To make up for the postponed event at Dominion Raceway in Virginia, the ASA STARS National Super Late Model Tour has opted to replace that lost event by making the venerable Florida Governor’s Cup at New Smyrna Speedway a points race.
ASA, of course, has a relationship with New Smyrna as it is the home of the season opening Clyde Hart Memorial 200 during Speedweeks but also as a non-points race for the Gov Cup — an event that series promoter Marty Melo has intended to put some energy into even before this decision was made.
Melo and event promoter Track Enterprises had looked at alternative dates for Dominion, but each of those available slots conflicted with either ARCA or CARS Tour and would have cost STARS some cars or drivers.
The Gov Cup was already slated to pay $20,000-to-win and was part of the Sunshine State Four Crown bonus program which will pay $10,000 to the driver with the highest finish between the Clyde Hart, the Sunshine State 200 at Five Flags Speedway on March 14, the Blizzard finale at Pensacola on September 26 and the Gov Cup.
“We are excited to end our season where we started,” said series operator Marty Melo in a press release. “This was not the original 2026 plan but with the difficulty of rescheduling an event without going against other series at this point in the season, this made perfect sense. We have more announcements coming in regards to adding to the already healthy purse of $70,000 at $20,000 to win and $1,500 to start.”
