Phakisa Freeway, Welkom, Saturday, January 30 – A large and appreciative crowd enjoyed the sunshine and the excitement of official qualifying for the inaugural ASA Transcontinental Series Free State 500 at Phakisa Freeway near Welkom this afternoon.

It was the veteran Geoff Bodine, a former Daytona 500 champion, who turned the fastest lap of the four 15-minute qualifying sessions, which saw the 24-car field go out in groups of six to qualify their American V8 stock cars on the starting grid for tomorrow’s 207-lap 500-km race.

The 60-year-old legend from New York State, driving a Rick McCray Chev Impala, recorded a fastest lap of 36,015 sec at an average speed of 239,9 km/h around the 2,5-km Phakisa Freeway super oval.  He will be joined on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s 13h00 rolling start by 19-year-old countryman Marc Davis from Mitchelville, Maryland whose best lap in the WHUR 96.3/The World Network/Marc Davis Motorsports Chev Lumina was 36,182 sec.

Row two will be filled by Chris Wimmer of Wausau, Wisconsin in a Philly’s Subs Chev Impala (36,506 sec) and lone Briton John Mickel, from Cambridge in England, in an RS Capp Chev Monte Carlo(36,643 sec).

Russ Blakeley from Whitewater, Wisconsin (Five Star Race Car Bodies/B&B Race Engines Ford Fusion, 36,934 sec) and fastest woman driver Toni McCray from Highland, California (Lucas Oil Chev Monte Carlo, 37,049 sec) are on row three.

Row four will be filled by Steve Carlson from West Salem, Wisconsin (Five Star Race Car Bodies/B&B Race Engines Ford Fusion, 37,058 sec) and Tiffany Daniels from Smithfield, Virginia (Snowtheracehorse/Marc Davis Motorsports Toyota Camry, 37,086 sec)

Highest-placed South African is 29-year-old WesBank V8 racer Jaco Correia of Klerksdorp in North West Province (Liqui Moly Chev Monte Carlo) in ninth with a time of 37,475 sec.  Starting alongside him on the fifth row of the grid will be Drivetech Racing School’s chief instructor Mark Ebert from Tucson, Arizona (Phezulu Plant/JCB Ford Fusion, 37,790 sec).with a 10^th-best time of 37,745 sec. 

Former national V8 sprint car short oval champion Johan Cronje of Welkom will start in 11^th place; Danie Correia of Welkom, younger brother of Jaco, will be 14^th in a Liqui Moly Chev Monte Carlo; reigning class A5 national rally champion Gugu Zulu (Phakisa Freeway Chev Monte Carlo) will line-up in 19^th place on the grid;  Cape Town’s Johan Spies, the reigning national super salon short oval champion, is 21^st in his Speedspot Motorsport Cape Town Chev Monte Carlo) after suffering a blown engine in qualifying; and 19-year-old Johan Coetzer from Welkom will start 23^rd after continuing to struggle with a reduced rev limit on his Phezulu Plant/JCB/Speed Pro Racing/Signs4U Ford Fusion.