Inside Line Promotions
LONGDALE, Okla. (July 27, 2015) – The road to recovery was a slow one for Sam Hafertepe Jr., who missed approximately three months of racing after sustaining a broken right arm during a sprint car crash on May 1.
“I’ve never had to sit out for an injury ever,” he said. “It was pretty tough. Basically what they did was put a plate and seven screws in there. They put me in a brace and let me take it off every once in a while to exercise my wrist. I couldn’t do any heavy lifting until after the doctor released me.”
Hafertepe Jr. was officially released to compete last Thursday and he made a splash in his return to the sport by sweeping a pair of ASCS Red River Region races last weekend while driving for Keith Dobbs.
“I felt like talent-wise before the injury we should have won both races,” he said. “I didn’t know how my arm would respond. I knew the capability was there, but I didn’t know if my arm would handle it. I was surprised at how well my arm held up. Sitting out for 12 weeks you get to think about things and how much racing means to you. You never know when it might be your last race. It opened my eyes to that kind of stuff. I needed to dig a little deeper.”
Hafertepe Jr. did just that last Friday at Outlaw Motor Speedway in Wainwright, Okla., where he won a heat race before leading the distance of the feature to claim his first feature victory of the season during his first race in exactly 12 weeks since the injury.
“The car was really, really good,” he said. “We didn’t change it all night long. For the feature we drew the No. 2 (during the feature redraw), which put us in a good spot. I think we had everybody covered on Friday. We never got challenged by anybody. We stayed out front. I was testing a lot of lines to make sure I had all my bases covered in case we got in traffic, but every time we got to traffic a caution would come out.”
Hafertepe Jr. continued the spectacular return on Saturday at Longdale Speedway, where he rallied from eighth to fourth place during a heat race. That earned him enough points to lock into the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 6 to start the 20-lap main event on the outside of the third row.
“They watered the top of the track and it had a little moisture up there, but not much,” he said. “It had laid rubber on the bottom. I thought my only chance would be if I hit the top on the start. We were up to second after the first turn. I ran down (Andy) Shouse in traffic. I made a few attempts on the outside of turn two, but the rubber was too good. I started riding and when we got to traffic he bobbled a little bit and we snuck by him.”
Hafertepe Jr. took the lead just after the midpoint of the race and he cruised to the victory. He was also the Hard Charger for passing the most cars and was the winner of a $1,000 bonus as champion of the Young Tool Challenge.
Hafertepe Jr. is slated to compete for Hill’s Racing Team this Friday at Brockville Ontario Speedway in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, and Saturday at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 24 – Outlaw Motor Speedway in Wainwright, Okla. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (2).
July 25 – Longdale Speedway in Longdale, Okla. – Heat race: 4 (8); Feature: 1 (6).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 2 wins, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 12 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Brockville Ontario Speedway in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, and Saturday at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.Sam15.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamHafertepeJr
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Keizer Aluminum Wheels
Keizer Aluminum Wheels has provided custom aluminum racing wheels for any type of racing application for several decades. For more information, visit http://www.KeizerWheels.com.
“I’ve been using Keizer Aluminum Wheels since 2004,” Hafertepe Jr. said. “They are like family to me and have been with me through the highs and the lows.”
Hafertepe Jr. would also like to thank Lone Star Speedway, Wells Racing Engines, Kiebler & Sons Lawn and Landscaping, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Smiley’s Racing Products, Fisher Racing Engines, J&J Auto Racing, Pro Shocks by OC Shocks, Fire-Down Graphics, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Vortex Wings, Kear’s Speed Shop, Pancho’s Racing Products, GPC, Joe Gibbs Racing Oils, Zemco Headers and Simpson Racing Products for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.