Johnny Herrera Leads Lucas Oil ASCS National Standings Into Indiana and Michigan Stops

_Front Page News, American Sprint Car Series, ASCS National Tour
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By Bryan Hulbert

TULSA, Okla. (May 30, 2016) Business is about to pick up for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, as the month of June kicks of a series of 25 nights of racing for the nation’s largest Sprint Car sanctioning body over the next two and half months.
At the head of the summer swing is three new venues as the series makes its return to the state of Indiana for the first time since the year 2000 at Terra Haute, as well as adding the state of Michigan to the record books as the series heads for the Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Ind. on Wednesday, June 1 followed by the Hartford Speedway in Hartford, Mich. on Friday, June 3, and finally Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Ind. on Saturday, June 4.
Leading the National Tour stops in Indiana and Michigan is New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera, who has traded the top spot throughout the season thus far with Wayne Johnson and Matt Covington, with his latest challenger lining up to be Sam Hafertepe, Jr. who tails the driver of the MVT No. 45x by 34 markers.
Taking to the track this past Sunday with the ASCS Gulf South Region at the Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, Hafertepe picked up his second win of the season with Herrera in tow.
Having turned laps at the Hartford Speedway in the early 1990’s with the World of Outlaws, Herrera’s trip to the Plymouth Speedway and Brownstown Speedway will be the first time he’s seen the Indiana ovals.

Comparing days gone by to now, Herrera commented on preparing for new tracks specifically, about the use of social media to view or study a racing venue, “Actually, I usually don’t look at a track before I go to it in terms of things like YouTube and what not. Maybe I should, but some of that is so I don’t have an opinion of what a track could be like having not having actually seen it. It allows me to draw my own conclusions when I get there and not expect one thing or another but I admit, I did watch the highlights from the Outlaws at Plymouth.”

Asked about his position in the standings and if that has any sway on his approach to the upcoming swing, Herrera replied, “I’ve done this a long time and I’ve points raced and haven’t points raced and it’s just gotten to where I don’t think about it. Fortunately, I’ve done my job to this point and we’re leading the points but to me, it’s just another race because things can change pretty quickly. You can get crashed, fall out of a race, you know, any number of things could get you behind. Yea, we are the point’s leader and that’s great to have everyone chasing us, but I don’t go in with that in mind.”
Talking about Hartford Speedway, Herrera commented the last time he was there, the track stayed very loose the whole time, but knows that the surface has changed quite a bit since then. With that in mind, the three night run will see the three different sizes with a three-eighths at Plymouth, half at Hartford, and quarter-mile at Brownstown.
In terms of setup, Herrera commented, “I have a quarter to three-eighths mile base setup that I work off of and a big three-eighths to half-mile setup depending on the track’s speed. The combination of shocks don’t really change much so much as shocks, how you jack in weight, stagger, and tire offsets
Co-Sanctioned with the Great Lakes Super Sprints, the competition throughout the weekend will be some of the toughest in the country. With so many Lucas Oil ASCS events co-sanctioned with the regions throughout the season, the mindset for Herrera is still the same.
With Hafertepe in tow, Matt Covington has slipped to third in tour standings with Logan Forler tied with Blake Hahn for the fourth spot. Getting his season rolling following his win at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, defending series champion, Aaron Reutzel, holds sixth with Wayne Johnson seventh. Brad Loyet, Josh Baughman, and Kyle Bellm complete the top-ten in driver standings.
Wednesday, June 1 at the Plymouth Speedway will open at 4:00 P.M. with racing getting underway at 7:00 P.M. (EDT) and will include 600cc Non-Wing Micros. Admission is $20 for adults. Kids 6-12 get in for $5 with children age five and under getting in free. For more information on the Plymouth Speedway, log onto http://www.plymouthspeedway.net.
A short jog up the road to Michigan finds the tour’s next stop at Harford Speedway in Hartford, Mich. The “Wicked Half-Mile” as it’s called will see the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network and Great Lakes Super Sprints in action in Friday, June 3 and includes Stock Cars and Cyber Stocks. Gates Open at 5:00 P.M. with racing at 8:00 P.M. (EDT). More information can be found online at http://www.hartfordspeedway.net.
Ending out the trio of races is a trip to the Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Ind. on Saturday, June 4. A short jog south of Indianapolis, the quarter-mile oval will feature two classes of Sprint Cars as the MSCS Non-Wing Sprints will join the action along with Indiana Pro Late Models. Gates open at 3:00 P.M. with Hot Laps getting underway at 6:00 P.M. (EDT). For more information on Brownstown Speedway, log onto http://www.brownstownspeedway.com.
For continued updates on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, or any of the ASCS Regional Tours, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.

Quick Notes:
Series: Lucas Oil ASCS and Great Lakes Super Sprints (GLSS)
Track Information:
When: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Where: Plymouth Speedway
Address: 11631 12th Rd. Plymouth, Ind.
Phone: (574) 936-0900
Email: info@plymouthspeedway.net
Website: http://www.plymouthspeedway.net
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/PlymouthSpeedway

When: Friday, June 3, 2016
Where: Hartford Speedway
Address: 301 Bowie St., Hartford, Mich.
Phone: (269) 621-4482
Email: hsraceinfo@gmail.com
Website: http://www.hartfordspeedway.net
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/Hartford-Motor-Speedway-143212159037952/?fref=ts

When: Saturday, June 4, 2016
Where: Brownstown Speedway
Address: 476 E County Rd 100 S, Brownstown, Ind.
Phone: (812) 358-5332
Email: brownstownspeedway@gmail.com
Website: http://www.brownstownspeedway.com
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/brownatownspeedway

2016 ASCS National Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Johnny Herrera 767; 2. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 740; 3. Matt Covington 739; 4. Logan Forler 709; 5. Blake Hahn 698; 6. Wayne Johnson 686; 7. Aaron Reutzel 671; 8. Seth Bergman 667; 89. Brad Loyet 654; 10. Josh Baughman 360;
2016 ASCS National Winner(s): Johnny Herrera 1 (3/17-Heart O’ Texas Speedway); Wayne Johnson 1 (3/19-Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Brandon Hanks 1 (3/25-Cotton Bowl Speedway); Josh Baughman 1 (3/26 – Bronco Raceway Park); Brian Brown (5/5-Lakeside Speedway); Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1 (5/13 – Texas Motor Speedway);
ASCS National Drivers Online:
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs (@lucasoilascs)
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Live Scoring (Where Applicable): http://www.ascsracing.com/live and the Race Monitor App
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