By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (October 17, 2011) – The beat goes on for the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filers National series with another $10,000 winner’s share up for grabs at this weekend’s 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals atop the storied ½-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway clay just east of Dallas in Mesquite, TX.
After Thursday’s Fifth Annual Steve King Foundation Golf Tournament, race fans in the Lone Star State get one last chance to watch the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars mix it up over two full nights of action on Friday night and Saturday night at Devil’s Bowl.
While current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader has starred in the series big-money events thus far in 2011, Springfield, Nebraska’s Jack Dover reigns as the defending Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals champion after besting a field of 57 competitors last October at Da’ Bowl.
Collecting his second Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest championship this season, the 21-year-old still ranks 14th in Lucas Oil National points despite running a limited slate of event, picking up his fifth career ASCS National triumph with an Eagle Nationals score in Nebraska in June.
Meanwhile, Stewart has excelled in added-money events with an ASCS Knoxville Nationals triumph worth $10,000 and then last weekend’s LoneStar Nationals victory worth $12,000.
The Bixby, OK, native, closing in on a second Lucas Oil Sprint Car driver’s title after capturing his first crown in 2009, will try to go three-for-three in added-money events with this weekend’s $10,000-to-win Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals with $15,000-to-win affairs coming up at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway (October 27-29) and Tucson’s USA Raceway (November 17-19).
Stewart currently holds a 97-point edge over Albuquerque’s Johnny Herrera in the title chase, with Tennessee’s Jeff Swindell, Arkansas’ shoe Tim Crawley and Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon rounding out the current top five.
“The Texan” Gary Wright, Washington’s Seth Bergman, Louisiana’s Jason Johnson, Kansas’ Tony Bruce, Jr., and Texas’ Aaron Reutzel fill out the current top ten, with Oklahoma’s Zach Chappell in eleventh.
Climbing the driver point charts to eighth after missing the initial four events of the season due to Australian commitments, Jason Johnson’s JJR No. 41 entry holds down the top spot on the owner point charts with a 136-point edge over Paul Silva’s No. 57 entry piloted by Stewart.
With 14 different winners in 24 Lucas Oil Sprint Car feature events thus far in 2011, Jason Johnson is atop the charts with six wins. Stewart and Herrera have each claimed three victories, with Wayne Johnson winning twice. Single scores have been claimed by Crawley, Dover, Lee Grosz, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Tim Kaeding, Kyle Larson, Daryn Pittman, Jeff Swindell, Sammy Swindell and Gary Wright. Hafertepe, Jr., is the most recent series winner after topping March’s Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Friday night, October 21 at 8:00 p.m. – 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals prelim
Saturday night, October 22 at 8:00 p.m. – 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale
Track Information:
Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – ½-mile, high-banked clay oval located six miles east of Dallas’ I-635 on I-20, then three miles north on Lawson Road. Lawson Road north of the track (and south off of US 80) has been closed for repair, so fans and racers are urged to use I-20 and then go north on Lawson. Track phone: 972-222-2421.
Lucas Oil ASCS Devil’s Bowl History:
Devil’s Bowl Speedway has been hosting the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series since 1994, with 22 different drivers scoring at least one victory in 65 feature events. Gary Wright has claimed 20 of his 127 career Lucas Oil National Sprint Car wins at Devil’s Bowl, including three Winter Nationals triumphs in 2003, 2005 and 2008.
Only Jason Johnson has posted multiple series wins at Devil’s Bowl since the beginning of the 2009 season, including a win in last October’s Winter Nationals prelim and then this March’s Spring Nationals prelim. Sam Hafertepe, Jr., is the most recent winner at Devil’s Bowl after topping the Spring Nationals finale.
Jack Dover is the reigning Winter Nationals champion, with other recent winners in addition to Wright including Kevin Ramey (2009), Jason Johnson (2007), Travis Rilat (2006) and Shane Stewart (2004).
Devil’s Bowl Lucas Oil ASCS winners include: Gary Wright 20, Jason Johnson 9, Wayne Johnson 4, Kevin Ramey 4, Danny Jennings 3, Sammy Swindell 3, Shane Carson 2, Terry Gray 2, Garry Lee Maier 2, Mike Peters 2, Travis Rilat 2, Shane Stewart 2, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Tim Crawley 1, Jack Dover 1, Edd French 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Larry Neighbors 1, Alan Payne 1, Jake Peters 1, Mike Ward 1.
Devil’s Bowl Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-race Winners: Shane Carson (6/21/94), Alan Payne (5/12/95), Mike Ward (7/23/95), Mike Peters (9/1/95), Sammy Swindell (9/2/95), Sammy Swindell (9/3/95), Wayne Johnson (6/18/96), Terry Gray (7/6/96), Terry Gray (11/1/96), Johnny Herrera (11/2/96), Shane Carson (4/5/97), Wayne Johnson (6/18/97), Edd French (10/31/97), Mike Peters (11/1/97), Gary Wright (6/19/98), Gary Wright (10/3/98), Garry Lee Maier (10/4/98), Gary Wright (7/8/99), Garry Lee Maier (7/30/99), Gary Wright (10/1/99), Gary Wright (10/2/99), Gary Wright (7/21/00), Gary Wright (10/6/00), Larry Neighbors (4/20/01), Gary Wright (7/20/01), Gary Wright (10/6/01), Travis Rilat (4/19/02), Jason Johnson (6/7/02), Wayne Johnson (10/4/02), Gary Wright (10/5/02), Kevin Ramey (4/18/03), Tim Crawley (10/17/03), Gary Wright (10/18/03), Shane Stewart (10/23/04), Danny Jennings (3/18/05), Danny Jennings (3/19/05), Danny Jennings (6/9/05), Gary Wright (10/21/05), Gary Wright (10/22/05), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Spring Nationals makeup feature), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Summer Nationals), Gary Wright (7/13/06), Jason Johnson (10/13/06), Travis Rilat (10/14/06), Wayne Johnson (3/16/07), Jake Peters (3/17/07), Gary Wright (5/12/07), Gary Wright (7/19/07), Jason Johnson (10/12/07), Jason Johnson (10/13/07), Tony Bruce, Jr. (3/14/08), Gary Wright (3/15/08), Jason Johnson (5/10/08), Gary Wright (7/17/08), Jason Johnson (10/17/08), Gary Wright (10/18/08), Shane Stewart (3/20/09), Jason Johnson (3/21/09), Gary Wright (10/17/09), Kevin Ramey (10/19/09), Sammy Swindell (3/19/10), Jason Johnson (10/15/10), Jack Dover (10/16/10), Jason Johnson (3/25/11), Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (3/26/11).
Current 2011 Points:
Top 15 Driver Points: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 2,467, 2. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 2,370, 3. Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 2,326, 4. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 2,240, 5. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 2,225, 6. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 2,147, 7. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 2,056, 8. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 2,051, 9. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,989, 10. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,952, 11. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 1,771, 12. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,426, 13. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 1,221, 14. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,187, 15. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 1,091.
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 2,603, 2. Paul Silva #57 – 2,467, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 2,370, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 2,326, 5. Mike Ward #88 – 2,240, 6. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 2,225, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 2,056, 8. Bruce Racing #18 – 1,989, 9. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 1,952, 10. Randy Washburn #0 – 1,771, 11. Gary Wright #9 – 1,551, 12. M&M Motorsports #2 – 1,221, 13. Bryan Sundby #38 – 1,196, 14. Steve Forler #2L – 1,091, 15. Danny Wood #81 – 1,004.
2011 Feature Winners:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series: Jason Johnson 6, Johnny Herrera 3, Shane Stewart 3, Wayne Johnson 2, Tim Crawley 1, Jack Dover 1, Lee Grosz 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Tim Kaeding 1, Kyle Larson 1, Daryn Pittman 1, Jeff Swindell 1, Sammy Swindell 1, Gary Wright 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
October 27/28/29 – I-30 Speedway (24th Annual Short Track Nationals)
November 11/12 – Southern New Mexico Speedway
November 17/18/19 – USA Raceway (44th Annual Western World Championships)
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 slated for 38 nights of racing action at 15 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 scheduled 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.