2009 ASA Late Model Series Northern Division Rookie of the Year; 0 Josh Nelms - Lockport, Illinois. (Chuck Gonzalez Photo)

LOCKPORT, Ill. -- Within a span of six days, Josh Nelms picked up two of the biggest titles of his career. On October 4th, he won the biggest feature of his career as he scored the Super Late Models portion of the National Short Track Championships at his home track of Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, Illinois.

Six days later, Nelms headed north for the 2009 ASA Late Model Series Northern Division Season Championships, which were once again part of the prestigious Oktoberfest Weekend at the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin on October 10th.

The 40th edition of one of the biggest end of the season special events in the country would see Nelms walk out with a very impressive trophy amidst all of the excitement; The 2009 ASALMS Northern Division Rookie of the Year Championship.

Now Nelms and his K.J. Motorsports Team will complete their 2009 racing season by making the trip down to the Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tennessee for the O'Reilly Auto Parts King's Ransom 300, the final event of the year for the ASALMS Challenge Division and despite never even seeing the track before, Nelms is optimistic about making the haul down to the Volunteer State.

"First time we'll ever see the track, but I'm always up for a challenge," The Lockport, Illinois driver stated. "We're looking forward to it. It's on television and all the big dogs from all three ASALMS divisions will be there. The whole weekend should be a lot of fun for us." He added.

Back on October 4th at Rockford, Nelms got the chance to drive multi-time NSTC Eddie Hoffman's back up ride in the 44th edition of the race on the fast 1/4 mile in Northern Illinois. After qualifying 15th, Nelms patiently worked his way through the pack and with 21 laps to go, drove by Jeff Kendall to take home the biggest feature win of his career.

"That made up for the ASALMS race in July when I got into the leader and spun him," Laughed Nelms. "I have to thank the whole Lisa Thomas team for the hard work and support they gave me throughout that weekend." Kendall finished second as Nelms' teammate Hoffman finished third over Lowell Bennett and Jon Reynolds Jr.

At LaCrosse, it was a roller coaster ride of emotions for Nelms who qualified a disappointing 16th out of the 23-car field and would start on the outside of the eighth row next to Isaac Owen, who was making his first career ASALMS appearance. Nelms overcame several obstacles thrown his way to finish 11th and secure the freshman title.

"Struggled with the car all day qualified poorly, and fought the car the whole race," Nelms explained. "We did everything we could think of to get a handle on the car. Fortunately we did enough to claim the Rookie title and finish third in the points."

"LaCrosse was very nerve wracking all day long, but we accomplished what we wanted too and now we're going to get ready to go to Memphis. This has been a great season that I would have never thought we could have run this good with the quality of teams we were up against every weekend."

"I have to thank my wife for being my biggest supporter and cooking for us every week." The appreciative driver continued. "The crew Chuck, Eddie, Mike, Bill, Kurt, Ron, and all other supporters of the Team and a big thanks go out to Dave "Snaps" Lambe for all the website maintenance he does." Nelms ended.

Nelms' 2009 ASALMS Northern Division Rookie of the Year title saw him finish a career high third place at Dixie Motor Speedway back on August 21st which was also his lone top five of the season to go with an impressive eight top 10 showings. All 10 starts in ASALMS North features this season have resulted in at least a top 15 finish.

The Prairie State driver finished third overall in the 2009 ASALMS Northern Division points standings and would beat 17-year-old Ross Kenseth by just 12 markers (1500-1488) Canadian, Jordan Sims finished third 38 points back of Kenseth with 1450.

For the O'Reilly Auto Parts King's Ransom 300, Nelms will sport decals on the side of his K.J. Motorsports #0 Chevrolet Monte Carlo from Direct Fasteners and Body Shop Supply as well as Digital Fuel Solutions, B.C. Auto Body, Simply Suspension, M.P.H. Promotions, "Bad Day" The Band, and Lefthander Chassis.

To learn more about K.J. Motorsports and ASALMS Northern Division Rookie of the Year, Josh Nelms, and to inquire about sponsorship opportunities for the fast approaching 2010 racing season, go to the teams' website at: www.joshnelms.com