Neither Stephen Nasse nor Gio Ruggiero were particularly interested in escalating what had transpired on Sunday after the Winchester 400 and instead were entirely focused on turning to something new in rare Late Model Stock appearances for both drivers.
Coincidentally enough, both had planned to make their CARS Tour season debuts this weekend before anything had happened the previous weekend. The Nasses had put together a car with veteran car builder Forrest Reynolds with the intent of racing at Martinsville while Ruggiero had long planned to make this start with Lee Faulk Racing Development.
Nasse was more interested in delegating what he perceived as an unfair penalty issued to him by the ASA STARS national Super Late Model tour on Wednesday.
“I hate for the punishment to come out the way it did,” Nasse said. “This isn’t NASCAR and that’s what I preached to them. We don’t make enough (purse) money to pay fines like that. I also feel like I get the short end of the stick on these kind of deals. I know people are complaining on the internet, and are against me, and to be honest, I don’t care. I don’t care what people think.
“At the end of the day, it’s short track racing and it’s supposed to be exciting and the fans got their money’s worth that day. I don’t think we should be punished for that as drivers.”
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Nasse had handled, at least by his historical standards, the on-track incident pretty well. He did door slam Ruggiero for what he perceived was a dirty move that decided the race. He gave him the middle finger and that was going to be it.
It was seeing his dad get flipped in the air by a burnout, his mom also being on the track as everything broke down, that really made him mad. But a week later, he still feels even-handed about everything but the penalty.
“Dad didn’t make the smartest choice by running onto the track,” Nasse said. “With that said, I don’t think Gio meant to do that by any means. I was just more worried with my mom then running out there after him and it was just a rough deal.
“At the end of the day, we know we were in the wrong and that was the lesson more than the fines, because that is getting into a territory that we’re not. Like I said, we’re not NASCAR.”
Ruggiero is understanding that there will be no shortage of opinions about what happened before the checkered flag and afterwards. It comes with the territory, he says.
“In this case, last weekend, I was just racing hard for the win,” Ruggiero said. “I’m just glad we were able to pull it off.”
Ruggiero is also grateful for the support group around him, his family, friends and team, for keeping him in a positive headspace with all the extra added attention or scrutiny throughout the week.
“I’m lucky to have people in my corner, all season, behind me and supporting me,” Ruggiero said.
Both now turn their attention to Saturday night’s CARS Tour race at Tri County. This is only the second time Ruggiero has raced a Late Model Stock Car and Nasse has only sporadically competed in one over the years.
He has a good group to catch him up with Reynolds and crew chief Chase Pistone.
At the same time, Nasse has struggled to get him Super Late Model program consistently up front, going through crew chiefs and personnel over the past year and now adds a Late Model Stock program.
“It’s a good question, we’re just dumb racers, I guess,” Nasse said with a laugh. “We can’t get enough of it.”
Gluttons for punishment?
“Yeah, we’re just hoping to get a good baseline with this deal,” Nasse said. “This is really tough racing and these teams are really close and nothing is going to come easy but we do think it’s a more affordable program and an easier entry point for competition so just wanted to get away from the stress of the Super and kind of enjoy racing a little bit more.
“We’ve been trying so hard with our stuff and just struggling but being able to come here with good people like Forrest and Chase, it takes some of the pressure off.”
He thinks it could be a winning car too.
“We’re not going to do it unless we think we can win,” Nasse said.
Ruggiero said he was put in the Late Model Stock under the direction of Toyota, who just wanted to expose their young development driver to a different kind of car and competition.
“it’s pretty cool to have the opportunity to venture into another series,” Ruggiero said. “The car is a lot different. The competition is really stout as well. Racing with a different group of drivers is a cool experience and I’m excited to race with them tonight.”
Nasse has said on social media that he might have found a new home in CARS Tour and the Late Model Stock. He says that doesn’t mean he is leaving Supers or his usual jaunts.
He plans to be at the All-American 400 in two weeks, too.
“We do, if we can find the people, especially now with the penalty,” Nasse said. “Again, this isn’t NASCAR where there is 30 quality people to choose from. It’s expensive and you need to have your ducks in a row to do it.”
And any interest in CARS Tour beyond one offs?
“It all depends on points, right,” Nasse said. “Supers, Late Model Stocks, ASA, Southern Super Series, I consider them all my home. We like to race a little bit of everything but sometimes, if the points make sense and there’s a good payout there, that’s something we want to keep an open mind towards.”
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