Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (July 25, 2011) – The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series ventures into new territory this weekend with a debut appearance atop the high-banked, ¼-mile Placerville Speedway clay oval in Placerville, CA. Saturday’s Bullring Nationals finale offers up $6,000 to win.
And, carrying the hot hand into Placerville’s Bullring Nationals, set for Friday and Saturday, is Eunice, Louisiana native and defending Lucas Oil Sprint Car champion Jason Johnson, who comes off a sweep of this past weekend’s Cottage Grove Sprint Car Nationals in Oregon.
The only driver to post multiple wins in the opening ten nights of the season prior to last weekend, “The Ragin’ Cajun” tacked on career ASCS National wins 51 and 52 (and three and four for 2011) over the weekend by holding off Roger Crockett in Friday’s preliminary feature at Cottage Grove and then battling past Wayne Johnson in the late stages of Saturday’s $6,000-to-win finale.
With those triumphs, Johnson opened up his lead in the owner’s portion of the $60,000 championship points chase. Johnson’s JJR No. 41 team now has a 62 point advantage over Paul Silva’s Rockstar No. 57 piloted by Shane Stewart.
Bixby, OK, native Stewart, the 2009 Lucas Oil Sprint Car champion, still holds the advantage in driver points with an 84 point edge over Albuquerque’s Johnny Herrera. Stewart and Herrera lead a salty top-five that includes Tennessee’s Jeff Swindell, four-time ASCS National champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, and three-time champ Tim Crawley of Benton, AR.
Just 13 points outside the top five is 2010 series runner-up Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, OK, with the rest of the current top ten including Washington’s Seth Bergman, leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Aaron Reutzel of Clute, TX, Kansas native Tony Bruce, Jr., and 18-year-old Washington shoe Logan Forler.
Just outside the current top ten is 2001 ASCS National champion Zach Chappell of Talala, OK, as well as Jason Johnson, who continues to make up ground in driver points after missing the first four nights of the season, and Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson.
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car title contenders will face a host of tough California forces set to defend their home turf. Among those will be Tim Kaeding, who captured the top spot in the first ever Lucas Oil ASCS National event contested in California earlier this year at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Speedway.
During that inaugural weekend of Lucas Oil ASCS National action in California, Kaeding and fellow Golden State shoe Kyle Larson defended their home turf by keeping the touring Lucas Oil Sprint Car forces out of victory lane.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Friday night, July 29 at 7:00 p.m. – Placerville Speedway
Saturday night, July 30 at 7:00 p.m. – Placerville Speedway
Track Information:
Placerville Speedway (Placerville, CA) – ¼-mile, high-banked clay oval located off US 50 to Forni Road, then north to Fair Lane (behind the El Dorado County Fairgrounds). For more information, contact the track at 916-783-3478 or check http://www.placervillespeedway.com/.
Lucas Oil ASCS Placerville Speedway History:
Set to host the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars for the first time, Placerville Speedway will become the 116th different track to host an ASCS National event since 1993. The series made its California debut with this year’s season openers in February. Tim Kaeding (Tulare) and Kyle Larson (Kings) defended their home turf successfully in those openers.
Current 2011 Points:
Top 15 Driver Points: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,544, 2. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 1,460, 3. Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 1,398, 4. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,324, 5. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 1,321, 6. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 1,308, 7. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 1,266, 8. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,192, 9. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,169, 10. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 1,091, 11. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 1,062, 12. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,054, 13. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 877, 14. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 796, 15. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 674.
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 1,606, 2. Paul Silva #57 – 1,544, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 1,460, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 1,398, 5. Mike Ward #88 – 1,321, 6. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 1,308, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 1,266, 8. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 1,192, 9. Bruce Racing #18 – 1,169, 10. Steve Forler #2L – 1,091, 11. Randy Washburn #0 – 1,062, 12. M&M Motorsports #2 – 877, 13. Cooper/Sperry #01/51 – 872, 14. Bryan Sundby #38 – 796, 15. Gary Wright #9 – 728.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points: 1. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,192, 2. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 1,091.
2011 Feature Winners:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series: Jason Johnson 4, 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:
August 4/5/6 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
August 19/20 – Jackson Speedway (Jackson, MN)
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 (RAINED OUT) – 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 35 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.