By Bryan Hulbert
OSBORN, Mo. (April 26, 2019) Making it two-for-two on the weekend with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the Buffalo Wild Wings No. 21k of Thomas Kennedy was unstoppable on the cushion on the high-banked U.S. 36 Raceway.
“Big kudos to my dad. We’ve been busting our butts every year, all year. I really appreciate all the support we get to be out here from people like my mom, my brother, my wife especially, and my grandparents. It really means a lot,” stated Kennedy.
Taking the green fourth, Kennedy chased the opening laps as Wade Nygaard took command for four laps before surrendering the top spot to Roger Crockett with the Rt. 66 Chevrolet No. 11 working the low side of the speedway.
Followed by Scott Bogucki, who worked quickly from seventh, the pair began battling for the top spot as lapped traffic came into play. Working the hub at both ends of the one-third mile oval, the top was wide open for attack and as the laps clicked to 10, that attack was coming in the form of Thomas Kennedy.
Railing the cushion off the second turn on Lap 11, the powder blue No. 21k followed slower cars into the third turn with the leaders racing middle to bottom. With the lane clearing, for Kennedy, the move for second turned into a two-for-one sale for all the marbles with Kennedy rocketing to the lead off the fourth turn.
On coming up with the move for the lead, Thomas explained, “Everybody was everywhere, and I knew I just had to be patient up top. My car was great so I figured if I tried down low, I might screw myself up and lose some time. It’s all about momentum, and this track you have to keep your momentum up to keep moving forward.”
Putting several slower cars between himself and the race for second, the field came under caution on Lap 13. Giving Kennedy a three-car buffer on the restart, no one would be able the keep pace with the Canadian shoe crossing under the checkered flag with a 2.902-second advantage.
Roger Crockett held on for second with Blake Hahn charging through the field from 10th to grab the final podium step. In a drag race off the final turn for the fourth position, the advantage was to Seth Bergman, who edged Scott Bogucki by .014 seconds.
From 14th, Dylan Westbrook came up to sixth with John Carney II in seventh. Making up four spots, Jamie Ball was eighth with Wayne Johnson ninth after having to race out the B-Feature. Rounding out the top ten was Travis Rilat.
A field of 32 drivers was on hand with four SCE Gaskets Heat Races going to Roger Crockett, John Carney II, Scott Bogucki, and Seth Bergman. A single BMRS B-Feature was topped by Wayne Johnson.
The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network races next at the Eleven Oaks Farm Battle of the Groves II with William Grove Speedway on Friday, May 3 and Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday, May 4.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Racinboys.com ASCS Warrior Region
Friday, April 26, 2019
Car Count: 32
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature. Top 8 redraw)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Roger Crockett, [2]; 2. 44-Chris Martin, [1]; 3. 5J-Jamie Ball, [3]; 4. 21-Miles Paulus, [4]; 5. 82-Jason Martin, [6]; 6. 81-Jack Dover, [5]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [8]; 8. (DNF) 95-Matt Covington, [7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. J2-John Carney II, [1]; 2. 9M-Chad Goff, [2]; 3. 1-Travis Rilat, [3]; 4. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [5]; 5. 17W-Harli White, [8]; 6. 49B-Ben Brown, [4]; 7. 14-Jordon Mallett, [7]; 8. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki, [1]; 2. 17-Josh Baughman, [2]; 3. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [8]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn, [6]; 5. 92J-J.R. Topper, [7]; 6. (DNF) 37H-Nicholas Howard, [4]; 7. (DNF) 2-Dylan Opdahl, [5]; 8. (DNF) 88-Travis Reber, [3]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman, [2]; 2. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [4]; 3. 77X-Alex Hill, [1]; 4. 9X-Jake Bubak, [5]; 5. 21P-Robbie Price, [3]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [7]; 7. 84-Brandon Hanks, [8]; 8. 92-Jordan Weaver, [6]
BMRS B-Features (Top 6 advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [4]; 2. 82-Jason Martin, [2]; 3. 21-Miles Paulus, [1]; 4. 84-Brandon Hanks, [8]; 5. 21P-Robbie Price, [5]; 6. 95-Matt Covington, [13]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [7]; 8. 14-Jordon Mallett, [11]; 9. 37H-Nicholas Howard, [10]; 10. 92J-J.R. Topper, [3]; 11. 49B-Ben Brown, [9]; 12. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [14]; 13. 2-Dylan Opdahl, [12]; 14. (DNF) 81-Jack Dover, [6]; 15. (DNF) 88-Travis Reber, [16]; 16. (DNF) 92-Jordan Weaver, [15]
A-Feature
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [4]; 2. 11-Roger Crockett, [2]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, [10]; 4. 23-Seth Bergman, [1]; 5. 28-Scott Bogucki, [7]; 6. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [14]; 7. J2-John Carney II, [8]; 8. 5J-Jamie Ball, [12]; 9. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [17]; 10. 1-Travis Rilat, [13]; 11. 82-Jason Martin, [18]; 12. 84-Brandon Hanks, [20]; 13. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [3]; 14. 9X-Jake Bubak, [15]; 15. 21P-Robbie Price, [21]; 16. 21-Miles Paulus, [19]; 17. 77X-Alex Hill, [16]; 18. 17W-Harli White, [11]; 19. 44-Chris Martin, [9]; 20. (DNF) 9M-Chad Goff, [5]; 21. (DNF) 95-Matt Covington, [22]; 22. (DNF) 17-Josh Baughman, [6]
Lap Leader(s): Wade Nygaard 1-4; Roger Crockett 5-11; Thomas Kennedy 12-30
Hard Charger: Dylan Westbrook +8
High Point Driver: Thomas Kennedy
Provisional(s):N/A
2019 National Tour Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Thomas Kennedy 300; 2. Roger Crockett 258; 3. Wayne Johnson 248; 4. Scott Bogucki 247; 5. Seth Bergman 238; 6. Matt Covington 231; 7. John Carney II 229; 8. Dylan Westbrook 228; 9. Blake Hahn 223; 10. Jamie Ball 220; 11. Josh Baughman 213; 12. Jake Bubak 204; 13. Jason Martin 204; 14. Travis Rilat 199; 15. Brandon Hanks 196;
2019 Race Winners: Thomas Kennedy 2 (4/25 – Eagle Raceway, 4/26 – U.S. 36 Raceway);
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Live Scoring (Where Applicable): MRP Live