Truck and didn't miss a beat. With very little time behind the wheel, his raw talent was already apparent. Within three races King had already captured a Top-5 finish which began a streak of 4 consecutive races finishing no worse than 5 th . King's efforts now sit as a benchmark as being the youngest driver in the ASA Speed Truck Challenge (Age 15) to capture Top 5 honors in any individual race. In the final 9 races of the 2006 ASA Speed Truck season, King continued development as a driver to be noticed finishing in the top 5 in 7 seven of those races. Capturing 2 Poles along the way solidified his Rookie of the Year honors.

King's accomplishments during the 2006 Season made for tremendous competition for King during the season from not only from veterans of the series, included also was one of the strongest field of rookies to date to enter the ASA Speed Truck Challenge. King beat out 13 other drivers vying for Rookie of the Year honors which included accomplished young talent like Shawn Steele, Nick Parmelee and Chad Boat, son of open wheel driver and Indianapolis 500 participant Billy Boat.

Long time veterans of the series have seen plenty of rookies throughout the years and already noticed his instincts and poise. Lee Hatch, a multi time Champion of the ASA Speed Truck Series has been bumper to bumper with King throughout the year; “We've had many rookies race this year, and without a doubt he (Randel King) has tremendous poise. I've raced side by side with this kid all year and enjoyed every moment. He's a cool customer.”

Randel King has signed with Clay Andrews Racing's (CAR) development program. Clay Andrews Racing made national headlines with their ‘David vs. Goliath' win in the NASCAR Busch Series Meijer 300 race at Kentucky earlier this year with a part-time team. Clay Andrews also heads up the Clay Andrews Racing Alliance Partnership which provides individual teams at NASCAR's highest levels the opportunity to pool resources and information and improve their abilities to compete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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