From Bryan Hulbert
BELGRADE, Mont. (July 4, 2017) – Up next for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is the second annual Grizzly Nationals at Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont. on Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8.
The only National Tour stop in Montana in 2017, the event was swept in 2016 by Oklahoma’s Blake Hahn in the series inaugural visit. Posting the season’s best Hard Charger effort this past Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway, the Lucas Oil/Griffith Truck and Equipment No. 52 is back to defend his back-to-back victory.
“Getting the wins at Belgrade last year was huge for the whole team,” said Hahn.
“We rolled into the weekend with a lot of momentum from Dirt Cup and the Brownfield Classic, and that just put us where we needed to be in terms of confidence and having the car correct.”
Asked how the team was going into this weekend’s Grizzly Nationals, Hahn replied, “We fill about the same this year, we have some momentum going and I feel like we can come in and win again.”
That momentum is apparent in Hahn’s position in the point standings. One month ago, the No. 52 team sat ninth in tour standings, but has moved up to seventh going into the Grizzly Nationals and is within striking distance to cracking the top-five.
“It’s going to take good runs all the way into Knoxville to get us up where we need to be in terms of points, but we’re on the right track. Everyone is running pretty strong right now, so we’ll just have to keep digging.”
Asked of the experience of standing in Victory Lane with a live Grizzly Bear, Hahn chuckled when talking about the memory, “I wasn’t too sure what to think about having Adam with me on the track. I was nervous at first, but once they got him out there and started working with him, it was a really neat experience. Just getting to do it once was cool, but getting the win the next night, I was looking forward to being there with him.”
While Hahn looks to climb his way through the standings, the top spot is currently held by Sam Hafertepe, Jr. who has a 91 point advantage over 2015 series champion, Aaron Reutzel. Matt Covington, who garnered his first win of the season at Grays Harbor Raceway this past weekend, holds third with Johnny Herrera and Seth Bergman making up the top-five.
Paired with the Brodix ASCS Frontier Region, the co-sanctioned affair shows Eric Lutz leading the regional standings over South Dakota’s D.J. Brink with Ned Powers third, Rich Martin in fourth, and David Hoiness holding fifth.
The 2nd annual Grizzly Nationals at Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont. goes green at 7:00 P.M. (MDT) on both Friday, July 7 and Saturday, July 8. Tickets are sold at the event starting at 1:00 P.M. (MDT).
Admission for adults is $20 (per day) and kids 12 and under get into the grandstands for free. Grandstands open at 5:00 P.M. (MDT). The Friday card will include Street Stocks, while Saturday will feature Super Stocks as the second division of action.
Gallatin Speedway is located at 2290 Tubb Rd in Belgrade, Mont. For more information on Gallatin Speedway, call (406) 388-9666, find the track on Facebook, or go online to http://www.gallatinspeedway.com.
For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven reginal tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation in 2017, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.