By Bryan Hulbert
TULSA, Okla. (April 7, 2014) – This week’s edition of the ASCS Weekend Rewind brings the regions of the ASCS Nation to the forefront as the Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest Region, Griffith Truck and Equipment Gulf South Region, and ASCS Southwest Region combined for five events over the weekend in Arizona, Nebraska, and Texas.
The weekend saw 81 drivers in competition, representing 14 states (AZ, CA, IA, KS, LA, MO, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TN, TX, and WA) and Australia (NSW). To date, 14 races making up 18 ASCS sanctioned events have been logged in four states (Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas) with 12 different winners. Rico Abrue and Jason Johnson are the only repeat winners so far.
The Winners:
• Terry McCarl – The wildest man from Iowa was certainly that on Friday night, making the late race charge to win the Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest Regional opener at the I-80 Speedway but he may become the wildest man in Nebraska after his disappointment at the lack of a trophy girls. Larry White, who is the Flagman for the I-80 Speedway, just happened to be standing close by so Terry improvised.
• Seth Bergman – The Washington native picked up his first ASCS victory of the 2014 season on Friday, April 4 against the Griffith Truck and Equipment Gulf South Region. The victory is also Seth’s first win against the Gulf South region.
• Jason Johnson – It was only to fitting that Jason Johnson should win the second night of competition at the Battleground Speedway as the night was dedicated to Patrick Silva, who passed suddenly just over a week ago and was a crew member for team mate, Josh Baughman. Most of all, he was a friend. Jason took the lead from Seth Bergman in slower traffic during the later stages of the race. It was Jason’s thirty-sixth Gulf South Regional victory.
• Joshua Williams – Posting his second career ASCS Southwest Regional victory, Joshua Williams scored the win over a 23 car field at the Tucson International Raceway on Saturday night. According to a post on Twitter by fourth place finishing, James Mosher, the race was very close at the end with the top four all within striking distance.
• Danny Lasoski – Driving for Mark Burch this past weekend, Danny Lasoski was able to grab the lead in the final laps of the Speedway Motors Midwest Regional event on Sunday to win at the I-80 Speedway. The win counts as Lasoski’s sixth with the ASCS Midwest Region and first of the year in ASCS competition.
The rest of the weekend:
• Weather Strikes Again – Spring time is here, so the weather is increasingly unpredictable. The Speedway Motors Midwest Regional opener was supposed to be a Friday/Saturday event, but because of freezing temperatures and the chance of snow, the event was delayed by one day to Saturday/Sunday. In the Gulf South, rain chances hovered around 50 percent on Friday night, and shot to nearly 80 percent on Saturday night, but not a drop was felt at the Battleground Speedway. Unfortunately, the forecast cost the track cars and fans.
• Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – The Sunnyvale, Texas driver jumped behind the wheel of the Brandon Berryman owned No. 31 over the weekend for the Griffith Truck and Equipment Gulf South Regional double-header at the Battleground Speedway and produced a pair of podium finishes, bringing the team’s total to five podiums and six consecutive top five runs this season.
• No Brakes – Tennessee’s Brandon Hanks was at the Battleground Speedway on Friday night. According to a post on his Facebook page, he was running with little or no brakes. Nevertheless, he was able to move from seventeenth to ninth on the high-banked oval. Hanks opted to race at the weekly I-30 Speedway Sprint Car show on Saturday night due in part to the forecasted weather at Battleground.
• Light the Fuse – Channin Tankersley was scheduled to line up fifth on Friday night at the Battleground Speedway, but a second push before the star of the race relegated the Cooper Motorsports No. 28 to the tail where Channin lit the fuse and shot to sixth before it was all said and done. Unfortunately, Saturday ended with the No. 28 taking a pretty hard hit. Thankfully, he was okay.
• Schedule Update – Over the weekend, the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region added two dates to their lineup at the Double X Speedway on Thursday, July 3 and Sunday, July 6.
• Hard Chargers – Jack Dover and Tony Bruce, Jr. found themselves in the B-Feature on Friday at the I-80 Speedway. Transferring to the A-Main, they both passed 10 drivers with Dover going from fifteenth to fifth and Tony from eighteenth to eighth. The most cars passed over the weekend however goes to John Pate who ran from nineteenth to eight at the Battleground Speedway on Saturday night.
• Feels Like Victory – Rick Ziehl’s post on Facebook might say it all, “Finally finished a race. Finished 2nd.” Plagued by mechanical problems in the ASCS Southwest Region’s first three events, the runner up finish is Rick’s highest so far this year, and keeps him in the hunt for the championship as he currently rides 65 points out in fifth. Bob Ream, Jr. currently shows the way.
On Deck: The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real returns to competition with the Hammer Hill Showdown at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. on Saturday, April 12. Events get underway at 7:30 P.M. (CT). or updates and other information, log onto http://www.i-30speedway.com or call 501-455-4567.
The American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region opens their 2014 season on Sunday, April 13 at the West Siloam Speedway in West Siloam Springs, Okla. Hot Laps begin at 6:00 P.M. (CT). For more information, log onto http://www.westsiloamspeedway.
The 2014 season marks the twenty-third year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation. Anchored by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto www.mavtv.com for information regarding availability and listings in your area.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, iON Camera, Smokey Mountain Moonshine, C&R Radiator, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, KSE Racing Products, SpeedMart, Competition Suspension, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Saldana Racing Products, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, The Joie of Seating, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com as well as Twitter (@LucasOilASCS) and Facebook. News and information can also be sent to you with the ASCS E-News by texting ASCS to 22828 with any mobile device.