Aaron Reutzel Earns 2017 ASCS Speedweek Championship With Lucas Oil Speedway Victory

Holding off Blake Hahn in the early stages of Saturday’s 30 lap feature event, the closing laps presented another challenger as Sam Hafertepe, Jr. roared into contention.

“Blake’s the one that really worried me because I knew he could roll the bottom pretty good, and it was going away for us so I figured I had to abort it, and I think I did at just the right time,” said Aaron of the early race challenges.

Picking through the back markers, Sam closed from over a second disadvantage in the Hwy. 79 Collision No. 15h to pull alongside Reutzel with less than five to go. Able to keep the ASCS National Tour point’s leader at bay, the Dissolvalloy No. 87 ran to the final lap with a mere two car length advantage. Able to use slower cars as picks through the final turns, Reutzel held on to win by 0.423 seconds.

Asked about Sam pressuring him in the closing laps, Aaron replied, “We were getting through lapped cars pretty good so I figured I had a decent gap. I was just cruising until Sam showed me a nose, then I took back off on that last lap. We we’re plenty good, just taking my time in traffic.”

Marking Aaron’s first Speedweek title, the final tally put the 2015 ASCS National Champion 36 points ahead of Saturday’s runner-up finisher, Sam Hafertepe, Jr.

“The top was just really good and he didn’t make any mistakes. Aaron’s a pretty good driver, so he shouldn’t but we had a good car. One of the fastest all night, just needed the track to get a little drier, but no matter the circumstances, we always try to put on a good show for these fans because without their support, we can’t do what we do,” said Hafertepe who now turns towards Skagit Speedway an another shot at $15,000 this coming weekend.

Running second until Lap 15, Hahn rescued his car from nearly spinning off the second turn to hold on to the show position. Throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the MVT No. 45x, Johnny Herrera rolled from eighth to fourth with Justin Henderson crossing fifth in the BDS Motorsports No. 1.

Scott Bogucki was sixth with Matt Covington seventh. Earning another CP-Carrillo Hard Charger of the Night award, Wayne Johnson advanced seven spots to finish eighth with Skylar Gee moving forward to ninth. Oklahoma’s Dustin Morgan made up the night’s top-ten.

Coming up next for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the series hits the road for the 46th Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup presented by the Skagit Resort and Casino on June 22, 23, and 24. The Saturday finale offers up a $15,000 winner’s check and pays $1,000 just to start the A-Main. Full details can be found online at http://www.skagitspeedway.com.

For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven regional tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.

Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour and ASCS Warrior Region
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, Mo.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Speedweek Round 7

Car Count: 21

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [1]; 2. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [4]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [5]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn, [7]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [3]; 6. 76-Jay Russell, [6]; 7. (DNF) 7M-Chance Morton, [2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Justin Henderson, [1]; 2. 95-Matt Covington, [2]; 3. 84-Scott Bogucki, [4]; 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, [5]; 5. 17W-Harli White, [3]; 6. 28-Jonathan Cornell, [7]; 7. 86-Tony Bruce Jr, [6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Skylar Gee, [1]; 2. 14K-Kyle Bellm, [2]; 3. 23-Seth Bergman, [5]; 4. 21-Miles Paulus, [6]; 5. 8M-Kade Morton, [3]; 6. 41A-Andee Beierle, [7]; 7. (DNF) 93X-Taylor Walton, [4]

A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [4]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, [3]; 4. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [8]; 5. 1-Justin Henderson, [2]; 6. 84-Scott Bogucki, [10]; 7. 95-Matt Covington, [5]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [15]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee, [6]; 10. 93-Dustin Morgan, [12]; 11. 23-Seth Bergman, [7]; 12. 86-Tony Bruce Jr, [19]; 13. 17W-Harli White, [16]; 14. 28-Jonathan Cornell, [13]; 15. 8M-Kade Morton, [17]; 16. 76-Jay Russell, [18]; 17. 93X-Taylor Walton, [20]; 18. 41A-Andee Beierle, [14]; 19. 14K-Kyle Bellm, [9]; 20. 21-Miles Paulus, [11]; 21. 7M-Chance Morton, [21]

Lap Leader(s): Aaron Reutzel 1-30
CP-Carrillo Hard Charger: Wayne Johnson +7
FSR High Point Driver: Johnny Herrera
Provisional(s): N/A

2017 Lucas Oil ASCS A-Main Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 7 (3/17 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 3/18 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 4/7 – Texas Motor Speedway; 4/8 – Texas Motor Speedway; 4/15 – Missouri State Fair Speedway; 6/13 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 6/14 – Lawton Speedway); Aaron Reutzel – 3 (5/11 – Lakeside Speedway; 6/15 – Creek County Speedway; 6/17 – Lucas Oil Speedway;); Jake Bubak – 1 (6/9 – West Texas Raceway); Kyle Bellm – 1(6/10 – Route 66 Motor Speedway); Brian Brown – 1 (6/16 – Randolph County Raceway);

2017 Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,762; 2. Aaron Reutzel 1,597; 3. Johnny Herrera 1,590; 4. Wayne Johnson 1,544; 5. Matt Covington 1,536; 6. Seth Bergman 1,506; 7. Justin Henderson 1,434; 8. Dustin Morgan 1,414; 9. Blake Hahn 1,397; 10. Josh Baughman 1,309; 11. Skylar Gee 1,294; 12. Kyle Bellm 1,235; 13. Harli White 1,154; 14. John Carney II 983; 15. Jake Greider 890;

2017 ASCS Speedweek Standings (Top 10, Final): 1. Aaron Reutzel 906; 2. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 870; 3. Johnny Herrera 839; 4. Matt Covington 832; 5. Wayne Johnson 827; 6. Seth Bergman 825; 7. Dustin Morgan 805; 8. Skylar Gee 773l 9. Justin Henderson 759; 10. Blake Hahn 753;