By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (April 12, 2010) – After lifting the lid on the 2010 season with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters at Kilgore’s Lone Star Speedway this past Friday night, the ASCS Lone Star Region gets things going full steam ahead with a pair of events on high-banked, ¼-mile clay ovals this weekend.
On Friday night, the ASCS Lone Star Region takes to the Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco before moving on to Kennedale’s Cowtown Speedway on Saturday night near Fort Worth.
Reigning ASCS Lone Star champion Kevin Ramey of Fort Worth broke out to the early lead in 2010 ASCS Lone Star points, crossing the stripe eleventh in the Friday night go to rank as the top finishing ASCS Lone Star contender.
Other Regional reps among Friday’s feature included Alvin, TX, shoe Bean Elliott, Lubbock’s Preston Peebles II and Mesquite’s Justin Spoerl.
The ASCS Lone Star Region kicked off its inaugural season of competition last year with Skip Wilson topping the first event at Heart O’ Texas Speedway and then Ramey snapping an ASCS victory drought of 41 race nights the following evening at Cowtown Speedway.
Ramey added another three Lone Star scores last year to take the inaugural crown by a healthy 193 point margin over Brad Welborn and then finished out the season by topping the National forces in the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals for his 38th overall career ASCS feature win.
Heart O’ Texas Speedway has ranked as an unpredictable venue in recent times with seven different ASCS Regional winners in as many events over the past three seasons. While Skip Wilson won last year’s Lone Star opener, Trey Robb won last year’s Gulf South event at HOT with Tommy Bryant topping the Gulf South vs. Lone Star showdown in July.
A staple in Sooner and then Lone Star Regional competition, Cowtown Speedway has featured eight different winners in ten ASCS feature events over the past two seasons. In total, rivals Ramey and Travis Rilat are tied atop the win charts with four career ASCS triumphs at Cowtown Speedway including two apiece over the past two seasons.
Shut out of ASCS victory lane at Cowtown since April of 2007, Ramey topped the first two Cowtown events last year and was within a lap of a possible third win in a row before sailing out of the park after contact with Rilat, who then took the August win.
Friday’s racing action at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas goes green at 8:00 p.m., with Saturday’s card at Cowtown Speedway firing off at 7:00 p.m.
The high-banked, 1/4-mile Heart O’ Texas Speedway clay oval is located in Waco, TX, off I-35 Exit 343, then 0.6 miles north on east frontage road. For more information, contact the track at 254-829-2294.
Cowtown Speedway, “The Fastest Lil’ Dirt Track in Texas”, is located in Kennedale, TX, just east of Fort Worth off I-20 Exit 442-A, then 1.7 miles southeast on Mansfield Highway, then 1.4 miles southwest on New Hope Road. For more information, contact the track at 817-478-9952.
The 2010 slate of ASCS Lone Star Region competition consists of 17 nights of action at seven different tracks throughout North Texas and one to the north of the Red River in southwest Oklahoma.
In its 19th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing, the American Sprint Car Series brings the best of Sprint Car racing to approximately 100 different tracks throughout 30 states and Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of eleven different Regions throughout the nation.
Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Heart O’ Texas Speedway:
7/31/09 – Tommy Bryant (Gulf South vs. Lone Star)
6/5/09 – Trey Robb (Gulf South)
4/3/09 – Skip Wilson (Lone Star)
8/22/08 – Greg Rilat (Gulf South)
5/25/08 – Ryan Hall (Gulf South)
9/14/07 – Kevin Ramey (Sooner)
8/31/07 – Brandon Berryman (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
9/15/06 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South)
7/21/06 – Jason Johnson (Gulf South vs. Sooner Region)
10/15/04 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South)
9/17/04 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South)
6/18/04 – Claud Estes (Gulf South)
Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Cowtown Speedway:
10/10/09 – Tony Bruce, Jr. (Gulf South/Lone Star/Sooner)
8/29/09 – Travis Rilat (Lone Star)
6/27/09 – Kevin Ramey (Lone Star)
4/4/09 – Kevin Ramey (Lone Star)
10/11/08 – Brian Brown (National vs. Sooner)
10/10/08 – Gavin Punch (National vs. Sooner)
8/23/08 – Kolt Walker (Gulf South)
7/26/08 – Brad Welborn (Sooner)
5/17/08 – Gary Taylor (Sooner)
4/5/08 – Travis Rilat (Sooner)
9/15/07 – Nick Smith (Sooner)
7/7/07 – Brian McClelland (Sooner)
4/14/07 – Kevin Ramey (Sooner)
9/23/06 – Travis Rilat (Sooner)
6/10/06 – Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sooner)
4/8/06 – Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sooner)
9/24/05 – Travis Rilat (Sooner)
6/25/05 – Jason Martin (National vs. Sooner)
4/9/05 – Sean McClelland (Sooner)
9/25/04 – Andy Shouse (Sooner)
5/29/04 – Kevin Ramey (Sooner)
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.