PETERSEN MEDIA
– Fresh off of an unwanted week off during the 410 Knoxville Nationals, Seth Bergman returned to action in a big way as he notched a pair of top five finishes during three races with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
After a disappointing 360 Knoxville Nationals, Bergman and his Pete Petersen Motorsports team returned to action at the Salina Speedway in Salina, KS.
Advancing from fourth to second in his heat, Bergman would make the redraw, where the two pill put him on the front row for the 30-lap feature event.
With the first start being negated due to a spin, Bergman took advantage of the second attempt as he quickly rocketed away to the lead, as he stretched it to nearly half a straight.
Following a lap nine restart, Kevin Swindell would work into the second spot as he began to pressure Bergman for the lead, but several failed attempts found the duo battling in lapped traffic for the top spot.
On the 21st lap, Bergman would lose the lead to Jason Johnson and then would find himself in the third spot on the same lap as he held on to a very loose racecar.
Bergman would wrestle his Superior Marine/Corridor Electric/Speedmart Inc. backed No.23 machine for the final nine laps as he held on to a third place finish.
“We had a great car for the first 20-laps or so,” Bergman said. “Towards the end it kept getting more free every lap, and we lost a couple spots to Kevin Swindell and Jason Johnson, but after the luck we have had, we will certainly take a third.”
Friday night the tour invaded the Creek County Speedway and it was a night Bergman surely would like to forget.
“We were decent in our heat, and were trying to pass for third from sixth but go into an infield tire, and put us deep in the B.”
Failing to get out of the B, Bergman and his team headed down the road to the Lawton Speedway in Lawton, OK.
Scoring a heat race win from the outside front row on a very hooked up track, Bergman would pull the seven pill for the feature event putting him in the fourth row.
As the race got underway, Bergman was able to work his way into the fifth spot by the third lap as he chased after Mike Goodman.
With passing at a high premium during all 30-laps, Bergman would settle for a fifth place finish, until it was revealed that race winner, Jason Johnson, was disqualified for not having a muffler during post race inspection, bumping Bergman to the fourth spot.
“All in all it was a pretty good week for us,” said Bergman. “I think having the week off for the 410 nationals after we blew up helped the team out, and let everyone relax and regain some focus.”
Bergman and his Pete Petersen Motorsports team would like to thank Superior Marine, Corridor Electric, Speedmart Inc, Eagle Chassis, ButlerBuilt, and 7 Industries for their support in 2012.
ON TAP: Bergman and the Petersen Motorsports team will be in action on Friday night at the Salina High Banks in Salina, OK and then at I-30 in Little Rock, AR on Saturday night.