By Bryan Hulbert
TULSA, Okla. (June 16, 2014) – Summer is surely here as the American Sprint Car Series saw eight of a scheduled nine races across the ASCS Nation this past weekend contested with three season firsts, and only one repeat.
A busy weekend with the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real in action along with the Frontier, Lone Star, Northwest, Warrior, and West Texas 305, the season count stands at 63 completed nights of racing with the number of winners with the American Sprint Car Series in both 305cid and 360cid competition growing by four from 37 to 41.
As a whole, the ASCS Nation has averaged 25 cars per night so far with the highest car count seen this season at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals preliminary night with 49 drivers checking in.
The Winners
Friday, June 13, 2014
• Jack Dover (ASCS Warrior) – It’s hard to believe that we are barely seeing Jack Dover’s first ASCS victory of the season, but the Nebraska shoe broke into victory lane at the U.S. 36 Raceway in Cameron, Mo. on Friday night with the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region, leading every lap of the 14th annual Budweiser Shootout. With a $500 bonus for winning his Heat Race, Dover ultimately pocketed $2,000.
• Tim Crawley (ASCS Lone Star) – “The Crawdaddy” took to the Timberline Speedway with a vengeance, wheeling the Top Row Rowdies No. 4j to his first ASCS victory of the season. To clarify, Crawley’s first ASCS win of the year is his first of the year behind the wheel of a Sprint Car. It’s his second of the year if you count the Mini Stock win at I-30 Speedway on April 12.
• Kyle Sager (West Texas 305) – The Ruidoso, N.M. shoe was on it Friday night, topping the field at the El Paso Speedway Park in El Paso, Texas for his second win of 2014. It was the first of the year for Sager at the West Texas oval.
• J.J. Hickle (ASCS Northwest) – So close so many times, J.J. Hickle finally broke into victory lane on Friday night with the ASCS Northwest Region at the Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. coming from seventh on the tricky quarter-mile. J.J. is the Region’s 27th different winner.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
• Seth Bergman (ASCS National / Lone Star) – It was sweet victory on Saturday night for Seth Bergman, who finally topped the field at a track that has otherwise plagued Seth Bergman since 2009. Not only was the win Seth’s first at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway, it was also his first Speedweek victory.
• Henry Van Dam (ASCS Northwest) – His fifth win with the ASCS Northwest Region, this past Saturday night was Henry Van Dam’s first of the season in ASCS competition, topping the second night of action at the Cottage Grove Speedway after several spirited battles in traffic with Colin Baker.
• Joe Ramaker (ASCS Frontier) – Joe is “smokin” already, collecting his second win of the season with the ASCS Frontier Region in the series first visit of the year to the Billings Motorsports Park in Billings, Mont. Since the series moved to ASCS sanctioning in 2013, the Idaho veteran has topped the field 10 times, bringing his total regional win total to 16 between the Frontier and former Rocky Mountain Region.
• Kyle Sager (West Texas 305) – Here we go again, Kyle Sager made it a weekend sweep with the West Texas ASCS 305 Region, going from the pole to lead non-stop at the Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M. Sager now has three wins on the season.
Now, the rest of the weekend:
• Fender Bender – Seth Bergman’s night ended in smiles, but it certainly didn’t start that way. While making his way to the Devi’s Bowl, Bergman found himself caught up in a traffic accident, while trying to avoid an accident that had already occurred. While Seth’s rig suffered only minor damage, the same could not be said for the Chevy Impala.
• Lack of Sleep – During Tim Crawley’s post race interview on Saturday night, the Arkansas driver was happy with his third place finish against the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour, but was really just ready to go to sleep. After snapping a valve coming to the win the night before with the Lone Star Region at Timberline Speedway, Crawley and crew were delighted to find the valve didn’t drop into the cylinder. At the doors of Wells Racing Engines that night, the crew was only able to grab a few precious hours of sleep before having to tear into the engine.
• “The Texan” – Hearing the name Gary Wright over the Public Address most nights means we’re telling stories, but Friday night saw the Timberline Speedway over capacity to hear that name in the lineup as the four-time ASCS National Champion returned to competition for the first time since his retirement in 2012. Only 15 miles from his Hooks, Texas home, Gary’s first night back in the Mark Huddleston owned No. 33 ended with Wright coming from fifteenth to fifth.
• Blake Hahn – Things are finally rolling for the third generation driver on the National Tour. Already very successful in ASCS Regional competition, Hahn’s first year on the road with the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV has finally yielded top-five finishes and his first podium of the year with a runner up at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
• Hard Chargers – There were several drivers making big runs over the weekend. Friday night, Jesse Williamson posted the biggest run of the weekend, clawing from twenty-first to seventh at the Cottage Grove Speedway…..Gary Wright made the run from fifteenth to fifth at the Timberline Speedway….Another 10 spot hustle came at the U.S. 36 Raceway with Jay Russell coming from thirteenth to third.
• Hard Chargers (cont.) – Saturday night, Kelly Miller charged from fifteenth to fourth with the ASCS Frontier Region…..The Devil’s Bowl saw three drivers tied for Hard Charger. Brad Loyet, Johnny Herrera, and Sam Hafertepe, Jr. each advanced ten spots after coming through the night’s B-Feature. Loyet came from eighteenth to eighth, Herrera from nineteenth to ninth, and Hafertepe from twenty-first to eleventh.
• New Leaders – The Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region has a new point’s leader. Jay Russell has taken the point by 37 markers after this past Friday’s third place at the U.S. 36 Raceway. Randy Hibbs is second with J.R. Topper third. Changing twice over the weekend in the Northwest, Jared Peterson led after Friday night. A no-show on Saturday, Vern Wheeler, Jr. now leads the region by a slim two points over Colin Baker with Reece Goetz third.
• Josh Baughman – Joining with Jason Johnson Racing at the start of the 2014 season, Josh Baughman closed his night at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway with a tenth place finish. This marks the first time the Odessa, Texas driver has finished in the top-ten with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
On Deck:
Speedweek continues for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real with action picking up on Wednesday, June 18 at the Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. The tour moves to the Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, Okla.) on Thursday, June 19 then Outlaw Motorsports Park (Muskogee, Okla.) on Friday, June 20. Speedweek ends up at the Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, Mo.) on Saturday, June 21. Events at Lawton, Creek, and Outlaw will be co-sanctioned with the American Bank of Oklahoma Sooner Region. Saturday at Lucas will be with the Speedway Motors Warrior Region.
The Griffith Truck and Equipment Gulf South Region returns to action at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park on Friday, June 20 and Royal Purple Raceway on Saturday, June 21.
The ASCS Frontier Region heads for a two-day event the Electric City Speedway on Friday and Saturday.
For a complete listing of every ASCS event in 2014, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
The 2014 season marks the twenty-third year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation. Anchored by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto www.mavtv.com for information regarding availability and listings in your area.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, iON Camera, Smokey Mountain Moonshine, C&R Radiator, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, KSE Racing Products, SpeedMart, Competition Suspension, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Saldana Racing Products, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, The Joie of Seating, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com as well as Twitter (@LucasOilASCS) and Facebook. News and information can also be sent to you with the ASCS E-News by texting ASCS to 22828 with any mobile device.