Bryan Hulbert
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (August 3, 2021) Rolling into Lakeside Speedway to take on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network on Tuesday night, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. proved he hasn’t lost his touch as the Hills Racing No. 15h traded blows in traffic with Dylan Westbrook before parking in SawBlade.com Victory Lane at the Road To Knoxville presented by Terry Mattox Promotions and Racinboys.com.
“It was fun racing with Dylan. I think on open track, we were going to run one/two regardless,” stated Sam of the race with his Hills Racing teammate.
Going 25 non-stop laps, Hafertepe’s win is the first of his career at Lakeside Speedway, his 56th with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, and the eighth consecutive year the Sunnyvale, Texas driver has won a National Tour A-Feature.
Keeping focus on a 410cid schedule in 2021, Hafertepe used the Tuesday event as a shakedown session for the upcoming My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank. Gridding the field seventh, Sam rolled into second on Lap 7. In pursuit of teammate Dylan Westbrook, lapped traffic brought the Nitro 54 Variety No. 47x within striking distance on Lap 14.
Taking point on the following lap, traffic was not done with the leaders as Westbrook shot back into the lead two laps later. Putting a half straightaway on Hafertepe, that lead was quickly taken away as Westbrook found himself on the brakes trying to avoid running over a slower car.
Giving Sam the opportunity he needed to retake the top spot, the final six revolutions went the way to Hafertepe, with Westbrook making it to the finish 1.945-seconds after the No. 15h.
On the race in traffic, Hafertepe said, “It’s tough for Dylan because when I got to him, he hadn’t seen anyone the entire race, so it’s hard to gauge if the top or bottom was better. If he stayed low, I was screwed because it was a tick better. You could use the top to get around lapped cars if you needed to. Once I got to him, and he started searching, I knew we’d have a chance at getting the win.”
Rolling up from eighth, Blake Hahn made it to third with J.J. Hickle in pursuit from ninth. Slipping back to eighth during the mid-point of the event, Ryan Timms rebound to finish fifth. Leading the opening lap of the A-Feature, El Paso’s John Carney II ended up sixth, with Tanner Holmes picking eight positions to be the night’s Hard Charger. Jamie Ball ended up eighth with Ryan Bickett ninth. Matt Covington completed the top ten.
A field of 26 was on hand Tuesday night, with three SCE Gaskets Heat Races going to Matt Covington, John Carney II, and Dylan Westbrook. Each got an extra $100 courtesy of Terry Mattox. Extra money was also awarded from Terry to Tanner Holmes ($200) for being the Hard Charger. Dylan Westbrook got $300 for leading the most laps, and Jack Wagner received $200 as the highest finish driver with the Racinboys.com ASCS Warrior Region presented by Impact Signs, Awnings, and Wraps.
The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network races next at the 31st My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank at Knoxville Raceway on August 5, 6, and 7. Tickets are on sale at http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com or at the Box Office on the day of the race.
Live coverage of the Knoxville Raceway is found exclusively on http://www.dirtvision.com.
The 2021 season is the 30th year of competition for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
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
Lakeside Speedway (Kansas City, Kan.)
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Car Count: 26
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (All Drivers advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington[1]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn[2]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[5]; 4. 63-JJ Hickle[6]; 5. 22S-Slater Helt[3]; 6. 18T-Tanner Holmes[7]; 7. 21-Gunner Ramey[4]; 8. 92J-JR Topper[8]; 9. 11-Austin O’Neal[9]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. J2-John Carney II[1]; 2. 4W-Jamie Ball[3]; 3. 5T-Ryan Timms[4]; 4. 19-Colby Thornhill[2]; 5. 17B-Ryan Bickett[8]; 6. 18W-Lorne Wofford[6]; 7. 35-Jason Shultz[5]; 8. 7-Brodrick Nickens[7]; 9. 77X-Alex Hill[9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[6]; 2. 19G-Wes Wofford[1]; 3. 7B-Ben Brown[3]; 4. 77-Jack Wagner[5]; 5. 88-Travis Reber[4]; 6. 73-Samuel Wagner[2]; 7. 2-Chase Porter[7]; 8. 3Z-Zach Davis[8]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A-Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 2. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[3]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn[8]; 4. 63-JJ Hickle[9]; 5. 5T-Ryan Timms[5]; 6. J2-John Carney II[1]; 7. 18T-Tanner Holmes[15]; 8. 4W-Jamie Ball[2]; 9. 17B-Ryan Bickett[10]; 10. 95-Matt Covington[4]; 11. 77-Jack Wagner[12]; 12. 2-Chase Porter[19]; 13. 19G-Wes Wofford[6]; 14. 21-Gunner Ramey[21]; 15. 19-Colby Thornhill[13]; 16. 22S-Slater Helt[16]; 17. 7B-Ben Brown[11]; 18. 88-Travis Reber[14]; 19. 73-Samuel Wagner[18]; 20. 92J-JR Topper[23]; 21. 7-Brodrick Nickens[24]; 22. (DNF) 18W-Lorne Wofford[17]; 23. (DNS) 35-Jason Shultz; 24. (DNS) 3Z-Zach Davis; 25. (DNS) 11-Austin O’Neal; 26. (DNS) 77X-Alex Hill
Lap Leader(s): John Carney II 1; Dylan Westbrook 2-14, 18-19; Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 15-17, 20-25;
Hard Charger: Tanner Holmes +8
High Point Driver: Dylan Westbrook
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