By Matt Skipper
TEXARKANA, AR (July 11, 2026) — Fireworks sprouted the American Sprint Car Series visit to Texarkana 67 Speedway for the Ralph Henson Memorial, and it was Seth Bergman who shone brightest.
The Snohomish, WA driver became the first to score three Feature victories in the 2026 season, with a dogfight between his two championship adversaries through 30 laps at the 1/4-mile bullring Saturday night.
Brady Baker and Matt Covington set the front row, with Baker taking the lead on the opening circuit. On the second lap, Covington drove to the bottom in Turn 1 but slid up and made contact with Baker, resulting in race-ending damage to the No. 71 and making Covington the new leader.
On the restart, Covington used the cushion while Bergman and Sam Hafertepe Jr. followed in tow around the bottom lane. Bergman had the advantage over Covington, which propelled him to the lead. Hafertepe followed Bergman’s tracks around the bottom and got ahead of the No. 95 on Lap 4.
Bergman continued to use the bottom as Hafertepe shifted his line to the top side, but both drivers remained equal in distance until lap traffic arrived on Lap 10. Bergman moved to the cushion to avoid lapped cars in his line as Hafertepe closed within 0.5 seconds of the lead.
Throughout the run, the two drivers remained glued to the cushion until the final caution was flown on Lap 24, stacking the field for a six-lap dash to the twin checkered flags.
Bergman aced the restart as Hafertepe worked to protect his runner-up position. The Oklahoma Chillers No. 23 Triple X Chassis drove away to a 2.4-second gap, scoring his first win in the Ralph Henson Memorial and tying Shane Stewart for eighth on the all-time National Tour wins list.
“It was technical, but this place is one badass racetrack,” Bergman said. “We were just really good, and it’s the Ralph Henson Memorial, and I’m probably one of the only guys in the field that actually ran against Ralph. It’s a great family, and I’m honored to win this race in his honor.
“This car here lately, we’ve been hitting on some things, and I think it shows. We have a really good piece, and we’ve been struggling. I just couldn’t be happier with the feels that the car’s been giving me. I can act like a race car driver, get out there, make decisions, and win races.”
With Hafertepe finishing second and Covington third, the Sunnyvale, TX pilot retook the points lead by five markers. Rookie Cole Schroeder earned his first career top-five finish in the Series with a fourth-place finish, and Kyler Johnson worked up eight positions to round out the top five and earn the Hard Charger award.
Recap Notes:
Quick Time Award: Matt Covington (13.880 sec.)
Heat Race Winners: Brady Baker, Seth Bergman, Howard Moore
Honest Abe Roofing Dash Winner: Brady Baker
Last Chance Showdown Winner: Brogan Carder
Hard Charger Award: Kyler Johnson (+8)
Up Next: The American Sprint Car Series returns to Kansas with Dodge City Raceway Park hosting the Steve King Memorial on Saturday, July 25. Joining the National Tour at the event will be the ASCS Gunsmoke Region and Sooner Region.
DODGE CITY INFO
Where can you watch every lap of the American Sprint Car Series? Live on DIRTVision.
RESULTS: Feature (30 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman[2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 3. 95-Matt Covington[3]; 4. 3-Cole Schroeder[7]; 5. 45X-Kyler Johnson[13]; 6. 47-Dale Howard[11]; 7. 10-Landon Britt[9]; 8. 88R-Ryder Laplante[6]; 9. 88C-Brogan Carder[16]; 10. 63-Jack Thomas[14]; 11. 88-Terry Easum[17]; 12. 938-Bradley Fezard[12]; 13. 16G-Austyn Gossel[19]; 14. 71T-Christopher Townsend[10]; 15. G6-Jake Jones[15]; 16. 12W-Dale Wester[20]; 17. 9-Josh McCord[22]; 18. 30-Joseph Miller[21]; 19. 8Z-Zach Pringle[18]; 20. 6-Cody Gardner[8]; 21. 71-Brady Baker[1]; 22. 40-Howard Moore[5]