By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (July 11, 2011) – The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters kicks off its annual trek through the Northwest with this weekend’s Fifth Annual Fred Brownfield Memorial at Elma, Washington’s Grays Harbor Raceway on Friday and Saturday.
Eunice, LA, native Jason Johnson topped last year’s edition of the Fred Brownfield Memorial en route to capturing his second $60,000 Lucas Oil Sprint Car championship and will be on hand to try to make it two Grays Harbor triumphs in a row as the VERSUS crew and cameras will be on hand to record Saturday’s $6,000-to-win action for later broadcast.
This weekend marks the first of four consecutive weekends for the Lucas Oil ASCS National series, with Oregon’s Cottage Grove Sprint Car Nationals to follow on July 22-23, the series first stop at California’s Placerville Speedway on July 29-30 and then the 21st Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway on August 4-6.
While Johnson swept both nights of Elma action last year, Travis Rilat topped the Brownfield finale in 2009 after current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader Shane Stewart topped the initial two Brownfield events in 2007 and 2008.
Johnson ranks as the only driver to capture two National feature events thus far in 2011, with eight other drivers posting single wins including Stewart, Johnny Herrera, Jeff Swindell, Gary Wright, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Jack Dover, Tim Kaeding and Kyle Larson.
Stewart, a native of Bixby, OK, and Johnson, locked in a tight battle on the driver side of the point charts for Paul Silva and JJR, lead a National contingent into the Northwest that includes Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM), Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN), Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK), Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA), Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS), Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX), Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA), Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) and Danny Wood (Norman, OK).
As always, the National forces will face a tough cast of Northwest representatives at Grays Harbor. While Oregon’s Roger Crockett topped the Brownfield Memorial preliminary feature in 2009, last year’s top-finishing Northwest rep in the Brownfield finale was Chadd Noland in fifth.
With this weekend’s double at Grays Harbor also the final two legs of the six-race ASCS Northwest Speedweek that fires off Monday, defending ASCS Northwest champion Jason Solwold enters the week with a four-point edge over Roger Crockett in the Northwest title chase with the rest of the top ten including Bergman, Henry Van Dam, Garen Linder, Trey Starks, Mitch Olson, Rick Fauver, Reece Goetz and Jake Waddell.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Friday night, July 15 at 6:30 p.m. – Grays Harbor Raceway
Saturday night, July 16 at 6:30 p.m. – Grays Harbor Raceway
Track Information:
Grays Harbor Raceway (Elma, WA) – 3/8-mile, high-banked clay oval located 21 miles west of US 101 on SR 8 to the junction of US 12, then 0.2miles north, then 0.6 miles east on Elma-McCleary Road. For more information, contact the track at 360-482-4374 or check http://www.graysharborraceway.net/.
Lucas Oil ASCS Grays Harbor Raceway History:
Jason Johnson swept through both nights of last year’s Fred Brownfield Memorial after Travis Rilat took the winner’s share to cap off the inaugural weekend of Lucas Oil Sprint Car competition in the state of Washington in 2009.
Grays Harbor Raceway Lucas Oil ASCS National winners include: Jason Johnson 2, Roger Crockett 1, Travis Rilat 1.
Grays Harbor Raceway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-Race Winners: Roger Crockett (7/17/09), Travis Rilat (7/18/09), Jason Johnson (7/16/10), Jason Johnson (7/17/10).
Current 2011 Points:
Top 15 Driver Points: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,300, 2. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 1,214, 3. Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 1,147, 4. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 1,130, 5. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,116, 6. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 1,085, 7. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 1,066, 8. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,017, 9. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,012, 10. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 911, 11. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 887, 12. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 877, 13. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 754, 14. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 674, 15. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 544.
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 1,306, 2. Paul Silva #57 – 1,300, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 1,214, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 1,147, 5. Mike Ward #88 – 1,130, 6. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 1,085, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 1,066, 8. Bruce Racing #18 – 1,017, 9. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 1,012, 10. Randy Washburn #0 – 911, 11. Steve Forler #2L – 887, 12. M&M Motorsports #2 – 877, 13. Cooper/Sperry #01/51 – 872, 14. Danny Wood #81 – 674, 15. Sam Hafertepe #15 – 544.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points: 1. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,012, 2. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 887.
2011 Feature Winners:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series: Jason Johnson 2, Jack Dover 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Tim Kaeding 1, Kyle Larson 1, Shane Stewart 1, Jeff Swindell 1, Gary Wright 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
July 22/23 – Cottage Grove Speedway (Cottage Grove, OR) – VERSUS
July 29/30 – Placerville Speedway (Placerville, CA)
August 4/5/6 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:
Those unable to catch all the action in person can listen to every Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters live at www.racinboys.com.
Official results, championship point updates, photos and race notes will be available at www.ascsracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS on TV:
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters will be featured in nine one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network and MavTV.
The full schedule according to www.motorsportshour.com is as follows:
Thunderbowl Raceway (Feb. 9) – 4/23/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Kings Speedway (Feb. 12) – 5/7/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
USA Raceway (Feb. 18) – 5/29/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
USA Raceway (Feb. 19) – 6/5/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Eagle Raceway (RAINED OUT) – 9/11/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Eagle Raceway (June 11) – 9/18/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Grays Harbor Raceway (July 16) – 10/30/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Cottage Grove Speedway (July 22) – 11/6/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Cottage Grove Speedway (July 23) – TBA
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 36 nights of racing action at 14 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country’s top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.
The 2011 season marks the 20th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with approximately 200 nights of competition at tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.