Tony Stewart ASCOC 2021 schedule - MotorSportsTalk

Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCOC) announced their 2021 schedule on Friday. It features 59 races at 32 tracks in 13 states.

The series is set to commence Friday, Jan. 29 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga. before heading to Florida’s East Bay Raceway Park on Monday and Tuesday Feb. 1-2 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 3-4. These races will not award points for the season championship, but sprint car races have long been the unofficial kickoff to February’s Speedweeks in Florida.

The primarily Midwest and Mid-Atlantic series will then take a two-month hiatus before heading to Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park.

Formed in 1970, the series was purchased by Tony Stewart in 2015. The 2021 season represents his seventh as operator and owner.

“We are obviously thrilled with the 2021 schedule,” stated Stewart in a press release. “Hats off to all the promoters and track owners for working with us early in the process. We have increased our purse payouts and we look forward to another strong class of traveling All Stars. 2020 was a challenging year; we are looking for a fresh start next year. There will be plenty to look forward to for our teams next year.”

MORE: Kyle Larson wins at Williams Grove to take lead in ASCOC victories this year

Highlighting the 2021 ASCOC schedule will be the $54,000-to-win Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway, the $26,000-to-win Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway and the $20,000-to-win Dirt Classic 8 at Lincoln Speedway (Abbottstown, Pa.). In 2021, 52 of the 59 races will have minimum payouts of $6,000 to win.

Another highlight of the schedule is the annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek, which will consist of eight events during a nine-day stretch beginning June 11. The mini-series will conclude with the $17,554-to-win Dean Knittel Memorial at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park.

Aaron Reutzel won his third consecutive ASCOC championship in 2020 win nine wins during the season. Kyle Larson scored the most victories with 13.

Follow Dan Beaver on Twitter.

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”

All Star Circuit of Champions announce 2021 schedule

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024