Inside Line Promotions
– WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (May 5, 2014) – Despite difficult pill draws, Sam Hafertepe Jr. captured a pair of top 10s during Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action last weekend.
Hafertepe Jr. opened the weekend on Friday at Outlaw Motorsports Park in Wainwright, Okla., by starting on the outside of the second row of his heat race.
“We drew a good spot, but there were some tough cars in the heat race,” he said. “Once everybody got strung out it’s hard to pass people. We couldn’t get where we needed to get to.”
Hafertepe Jr. advanced from fourth to third place, which started him on the outside of the sixth row for the 25-lap main event.
“We actually jumped up to around eighth right away,” he said. “Our car felt better on the bottom at that stage of the race. Then I finally moved up to the top and ran down Danny Wood.”
After maneuvering to seventh place, Hafertepe Jr. lost a trio of positions in traffic during the closing laps.
“I made one wrong decision at one time and three guys went by me,” he said. “We kinda missed it right there.”
Hafertepe Jr. finished with a 10th-place result.
His team then traveled to Riverside International Speedway for Saturday’s Eagle Motorsports Rock ‘N Roll 50 Presented by MyRacePass.
“We drew another tough heat race,” said Hafertepe Jr., who started eighth in a heat race that included three other full-time ASCS National Tour drivers as well as a former national champion.
“I was able to get by Jason Johnson and Tony Bruce Jr. on the first lap. I got past another local guy at the end. Our car was really good and we were able to move around quite a bit.”
After rallying from eighth to fourth place, Hafertepe Jr. was ninth in overall points and he missed the feature redraw by one spot. That started him on the inside of the fifth row for the 50-lap feature.
“It felt really good at the beginning,” he said. “As the race progressed our car went away on us. We weren’t real good at the end. We kinda just maintained. There were about four of us battling for fourth right there at the end. The car just kinda fell off at the end.”
Hafertepe Jr. ended with a sixth-place result.
He enters this Thursday’s McCarthy Auto Group KC Klassic at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., ranked fourth in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour championship standings – only five points out of third place.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 2 – Outlaw Motorsports Park in Wainwright, Okla. – Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 10 (12).
May 3 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 4 (8); Feature: 6 (9).
SEASON STATS –
23 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 7 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 14 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the McCarthy Auto Group KC Klassic with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.Sam15.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Lone Star Speedway
A high-banked, 3/8-mile oval located in Kilgore, Texas, Lone Star Speedway was reopened in 2009 by the Hafertepe family. For more information, visit http://www.LoneStarSpeedway.
“Lone Star Speedway is owned by a racing family who wants to make it into a premier facility in the country,” Hafertepe Jr. said.
Hafertepe Jr. would also like to thank Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Kiebler & Sons Lawn and Landscaping, Wells Racing Engines, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Smiley’s Racing Products, Fisher Racing Engines, J&J Auto Racing, Pro Shocks by OC Shocks, Fire-Down Graphics, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Vortex Wings, Kear’s Speed Shop, Pancho’s Racing Products, GPC, Joe Gibbs Racing Oils, Zemco Headers and Simpson Racing Products for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
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