Bryan Hulbert – PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (May 21, 2021) Chasing the first 19 laps at Tri-City Speedway, a late-race red flag put the lead into Scott Bogucki’s hands, and the SawBlade.com No. 28 was able to hold off the last lap charge of Colton Hardy for his first victory of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
“It got really narrow up top in the closing laps. Honestly, it was tricky because we were tight early, so when Seth would get into traffic, he could move through better than we could. I kept getting rolled up, but I just had to be patient. I’m not very good at that, but I’m slowly, slowly, learning,” chuckled Bogucki of the night’s festivities. “When we had cautions, Anthony, my crew guy, was signaling me that I was doing everything right, so at the very end, we were good.”
In pursuit of Seth Bergman, the Stagg Insurance No. 23 was untouchable the opening 19 laps. Able to run through traffic with ease, it was traffic that was Bergman’s undoing. Chasing the No. 47x of Dylan Westbrook to put him a lap down, the right rear suddenly gave up, trapping Seth behind the No. 47x. Hard into the tail tank of Dylan, the result was Seth flipping into the turn-one fence. Bergman was able to walk away.
Handing the lead to Bogucki, the No. 28 made it to the white flag with breathing room, only to see caution lights come on for a pair of cars stopped on the track. Restarting with Colton Hardy in pursuit, the Phoenix, Ariz. shoe rolled into the final two turns with a full head of steam, but contact with the wall sealed the deal for Bogucki’s fifth career National Tour victory.
Hardy’s best career finish against the National Tour, the defending ASCS Southwest Regional Champion, was pursued by Matt Covington, who had second until Hardy rolled by on Lap 23. Blake Hahn from 10th made it to fourth, with J.J. Hickle following from 11th to complete the top five.
Picking up 10 positions, Missouri’s Tyler Blank was quite the show as the highest finishing driver with the Racinboys.com ASCS Warrior Region presented by Impact Signs, Awnings, and Wraps. Tyler Thomas from 14th ended up seventh, with Alex Hill rebounding from the tail to finish eighth. Ryan Bickett was then night’s Hard Charger with 11 spots gained in ninth. Colby Thornhill completed the top ten for the second time in his career.
A field of 23 was on hand Friday night with SCE Gaskets Heat Race wins going to Garet Williamson, Scott Bogucki, and Matt Covington. Everyone started the SawBlade.com A-Feature.
The next event for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network and Racinboys.com ASCS Warrior Region presented by Impact Signs, Awnings, and Wraps will be Saturday, May 29, and Sunday, May 30 at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. The weekend finale offers teams a $10,000 payday.
The 2021 season is the 30th year of competition for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
For the first time, the series can be seen live on two platforms, with Racinboys.com and FloRacing.com featuring National Tour events in tandem. Both are subscription-based sites. FloRacing.com is $20 per month, billed annually at $150 per year. Racinboys.com is $29.99 per month.
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 in 2021, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
ASCS Warrior Region
Tri-City Speedway (Pontoon Beach, Ill.)
Friday, May 21, 2021
Car Count: 23
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (All Cars advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Garet Williamson[2]; 2. 41-Colton Hardy[1]; 3. 77X-Alex Hill[4]; 4. 63-JJ Hickle[5]; 5. 52-Blake Hahn[8]; 6. 99-Carson McCarl[3]; 7. 91-Zach Pringle[6]; 8. 88-Travis Reber[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki[3]; 2. 23-Seth Bergman[4]; 3. 11-Austin O’Neal[6]; 4. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[7]; 5. 75-Tyler Blank[2]; 6. 19-Colby Thornhill[8]; 7. 28V-Luke Verardi[1]; 8. 86-Timothy Smith[5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington[2]; 2. 13-Brayden Gaylord[3]; 3. 21-Gunner Ramey[1]; 4. 11C-Colton Fisher[5]; 5. 91T-Tyler Thomas[7]; 6. 14M-Jordan Masson[4]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[6]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki[2]; 2. 41-Colton Hardy[5]; 3. 95-Matt Covington[4]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn[10]; 5. 63-JJ Hickle[11]; 6. 75-Tyler Blank[16]; 7. 91T-Tyler Thomas[14]; 8. 77X-Alex Hill[9]; 9. 17B-Ryan Bickett[20]; 10. 19-Colby Thornhill[15]; 11. 24-Garet Williamson[3]; 12. 99-Carson McCarl[18]; 13. 28V-Luke Verardi[22]; 14. 86-Timothy Smith[23]; 15. 23-Seth Bergman[1]; 16. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[8]; 17. 88-Travis Reber[21]; 18. 11-Austin O’Neal[7]; 19. 13-Brayden Gaylord[6]; 20. 21-Gunner Ramey[13]; 21. 11C-Colton Fisher[12]; 22. 14M-Jordan Masson[17]; 23. 91-Zach Pringle[19]
Lap Leader(s): Seth Bergman 1-19; Scott Bogucki 20-25
Hard Charger: Ryan Bickett +11
High Point Driver: Scott Bogucki
Provisional(s): N/A
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs (@lucasoilascs)
Instagram: LucasOilASCS
Broadcast: FloRacing.com and Racinboys.com
Live-Scoring (Where Applicable): MRP Live
2021 Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Blake Hahn 1,051; 2. Matt Covington 1,042; 3. JJ Hickle 1,024; 4. Scott Bogucki 963; 5. Seth Bergman 947; 6. Dylan Westbrook 923; 7. Ryan Bickett 851; 8. Colby Thornhill 850; 9. Travis Reber 724; 10. Alex Hill 699;
2021 A-Feature Winner(s): JJ Hickle – 2 (3/19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 3/20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Blake Hahn – 2 (4/17 – Park Jefferson Speedway); 5/15 – Volunteer Speedway); Blane Heimbach – 1 (5/1 – Selinsgrove Speedway); Matt Covington – 1 (5/8 – I-96 Speedway); Scott Bogucki – 1 (5/21 – Tri-City Speedway);