From Bryan Hulbert
KANSAS CITY, Ks. (August 2, 2022) — Leading the only lap that mattered, Blake Hahn made up a nearly 2.5-second disadvantage over the final five laps to steal the win away from Matt Covington off the final turn of the Marmon/Keystone Road to Knoxville at Lakeside Speedway on Tuesday night.
“We really needed this win. We’ve had some strong runs, but it’s about being in Victory Lane. We came in with a car that’s been fast the last few nights out, just needed to rein in my mistakes and take advantage of those chances to win, and tonight was the night. My crew had this thing fine-tuned. Dalton had it where I could run the top or the bottom,” stated Hahn of his first National win of the season.
Hahn’s 17th career victory with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, he is the seventh different winner in just as many tour appearances at the Kansas City oval and the 12th different winner on the 2022 season. The win also put Blake back atop the points by nine.
On stoppage working Lap 5, Hahn restarted fourth as Covington led the way. Taking over the runner-up spot on Lap 14, Hahn began picking through lapped traffic with Covington able to maintain nearly straightaway over the Sage Fruit, Co./CSR Garage No. 52. Down the closing five revolutions, Covington found his advantage dwindle slightly as he fought with traffic.
Getting clear of the slower cars, the field raced around to two laps to run. Still trailing by over a half straightaway, Hahn worked low to three and four and rolled a diamond through the first and second turns. Closing the gap to the white flag, Hahn again turned top to bottom through turns one and two with a massive run to turn three.
Entering on Covington’s back bumper, the No. 95 crept up as they rounded the fourth turn, exposing the low line to Hahn, who rotated through and powered by for the win.
Matt Covington settled for second, with Brandon Anderson posting his second career podium finish. Battling back and forth with the No. 55b for several laps, Jason Martin ended up fourth, with Ryan Timms moving from ninth to fifth.
Wayne Johnson rolled the hub from 11th to sixth, followed by Riley Goodno in seventh. Running top five much of the first half of the race, Australia’s Rusty Hickman ended up eighth, with Chase Porter and Tim Crawley making up the top ten.
The field of 20 settled into three SCE Gaskets Heat Races. Wins went to Brandon Anderson, Matt Covington, and Chase Porter. The Driver’s Project overall quick qualifier was Blake Hahn, setting a new track record at 15.021-seconds. The record was previously held by Ian Madsen at 15.121-seconds, set on August 11, 2020.
Up next for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is the 32nd annual 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank at Knoxville Raceway. Happing August 4-6, the event will be shown exclusively on http://www.dirtvision.com.
The 2022 season will mark the 31st year of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours that encompass both wing and non-wing competition.
For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Road to Knoxville
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour / ASCS Warrior Region
Lakeside Speedway
Kansas City, Kansas
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
The Driver’s Project Group Qualifying
The Drivers Project Qualifying (3 Laps)
1. 21-Gunner Ramey, 15.147[7]
2. 22-Riley Goodno, 15.166[5]
3. 45-Rusty Hickman, 15.362[1]
4. 55B-Brandon Anderson, 15.489[3]
5. 10P-Dylan Postier, 15.592[6]
6. 1X-Tim Crawley, 15.598[2]
7. 187-Landon Crawley, 15.886[4]
The Drivers Project Qualifying 2 (3 Laps)
1. 52-Blake Hahn, 15.023[6]
2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 15.048[7]
3. 95-Matt Covington, 15.060[3]
4. 5T-Ryan Timms, 15.253[4]
5. 98P-Miles Paulus, 15.378[1]
6. 7C-Chris Morgan, 15.539[2]
7. 17B-Ryan Bickett, 15.574[5]
The Drivers Project Qualifying 3 (3 Laps)
1. 36-Jason Martin, 15.336[4]
2. 10-Landon Britt, 15.493[1]
3. 22S-Slater Helt, 15.511[5]
4. 2P-Chase Porter, 15.538[6]
5. 2-Dylan Opdahl, NT 6. 45X-Kyler Johnson, NT
SCE Gaskets Heat Race #Races (All drivers advance to the A-Feature)
SCE Gaskets Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 55B-Brandon Anderson[1]
2. 45-Rusty Hickman[2]
3. 22-Riley Goodno[3]
4. 1X-Tim Crawley[6]
5. 21-Gunner Ramey[4]
6. 10P-Dylan Postier[5]
7. 187-Landon Crawley[7]
SCE Gaskets Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 95-Matt Covington[2]
2. 5T-Ryan Timms[1]
3. 52-Blake Hahn[4]
4. 2C-Wayne Johnson[3]
5. 7C-Chris Morgan[6]
6. 98P-Miles Paulus[5]
7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[7]
SCE Gaskets Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 2P-Chase Porter[1]
2. 36-Jason Martin[4]
3. 10-Landon Britt[3]
4. 22S-Slater Helt[2]
5. 2-Dylan Opdahl[5]
6. 45X-Kyler Johnson[6]
A-Feature
Lucas Oil A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 52-Blake Hahn[3]
2. 95-Matt Covington[2]
3. 55B-Brandon Anderson[4]
4. 36-Jason Martin[1]
5. 5T-Ryan Timms[9]
6. 2C-Wayne Johnson[11]
7. 22-Riley Goodno[7]
8. 45-Rusty Hickman[6]
9. 2P-Chase Porter[5]
10. 1X-Tim Crawley[10]
11. 98P-Miles Paulus[17]
12. 10-Landon Britt[8]
13. 17B-Ryan Bickett[19]
14. 187-Landon Crawley[20]
15. 10P-Dylan Postier[18]
16. 21-Gunner Ramey[12]
17. 22S-Slater Helt[13]
18. 7C-Chris Morgan[14]
19. 45X-Kyler Johnson[16]
20. 2-Dylan Opdahl[15]
Lap Leader(s): Matt Covington 1-24; Blake Hahn 25
Hard Charger: Miles Paulus +6
Quick Time: Blake Hahn 15.021-seconds (NTR)
High Point Driver: Jason Martin
Provisional(s): N/A