From Bryan Hulbert
BELGRADE, Mont. (July 9, 2021) – A much-needed rebound after a heartbreaking finish to the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, Oklahoma’s Blake Hahn returned to SawBlade.com Victory Lane with a dominating performance on Night 1 of the NAPA of Bozeman Grizzly Nationals with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
Hahn’s third win at the Gallatin Speedway since sweeping the Grizzly Nationals in 2016, the win is his fourth on the season and 13th all-time with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
“We needed this one after the way our trip to Washington ended,” stated Hahn. “Our car after Dirt Cup was junk. We had to cut the right side off just to get the engine out, so this was the first night on our backup car, and it worked. I could pretty much run anywhere I needed to, plus the track was awesome. Hopefully, we get something like that tomorrow.”
Chasing Scott Bogucki at the start, the SawBlade.com No. 28 rolled to the lead from third on Lap 1. Keeping Hahn at bay through a couple of cautions, one of which reverted a pass by Hahn, a Lap 9 restart saw Bogucki switch lines from the bottom to the middle. Leaving the hub open for Hahn, the Sage Fruit, Co. No. 52 shot to the lead through the third and fourth turns.
“Scott changed his line, so I just committed the bottom and hoped he wasn’t going to turn it down to catch the moisture. When he didn’t, I just focused on getting him going into three and making sure I didn’t miss my line and take each other out.”
Into traffic in a matter of laps, the slower cars did little to slow Blake, who lapped into the top ten before the checked flag dropped.
Winning by 3.627-seconds, the race for second was intense through the final five laps as Scott Bogucki worked to hold off J.J. Hickle. Opening his line on Lap 23, Hickle was able to sneak by to claim the runner-up finish with 17th starting Dylan Westbrook making a final lap pass for the show position. Settling for fourth, Bogucki was chased to the line by Matt Covington.
James Setters, in sixth, posted his best career finish against the National Tour. Bringing out the caution as the field made a second attempt at the start of the A-Feature, Logan Forler tore through the field to finish seventh. Colby Thornhill was eighth with Alex Hill ninth. Washington’s Lane Taylor completed the top ten.
A field of 23 drivers made up Night 1 of the NAPA of Bozeman Grizzly Nationals. Three SCE Gaskets Heat Races were won by James Setters, Logan Forler, and Scott Bogucki. Everyone advanced to the A-Feature.
Racing continues at Gallatin Speedway on Saturday, July 10. Gates open at 5:00 P.M. with racing at 7:00 P.M. (MDT). Tickets are $20 for adults, with kids 12 and under free into the Grandstands. Saturday will also feature WISSOTA Super Stocks. Gallatin Speedway is located at 2290 Tubb Rd. in Belgrade, Mont. Information on Gallatin Speedway can be found online at https://www.gallatinspeedway.com or by calling (406) 388-ZOOM (9666).
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by MAVtv
Gallatin Speedway
Belgrade, Montana
Friday, July 9, 2021
Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 2J-James Setters[1]
2. 52-Blake Hahn[5]
3. 17B-Ryan Bickett[2]
4. 4L-Lane Taylor[6]
5. 88-Travis Reber[8]
6. 74U-Chauncey Filler[7]
7. 00B-Michael Bingham[4]
8. 2X-Mike Manwill[3]
Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 2L-Logan Forler[4]
2. 33T-Tyler Driever[1]
3. 9K-Kory Wermling[2]
4. 37-Trever Kirkland[8]
5. 34-Trevor Plambeck[5]
6. 2-Shad Petersen[3]
7. 77-Damon McCune[7]
8. 31-Shane Moore[6]
Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 28-Scott Bogucki[1]
2. 77X-Alex Hill[3]
3. 63-JJ Hickle[4]
4. 95-Matt Covington[6]
5. 19-Colby Thornhill[7]
6. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[5]
7. 38B-Bryan Brown[2]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 52-Blake Hahn[2]
2. 63-JJ Hickle[5]
3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[17]
4. 28-Scott Bogucki[3]
5. 95-Matt Covington[10]
6. 2J-James Setters[1]
7. 2L-Logan Forler[4]
8. 19-Colby Thornhill[14]
9. 77X-Alex Hill[7]
10. 4L-Lane Taylor[9]
11. 33T-Tyler Driever[8]
12. 88-Travis Reber[11]
13. 9K-Kory Wermling[13]
14. 17B-Ryan Bickett[12]
15. 74U-Chauncey Filler[16]
16. 38B-Bryan Brown[21]
17. 34-Trevor Plambeck[15]
18. 77-Damon McCune[19]
19. 00B-Michael Bingham[20]
20. 37-Trever Kirkland[6]
21. 2-Shad Petersen[18]
22. 31-Shane Moore[22]
23. 2X-Mike Manwill[23]