By Jordan Delucia
HUTCHINSON, KS (May 28, 2025) — The summer stretch of racing begins this weekend for the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) with a swing through Kansas at Salt City Speedway and Dodge City Speedway.
Salt City Speedway, located at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, KS, has never hosted the stars of the national 360 Sprint Car circuit and will play host to a standard-purse event on Friday, May 30. ASCS will be joined by IMCA Stock Cars and Super Stocks. Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m.; Hot Laps at 6:30 p.m.
The Series then shifts its attention to Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, KS, on Saturday, May 31 for the 15th running of the Steve King Memorial. A $4,000 grand prize will go to the winner of the memorial event, run in remembrance of the life and career of Steve King — a local 360 Sprint Car racer from Jetmore, KS, who was killed in a crash at the 2006 Knoxville Nationals. The IMCA Northern Sport Mods and IMCA Hobby Stocks will support the ASCS program. Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m.; Hot Laps set for 6 p.m.
Read Also — American Sprint Car Series Salutes Local Hero Steve King in Memorial Event at Dodge City
Tickets for the event at Salt City Speedway are on sale in advance at the link below and will also be on sale at the gate on race day. Dodge City tickets will be sold at the gate only.
SALT CITY SPEEDWAY TICKETS
If you can’t be at the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this weekend:
DODGE THIS — Sam Hafertepe Jr. is one of only two drivers in Series history to win in back-to-back fashion at Dodge City and will try for a three-peat this Saturday.
The 39-year-old from Sunnyvale, TX, swept both Series races at the venue last year — first taking the checkers in June after early leader Matt Covington dropped out after a collision with a lapped car. He won again in August, leading all 30 laps of the Steve King Memorial, making him the second driver to win back-to-back races at the track after Jeff Swindell did it in consecutive nights in 2012.
The five-time Series champion has also been competitive in 410 Sprint Car competition at the track in the past, collecting five top-10 finishes in 11 appearances with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, including a best finish of third there in 2009.
WEEKEND WINNER — After a third-place run with the Series at Paducah, Jason Martin continued the swing of good momentum into US 36 Raceway last Friday, where he won with the POWRi 410 Outlaw Sprint League.
Martin, the 2023 Series champion from Liberal, KS, collected his first Feature win of the year at the Missouri oval, topping a field that included Knoxville Raceway champion Austin McCarl, and various Midwest Sprint Car regulars like Kameron Key, Noah Gass and Ayrton Gennetten.
Historically, Martin has been strong at Dodge City, winning nine total Features with various different organizations including with URSS, two with the National Championship Racing Association (NCRA) and one with the American Sprint Car Series in 2023.
HOME STATE HEROES — Kyler Johnson and Zach Blurton are another two Kansas natives racing around home this weekend at two tracks where they’ve turned laps at and won before.
Johnson, 21, of Quinter, KS, has one appearance at Salt City in his career, resulting in a fifth-place finish with the United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS) in 2020. He’s had success in both a Sprint Car and a Midget at Dodge City, topping a URSS race there in 2021 in addition to two wins with the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association.
Blurton, 30 — also from Quinter — won Salt City’s marquee Hutchinson Grand Nationals in 2022 with URSS and has amassed seven total URSS wins at Dodge City, dating back to his first in 2013. Last year, Blurton posted top-10 finishes in both American Sprint Car Series visits.
HEATING UP — Matt Covington topped the field the last time out, collecting his 20th career Series victory in the return to Paducah International Raceway on May 10. This broke a 21-month-long streak of being shut out of ASCS Victory Lane, dating back to August 2023.
The 34-year-old ASCS regional champion from Glenpool, OK, has had past success at Dodge City with four top-five finishes in five career starts, including a Western Plans Region win last year and a win with the national Series in 2023.
Recently, Covington has been contesting weekly 360 Sprint Car events at Knoxville Raceway, recording a third-place run against the locals on May 3 and a 10th-place finish last Saturday.
305 KING — Rookie of the Year contender Ryder Laplante clinched the inaugural IMCA RaceSaver Speedweek points championship this past weekend, which hosted five consecutive nights of racing at five different tracks across Arkansas and Texas.
The 18-year-old from Calera, OK, posted an average finish of 4.4 over the five-race stretch with the 305 Sprint Car group, including a win Thursday at Rocket Raceway Park.
He returns to ASCS competition this weekend after taking the last Series event at Paducah off — as permitted by the one-race drop stipulation for perfect attendance drivers — and will take on Dodge City on Saturday, where he qualified for the ASCS main event last year.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
WHEN AND WHERE
Friday, May 30 at Salt City Speedway in Hutchinson, KS
Saturday, May 31 at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, KS
TRACK FACTS
• Salt City — semi-banked, 1/2-mile oval
• Dodge City — semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval
• Salt City Track Record — none established
• Dodge City Track Record — 13.444 seconds set by Sam Hafertepe Jr. on June 1, 2024
ON THE INTERNET
X — @ASCSRacing
Instagram — @ascs_racing
Facebook — @AmericanSprintCarSeries
YouTube — @AmericanSprintCarSeries
DIRTVision — DIRTVision.com (Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month)
CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (4/41 Races)
Sam Hafertepe Jr. (292pts)
Matt Covington 275pts (–17)
Blake Hahn 255pts (–37)
Seth Bergman 246pts (–46)
Jordon Mallett 235pts (–57)
Landon Britt 235pts (–57)
Jason Martin 233 (–59)
Harli White 230 (–62)
Austyn Gossel 214 (–78)
Kyler Johnson 214 (–78)