By: Kevin Ramsell (www.kevinramsell.com)
BURLINGTON, WI (Friday, March 14, 2008) – ASAMT Officials are proud to announce that Echo Outdoor Power Equipment will return as the presenting sponsor of the ASA Midwest Tour in 2008. The series will once again be called the ASA Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment.

“2007 was a successful year for the ASA Midwest tour and Echo Outdoor Power Equipment,” Jerry Kobza, Marketing Manager of Golden Eagle Distributing stated. “The strong return of a premier touring series in the Midwest was the perfect vehicle to market the full line of Echo outdoor power equipment, and the fans, teams and our network of dealers were very passionate about the relationship. Echo is proud to continue to be the presenting sponsor for the ASA Midwest Tour for 2008, and we look forward to building on the momentum that we started in 2007 with new venues and more excitement about the Echo brand.”

Fans easily recognized Echo for their participation in the “Blow the Competition Away” qualifying where each fast qualifier received a leaf blower and each event winner received a new Echo Chainsaw. But, fans also will recognize Echo for their open houses at their dealers that featured many stars of the ASAMT.

“As part of each ASA Midwest Tour Event, our participating dealers held open houses featuring the ASA race cars and drivers,” Kobza said. “Fans were given the opportunity to meet the touring stars in a relaxed and fun environment, while learning more about the great new products from Echo. We will continue to bring fans to each dealer event, and this year the Echo race car will be at every dealer event.”

“We are excited to have Echo and its dealers back in 2008,” Steve Einhaus ASAMT VP stated. “Golden Eagle and the local dealers are great to work with; they have great enthusiasm for our series as we do with their products. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

For 2008, Echo has some great new products that will be a hit with professional’s and home owners. Building on the momentum of the 5 Year Consumer Warranty that Echo debuted last year, Echo has added a full line of new products for 2008 in the new Power Orange color. New for 2008 are the new SRM-280 trimmer, and the new U-Turn trimmer head.
 
The SRM-280 Series of Trimmers, all in a bold new color, represents an entire new class of performance for ECHO Trimmers. ECHO’s new 28.1cc engine class delivers increased power combined with light weight. That means better performance in a great package.
 
The ECHO U Turn™ trimmer head could be the fastest way to load string trimmer line you will ever use. If you have ever struggled with reloading complicated string trimmer bump-feed heads it is time to change. This makes changing your line trimmer string as fast as an ASAMT Pit Stop.

With the patented U Turn™ head design you simply feed the two ends of trimmer line into the eyelets and turn the trimmer head. The head does the work and spools itself with every turn. When you are done reloading, simply cut the trimmer line and you are ready to go!

The U Turn™ Trimmer Head is tough enough to be used by professional landscapers and easy to use by any homeowner.

The 2008 ASAMT season will open on Saturday, April 19th with the Kwik Trip 125 at Elko Speedway in Elko, MN. Jonathan Eilen will be back to defend his 2007 win against the ASAMT Touring Stars along with the best asphalt Super Late Model Drivers in the Midwest.

To learn more about the American Speed Association Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment and the engine giveaway program, please contact the ASA Midwest Tour office by calling (262) 514-3880 or by e-mailing Tim Olson at tim@asamidwesttour.com or Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.

To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from all the racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.asa-racing.com.