Danny Lasoski strikes Lucas Oil ASCS Gold in Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals

October 23, 2011

Danny Lasoski added his name to the prestigious list of Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals champions by racing to victory lane in Saturday night’s 38th Annual edition of the event atop the ½-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

Danny Lasoski and crew in Devil's Bowl victory lane after taking the $10,000 winner's share at the 38th Annual Winter Nationals. Tim Aylwin photo.

Danny Lasoski and crew in Devil's Bowl victory lane after taking the $10,000 winner's share at the 38th Annual Winter Nationals. Tim Aylwin photo.

“The Dude” slipped past Sam Hafertepe, Jr., just past the midway point en route to snaring the $10,000 winner’s share in the 30-lapper as he collected his first Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National win of the year and just second of his career.

After taking command exiting turn four on the 16th round, the Show-Me Stater led rest of the way to take the win aboard Mark Burch’s Engler Machine No. 1m Wolfweld with a 1.155 second advantage over Hafertepe, Jr.

“I was in this position in the Spring with my own car, I was leading the race and rubber got down and Hafertepe got by me,” Lasoski explained. “I just tried to pace myself and stay with him. If he slipped up a little bit, we just wanted to be there to capitalize and that’s all it was.”

Which is precisely how the 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale played out, as Spring Nationals winner Hafertepe, Jr., gunned into the lead from the front row outside and paced the initial 15 circuits in front of Lasoski until one slight bobble in turn four opened the door for Lasoski to race into the lead.

But, before Lasoski took command, eighth-starter Jason Johnson made his way past Friday night winner Wayne Johnson for third by the sixth round and made it a three-car race for the lead for several laps before a lapped car fell into place between Lasoski and J. Johnson.

Once Lasoski got into the lead, he slipped away and appeared to be on his way to the checkered flag without challenge until a caution flew with just four laps to go when Koby Barksdale spun to a stop in turn four.

With Hafertepe, Jr., and J. Johnson in tow on the restart, Lasoski proved too much to handle and cruised to the stripe unabated with Hafertepe, Jr., taking runner-up honors in the Fisher-powered Lone Star Speedway No. 15h for the second night in a row.

Johnson claimed the show position in the Don Ott-powered Haynes/Mesilla Valley Transport No. 41 Maxim, with Brady Bacon making a move past Wayne Johnson in the final ten circuits to snare fourth in the Wesmar-powered Fatheadz Eyewear No. 99 Triple X.

Wayne Johnson held fifth until the final lap when he popped a right rear tire, ultimately limping across the stripe in 14th.

Current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader Shane Stewart took advantage by rounding out the top five in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita No. 57 A.R.T., with Brian Brown, 2010 Winter Nationals champion Jack Dover, Terry McCarl, Gary Wright and Robert Sellers completing the top ten.

The early rounds of the race were interrupted by two cautions. The first appeared after one lap when Jeff Swindell limped to a stop off of turn three after a near-crash on the frontstretch. The next one flew after four circuits when Tony Bruce, Jr., spun to a stop in turn two. The next 22 circuits ran off in non-stop fashion until Barksdale stopped in turn four.

Brown, Stewart, Dover, Sellers, Lasoski and McCarl topped Saturday night’s heat race action, with Seth Bergman, Danny Wood and Travis Rilat winning the “B” Mains. A total of 56 different drivers competed in the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters portion of the 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters
38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals Finale
Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX

Heat Races (Top 12 in Passing Points, including the heat race winners, to “A” Main; Balance to Three “B” Main):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 1j-Danny Jennings, 3. 30-Brandon Corn, 4. 48-Jake Martens, 5. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 6. 224-John Carney II, 7. 49-Mike Peters, 8. 10-George White. DNS: 3-Raven Culp.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 40-Clint Garner, 6. 11c-Matt Covington, 7. 54e-Claud Estes, 8. 88-Tim Crawley, 9. 15T-Travis Elliott.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 81-Danny Wood, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 6. 05-Brad Loyet, 7. 28-Jeff Swindell, 8. 110-Cameron Hagin.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 36-Robert Sellers, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 0-Zach Chappell, 4. 23-Seth Bergman, 5. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 11g-Mike Goodman, 8. E85-Sean McClelland.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 1m-Danny Lasoski, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 7s-Shane Sellers, 6. 81au-Gavin Punch, 7. 6-Justin Spoerl. DNS: 22a-Dan Adkins.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 97-Terry McCarl, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 5h-Mason Moore, 5. 94-Derek Hagar, 6. 54-Evan Pardo, 7. 12-Dale Wester. DNS: 2-Dustin Morgan.

“B” Mains (Top 2 from Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 48-Jake Martens, 6. 5h-Mason Moore, 7. 54e-Claud Estes, 8. 110-Cameron Hagin, 9. 0-Zach Chappell, 10. 81au-Gavin Punch, 11. 28-Jeff Swindell. DNS: 40-Clint Garner, 22a-Dan Adkins.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 81-Danny Wood, 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 5. 88-Mike Ward, 6. 224-John Carney II, 7. 71-Channin Tankersley, 8. 49-Mike Peters, 9. 54-Evan Pardo, 10. 6-Justin Spoerl, 11. 30-Brandon Corn. DNS: 15T-Travis Elliott, 2-Dustin Morgan.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 11c-Matt Covington, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 11g-Mike Goodman, 5. 05-Brad Loyet, 6. 94-Derek Hagar, 7. E85-Sean McClelland, 8. 7s-Shane Sellers, 9. 12-Dale Wester, 10. 10-George White, 11. 3-Raven Culp, 12. 14-Michael Lang.

38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals “A” Main:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1m-Danny Lasoski, 2. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 21-Brian Brown, 7. 53-Jack Dover, 8. 97-Terry McCarl, 9. 9-Gary Wright, 10. 36-Robert Sellers, 11. 88-Tim Crawley, 12. 81-Danny Wood, 13. 29-Travis Rilat, 14. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 15. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 16. 1j-Danny Jennings, 17. 23-Seth Bergman, 18. 5-Koby Barksdale, 19. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 20. 11c-Matt Covington, 21. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 22. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 23. 45-Martin Edwards, 24. 28-Jeff Swindell.

Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1-15, Danny Lasoski 16-30.

Note: Jeff Swindell and Tim Crawley both utilized their mid-season bonus full-point provisional to start the main event. Swindell has two partial-point provisionals remaining while Crawley has one partial-point provisional remaining.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Driver Points (Top 15): 1. Shane Stewart 2,711, 2. Johnny Herrera 2,574 3. Jeff Swindell 2,528, 4. Brady Bacon 2,461, 5. Tim Crawley 2,413, 6. Gary Wright 2,373, 7. Jason Johnson 2,294, 8. Seth Bergman 2,217, 9. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,203, 10. Aaron Reutzel 2,142, 11. Zach Chappell 1,926, 12. Wayne Johnson 1,678, 13. (tie) Dustin Morgan and Jack Dover 1,371, 15. Danny Wood 1,175.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 2,846, 2. Paul Silva #57 – 2,711, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 2,574, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 2,528, 5. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 2,461, 6. Mike Ward #88 – 2,413, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 2,217, 8. Bruce Racing #18 – 2,203, 9. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 2,142, 10. Randy Washburn #0 – 1,926, 11. Gary Wright #9 – 1,777, 12. M&M Motorsports #2 – 1,371, 13. Bryan Sundby #38 – 1,196, 14. Danny Wood #81 – 1,175, 15. Jack Dover #53 – 1,099

Story by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo by Tim Aylwin

Joe Wood, Jr, whips ASCS Foes in Devil’s Bowl Summer Nationals

June 19, 2011

Joe Wood, Jr., padded his American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region points lead by topping Saturday’s main event at the Devil’s Bowl Summer Nationals that pitted the ASCS Sooner forces versus The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region contenders.

Joe Wood, Jr., celbrates his big Summer Nationals win in the Devil's Bowl victory circle. (Tim Aylwin photo)

Joe Wood, Jr., celbrates his big Summer Nationals win in the Devil's Bowl victory circle. (Tim Aylwin photo)

The ASCS Sooner champion in 2009, Wood, Jr., assumed the point on lap 18 and went on to post his first win of the year and fifth of his career aboard the familiar No. 03 machine.

While Wood, Jr., started Saturday’s Summer Nationals finale inside the second row, it was front row outside starter Kevin Ramey gunning into the lead at the outset and pacing the initial 17 circuits until spinning exiting turn four with a broken left front shock tower.

Wood, Jr., still had to earn the win though, as ninth-starter Brady Bacon pulled alongside to challenge for the top spot in the final corner, only to have Wood, Jr., beat the Broken Arrow, OK, racer to the line for the $2,000 triumph.

Bacon settled for runner-up honors for the second night in a row, with New Mexico’s Joshua Hodges claiming the show position. Dustin Morgan climbed ten spots from 14th to fourth, with Andy Shouse rounding out the top five.

Defending ASCS Lone Star champion Eric Baldaccini was sixth, with Dale Wester, Brandon Corn, 19th-starter Justin Melton and Friday night winner Tony Bruce, Jr., completing the top ten.

Wood, Jr., Hodges and Wester won Saturday night’s heat races, with Melton winning the “B” Main.

The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region versus American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Results from Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 11c-Matt Covington, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 2L-Logan Payne, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 45-Martin Edwards, 9. 77-Colt Treharn.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 2. 7-Michelle Decker, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 30-Brandon Corn, 5. 2-Dustin Morgan, 6. 54-Evan Pardo, 7. 110-Cameron Hagin, 8. 11-Justin Melton, 9. 76-John Ricketts.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 12-Dale Wester, 2. 61-Danny Jennings, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 5-Kyle McCutcheon, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 14b-Robert Byrom, 7. 45x-J.P. Bailey, 8. 35-Rick Wright, Jr.

“B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 77-Colt Treharn, 3. 74e-Claud Estes, 4. 45-Martin Edwards, 5. 110-Cameron Hagin, 6. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 7. 45x-J.P. Bailey, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 2-Dustin Morgan, 5. 27-Andy Shouse, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 12-Dale Wester, 8. 30-Brandon Corn, 9. 11-Justin Melton, 10. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 11. 74e-Claud Estes, 12. 54-Evan Pardo, 13. 45-Martin Edwards, 14. 5-Kyle McCutcheon, 15. 11c-Matt Covington, 16. 110-Cameron Hagin, 17. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 18. 2L-Logan Payne, 19. 61-Danny Jennings, 20. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 21. 14-Michael Lang, 22. 7-Michelle Decker, 23. 77-Colt Treharn, 24. 14b-Robert Byrom.

The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Matt Covington 1,011, 2. Eric Baldaccini 971, 3. Claud Estes 962, 4. Justin Melton 925, 5. Martin Edwards 919, 6. Michael Lang 917, 7. Evan Pardo 877, 8. John Ricketts 808, 9. Robert Byrom 806, 10. Dale Wester 638.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Joe Wood, Jr. 915, 2. Michelle Decker 840, 3. Andy Shouse 839, 4. Matt Covington 833, 5. Claud Estes 614, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. 566, 7. Brady Bacon 556, 8. Cameron Hagin 550, 9. Rick Wright, Jr. 545, 10. Koby Barksdale 541.

Sam Hafertepe, Jr, ASCS Gulf South winner at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

March 5, 2011

Sam Hafertepe, Jr., returned to his roots by racing to victory lane in Friday night’s season-opening Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Prelude to the Gulf Coast Nationals at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Sam Hafertepe, Jr., won Friday night's season-opening ASCS Gulf South Regionfeature at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, TX. (Lonnie Wheatley photo)

Sam Hafertepe, Jr., won Friday night's season-opening ASCS Gulf South Regionfeature at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, TX. (Lonnie Wheatley photo)

Working his way forward from the eighth starting position in the $3,000-to-win affair, the 2003 ASCS Gulf South Rookie of the Year chased down Wayne Johnson in lapped traffic on the 25th of 30 laps en route to his fourth career Gulf South score and eighth overall ASCS triumph aboard the Fisher-powered PlumbFast Racing/Lone Star Speedway No. 15h Maxim.

“Lapped traffic kind of played into our favor, I got Wayne into a tough spot where he had to lift and I got the right of way through there,” Hafertepe explained of the race-winning move. “Without that, I don’t think we could of got him, Wayne had a little better car.”

After racking up the most passing points by rallying from seventh to second in the night’s first of five heat races for the stacked 37-car field, Hafertepe pulled the eight pill in the redraw to start fourth row outside with Sean McClelland and Kevin Ramey on the front row.

With five combined Regional titles in Sooner and Lone Star competition leading the way to the green flag, reigning ASCS Sooner Region champion McClelland gunned into the lead at the outset and paced the initial circuits with fourth-starting Johnson moving Travis Rilat’s Shark-powered F&J Construction/Murray & Sons/shoptheboss.com No. 29 Triple-X into second before the first of two red flags flew after four laps.

The first red flag appeared for a three-car tangle in turn two in which Bruce Crockett got upside down, with the second red flying another four laps later when two-time series champion Brandon Berryman took a turn one tumble.

Up to fifth behind McClelland, Johnson, Ramey and George White by the time the second red flag flew, Hafertepe had to gain the remaining positions without benefit of caution as the final 22 circuits ran off in non-stop fashion.

Johnson immediately went to work on McClelland for the lead when action resumed, snaring the point in turns one and two on the tenth round with Hafertepe surging past both White and Ramey to take third by the 12th round.

With traffic coming into play, Hafertepe took second away from McClelland on the 21st round and then began to reel in the leader. When Johnson slipped high into the turn three and four cushion on the 25th circuit in traffic, Hafertepe was there to pounce with a power move to the low side exiting turn four and raced into the lead.

The 25-year-old Hafertepe raced on to the checkered flag, with Johnson settling for runner-up honors aboard the familiar Rilat entry. “We just kinda lost the car at the end, a bleeder went bad in the left rear and we just couldn’t get any drive off the corners,” Johnson explained.

After pacing the early circuits, McClelland settled for the show position in the Maxwell Oil No. 1, explaining that, “I just drove the wrong lines, screwed up a little bit, just wasn’t good enough.”

Transferring from “B” Main action, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon worked from the 17th starting position and rallied in strong form over the final circuits, taking fourth from Ramey on the final round. “I could see all of them right there, I just needed a caution or a few more laps.”

Ramey rounded out the top five, with 13th-starter Michael Dupuy, George White, Michael McNeil, 19th-starter Aaron Reutzel and 20th-starter Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

Berryman, White, Channin Tankersley, Jeffrey Newell and Ramey topped heat race action, with John Pate and Derek Hagar winning the “B” Main.

The Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region moves on to Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX, for Saturday night’s $3,000-to-win Fourth Annual Gulf Coast Nationals, with racing action set to go green at 7:00 p.m.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 3. 25m-Michael McNeil, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 17c-Greg Coleman, 6. 96-Rod Craddock, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 66-J.J. Simmons.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 10-George White, 2. 29-Wayne Johnson, 3. 94-Derek Hagar, 4. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 5. 8x-John Carney II, 6. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 49-Ty Johnson.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 36-John Pate, 5. 5c-Chris Coker, 6. 69-Larry Howery. DNS: 3-Gary Watson.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 15T-Travis Elliott, 7. 19-Klint Angelette.

Fifth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 8-Bruce Crockett, 4. 2$-Steve Hubbard, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 64j-Johnny Miller. DNS: 40-Junior Jenkins.

First “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 36-John Pate, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 5c-Chris Coker, 6. 15T-Travis Elliott, 7. 19-Klint Angelette, 8. 51s-Beau Smith, 9. 17c-Greg Coleman, 10. 96-Rod Craddock. DNS: 66-J.J. Simmons, 3-Gary Watson.

Second “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 94-Derek Hagar, 2. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 3. 93-Chris Sweeney, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 8x-John Carney II, 6. 64j-Johnny Miller, 7. 2$-Steve Hubbard, 8. 40-Junior Jenkins, 9. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 10. 49-Ty Johnson, 11. 69-Larry Howery.

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 6. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 7. 10-George White, 8. 25m-Michael McNeil, 9. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 35-Greg Rilat, 12. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 13. 2-Wes Miller, 14. 94-Derek Hagar, 15. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 16. 36-John Pate, 17. 31-Brandon Berryman, 18. 8-Bruce Crockett, 19. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 20. 71-Channin Tankersley.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 150, 2. Travis Rilat 142, 3. Sean McClelland 135, 4. Brady Bacon 130, 5. Kevin Ramey 125, 6. Michael Dupuy 122, 7. George White 119, 8. Michael McNeil 116, 9. Aaron Reutzel 113, 10. Chris Sweeney 110.

Photos and Story by Lonnie Wheatley

Dover Does It in Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals for 1st Lucas Oil ASCS Win of 2010

October 17, 2010

Jack Dover, the lanky 20-year-old from Springfield, NE, had been tantalizingly close to Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters victory lane on several occasions in 2010, only to be denied before the checkered flag flew.

He changed that on Saturday night, though, rallying into the lead on the 14th round in heavy traffic and then fending off a late charge from Jason Johnson in the 30-lapper to etch his name into the record books as the winner of the 37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals.

Jack Dover and crew in victory lane after topping Saturday night's 37th Annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals finale (Tim Aylwin photo)

Jack Dover and crew in victory lane after topping Saturday night's 37th Annual Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals finale (Tim Aylwin photo)

“I was waiting for this moment, I knew we were gonna get it real soon,” the 6’-5” driver of the Shaver-powered 3D Auto Transport/Home Pride No. 53 Eagle explained after the $6,000 triumph. “Hopefully it continues for the rest of the year.”

Dover's 3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle ASCS Sprint car in action. (Tim Aylwin photo)

Dover's 3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle ASCS Sprint car in action. (Tim Aylwin photo)

After locking into the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale with a third-place finish in Friday night’s preliminary feature event behind Johnson and Johnny Herrera, Dover started Saturday’s finale inside the second row with Friday’s fourth-place finisher Brady Bacon leading the way to the green flag.

Bacon gunned into the lead at the outset with Saturday’s top passing points earner Brian Brown charging past Herrera for second on the opening circuit before a quick caution flew for Ricky Logan, who came to a stop off the top of turn two.

With Bacon running the low line in Mike and Megan Eubanks’ Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X, Brown pressured on the high side for several laps until Johnson took over second on the fifth circuit.

Reaching the tail of the field on the eighth round, Bacon held a slight edge over a lead pack that soon numbered eight with the likes of Johnson, Brown, Dover, Herrera, Wayne Johnson, Shane Stewart and defending Winter Nationals champion Kevin Ramey all in the mix.

After shuffling Brown back to fourth on the eleventh lap, Dover executed what proved to be the race winning pass two laps later when he moved to the low side exiting turn four and made it a three-wide race for the lead with Bacon and Johnson down the frontstretch upon the completion of the 13th lap.

Dover won the race into turn one and powered off of turn two with the lead over Johnson and Bacon, who lost two positions in the flurry of action. Two laps later, the red lights lit up when Stewart and Ramey got together entering turn three with Ramey getting upside down. Ramey was uninjured but done for the night while the reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion rejoined the chase at the rear.

Back under way, Dover was flawless on the low side as 2007 Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals champion Jason Johnson gave chase in the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim.

While Dover held a lead of several car-lengths, lapped traffic came into play once again in the final circuits. Dover timed traffic adeptly and was able to repel one last Johnson charge off the top of turns three and four on the final circuit to take his third career ASCS National triumph and first since May of 2009 by four car-lengths.

“I was trying to time the lapped cars and set up the pass on the high side of three and four, it worked out,” Dover explained.

Current Lucas Oil ASCS National points leader Johnson settled for runner-up honors, with Bacon taking the show position. Herrera crossed the stripe fourth in the JHR No. 45x Maxim, with Wayne Johnson’s first weekend back in action since a July injuring culminating with a fifth-place finish aboard the Fisher-powered No. 77x entry.

Brown crossed the stripe in sixth, with Tim Crawley racing from 16th to seventh. Brodix Rookie of the Year contenders Matt Covington and Kyle Hirst were eighth and ninth, respectively, with Michael Dupuy advancing from 19th to complete the top ten. Stewart rebounded from the mid-race incident with Ramey to salvage an eleventh-place finish.

Stewart, Don Young, Covington, Claud Estes, Crawley and Brown topped Saturday night’s heat race action, with Eric Baldaccini, Logan and Dupuy winning the “B” Mains.

Sammy Swindell got into Brandon Berryman’s left rear tire entering turn three on the opening lap of the night’s first heat race and flipped. Swindell was uninjured, but scratched for the rest of the night.

A total of 57 different Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National competitors took part in the 37th edition of the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters
37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals Championship Finale Results:

Locked in from Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

41-Jason Johnson, 45x-Johnny Herrera, 53-Jack Dover, 99-Brady Bacon.

Heat Races (Top 12 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 6-Kyle Hirst, 3. 45k-Kolt Walker, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 14-Michael Lang, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 8. 31-Brandon Berryman, 9. 1-Sammy Swindell.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 7-Don Young, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 10a-Ricky Logan, 4. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 5. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 6. 58-Gary Floyd, 7. 5c-Chris Coker, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 3s-John Carney II.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 1j-Danny Jennings, 3. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 165-Haley Arnold, 6. 45-Martin Edwards, 7. 22k-Kevin Barksdale, 8. 24-David Gailley. DNS: 74x-Joshua Hodges.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 74e-Claud Estes, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 10-George White, 5. 51s-Beau Smith, 6. 87x-Strike Hill, 7. 5m-Miranda Arnold, 8. 22a-Dan Adkins.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 29-Larry Long, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 30-Brandon Corn, 8. 51w-Wes Miller.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 0c-Preston Peebles II, 4. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 3g-Darren Long, 7. 45p-J.P. Bailey, 8. 5-Jerod Roller.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 45k-Kolt Walker, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 45-Martin Edwards, 5. 3g-Darren Long, 6. 29-Larry Long, 7. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 8. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 9. 5-Jerod Roller, 10. 165-Haley Arnold, 11. 5c-Chris Coker. DNS: 6s-Justin Spoerl, 1-Sammy Swindell.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 10a-Ricky Logan, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. 22-Koby Barksdale, 6. 45p-J.P. Bailey, 7. 30-Brandon Corn, 8. 24-David Gailley, 9. 58-Gary Floyd, 10. 51w-Wes Miller, 11. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 12. 9x-Gary Wright. DNS: 3s-John Carney II.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 2. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 3. 0c-Preston Peebles II, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 87x-Strike Hill, 7. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 8. 51s-Beau Smith, 9. 5m-Miranda Arnold, 10. 10-George White, 11. 31-Brandon Berryman, 12. 22a-Dan Adkins, 13. 22k-Kevin Barksdale.

37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals Championship “A” Main:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 5. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 6. 21-Brian Brown, 7. 88-Tim Crawley, 8. 95-Matt Covington, 9. 6-Kyle Hirst, 10. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 11. 57-Shane Stewart, 12. 94-Danny Wood, 13. 50z-Zach Chappell, 14. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 15. 27-Andy Shouse, 16. 1j-Danny Jennings, 17. 10a-Ricky Logan, 18. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 19. 74e-Claud Estes, 20. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 21. 71-Channin Tankersley, 22. 7-Don Young, 23. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 24. 45k-Kolt Walker.

Lap Leaders: Brady Bacon 1-13, Jack Dover 14-30.

Note: Zach Chappell and Danny Wood both utilized their fourth and final provisionals of the year to start the main event.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. Jason Johnson 2,919, 2. Brady Bacon 2,847, 3. Shane Stewart 2,780, 4. Tim Crawley 2,643, 5. Jack Dover 2,622, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,573, 7. Zach Chappell 2,504, 8. Kyle Hirst 2,397, 9. Danny Wood 2,379, 10. Ricky Logan 2,364, 11. Matt Covington 2,268, 12. Darren Long 2,103, 13. Dustin Morgan 2,095, 14. Channin Tankersley 2,019, 15. Gary Wright 1,690, 16. Justyn Cox 1,513, 17. Austen Wheatley 1,344, 18. Brian Brown 1,290, 19. Travis Rilat 1,152, 20. Johnny Herrera 873.

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photos by Tim Aylwin

Travis Rilat rules Sprint Bandits TNT at Devil’s Bowl

May 8, 2010

Travis Rilat didn’t have to travel too far for his first career Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless feature win, as he topped the first wingless, 410-ci Sprint Car feature contested atop the storied ½-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway clay oval in nearly 22 years on Friday night.

Travis Rilat enjoys victory lane at Devil's Bowl Speedway

Travis Rilat enjoys victory lane at Devil's Bowl Speedway

Just 15 minutes away from his Forney, TX, home, Rilat led all 30 laps to take the $3,000 triumph in the www.ShopTheBoss.com No. 50off entry, the first wingless triumph for the past ASCS National Champion since an Ultimate Challenge victory in 2002.

Travis Rilat's topless Sprint in action during Friday night's 30-lap Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT feature

Travis Rilat's topless Sprint in action during Friday night's 30-lap Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT feature

It didn’t come without a stiff challenge however, as reigning Sprint Bandits TNT champion Brady Bacon pressured for the lead throughout, even surging ahead down the backstretch at one point in the final circuits.

Travis Rilat (50) fends off Brady Bacon for the lead in the final rounds of Friday night's Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT main event at Devil's Bowl Speedway

Travis Rilat (50) fends off Brady Bacon for the lead in the final rounds of Friday night's Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT main event at Devil's Bowl Speedway

“I knew someone was there, I couldn’t tell who it was though,” Rilat explained. “I was able to hit traffic right and work it the way I needed to keep ‘em behind me.”

After outdueling Ray Allen Kulhanek in his qualifying race to earn the pole starting position for the feature, Rilat outgunned fellow front row starter J.C. Bland for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Bland slipped off the backstretch on the opening round and fell to eighth, with the race’s only caution flying when Robert Ballou came to a stop in turn four with a cut tire.

Third-starter Jesse Hockett and fifth-starter Bacon were on Rilat’s tailtank on the lap two restart, with Bacon taking over second soon after.

Bacon kept Rilat in his sights all along, turning up the heat at the midway point as traffic factored into the equation.

Racing off the bottom of turn two, Bacon actually drove Mike and Megan Eubanks’ Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple X ahead of Rilat down the backstretch on the 26th lap. But Rilat had the preferred line getting into turn three to retain the lead and held steady to take the checkered flag with a two car-length advantage.

Hockett claimed the show position in the VKCC Motorsports No. 75, with Casey Shuman fourth in the R&B/Barnhill No. 10x.

Wayne Johnson rounded out the top five in Jack Yeley’s No. 2, with Matt Sherrell advancing seven positions from 13th to sixth. Justin Melton picked up a $500 bonus as the top finishing 360-ci powered entry by crossing the stripe as the final car on the lead lap in seventh. Ray Allen Kulhanek, Ballou and Bland completed the top ten.

Billy Melton utilized 360-ci power to win the first heat race, with Hockett stealing heat two away from Zach Chappell at the line and then Ballou holding off Bland in heat three. Bland bested the first qualifier, Wayne Johnson denied Hockett a second-consecutive last gasp victory in the second qualifier and Rilat got the best of Kulhanek in the third qualifier.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless series moves on to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on Saturday night, with the TNT Front Row Challenge in effect potentially doubling the winner’s share should a front row starter accept the challenge and win from the tail of the field.

Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Results
Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

Heat Races:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 87-Billy Melton, 2. 10x-Casey Shuman, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 2-Wayne Johnson, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 45-Martin Edwards, 7. 21-Russell Shoulders.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 50-Travis Rilat, 4. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 7. 7s-Tim Simmons.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 98-J.C. Bland, 3. 65-Skip Wilson, 4. 11-Justin Melton, 5. 22-Koby Barksdale, 6. 74e-Claud Estes, 7. 5m-Glenn Martin.

Qualifying Races:

Qualifier One (8 Laps): 1. 98-J.C. Bland, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 10x-Casey Shuman, 4. 87-Billy Melton, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 7. 5m-Glenn Martin.

Qualifier Two (8 Laps): 1. 2-Wayne Johnson, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 11-Justin Melton, 5. 45-Martin Edwards, 6. 21-Russell Shoulders, 7. 22-Koby Barksdale.

Qualifier Three (8 Laps): 1. 50-Travis Rilat, 2. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 3. 50z-Zach Chappell, 4. 81-Robert Ballou, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 74e-Claud Estes, 7. 7s-Tim Simmons.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway Sprint Bandits TNT Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 50-Travis Rilat, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 10x-Casey Shuman, 5. 2-Wayne Johnson, 6. 35-Matt Sherrell, 7. 11-Justin Melton, 8. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 9. 81-Robert Ballou, 10. 98-J.C. Bland, 11. 22-Koby Barksdale, 12. 87-Billy Melton, 13. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 14. 45-Martin Edwards, 15. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 16. 65-Skip Wilson, 17. 50z-Zach Chappell, 18. 74e-Claud Estes, 19. 5m-Glenn Martin, 20. 21-Russell Shoulders, 21. 7s-Tim Simmons.

Lap Leaders: Travis Rilat 1-30.

Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT Points (Top 10): 1. Travis Rilat 280, 2. (tie) Jesse Hockett and Brady Bacon 277, 4. Robert Ballou 263, 5. Matt Sherrell 247, 6. Casey Shuman 236, 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek 235, 8. J.C. Bland 226, 9. Wayne Johnson 225, 10. Justin Melton 223.

Photos and story by Lonnie Wheatley

Robert Ballou bags ASCS Wingless Sprint Car win at Houston Raceway Park

May 2, 2010

Race fans in the Lone Star State hadn’t been exposed to the thrills of traditional Sprint Cars in over two decades.

They won’t forget what they witnessed in the return of 410-ci wingless Sprint Cars to Texas any time soon, as Robert Ballou edged Jesse Hockett and Brady Bacon in a thrilling three-wide charge to the checkered flag in Saturday night’s season-opening 30-lap Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless main event at Houston Raceway Park after Friday’s scheduled opener at Beaumont was rained out.

Robert Ballou and car owner Dallas Mulvaney enjoy Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT victory lane after rebounding from a heat race crash to score a narrow win in Saturday night's 30-lap main event at Baytown's Houston Raceway Park

Robert Ballou and car owner Dallas Mulvaney enjoy Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT victory lane after rebounding from a heat race crash to score a narrow win in Saturday night's 30-lap main event at Baytown's Houston Raceway Park

Ballou’s seventh career Sprint Bandits TNT triumph aboard Dallas Mulvaney’s MPHG Promotions No. 81 Triple-X seemed a longshot at best after getting upside down in a wild heat race incident.

“It bent the front end over a good inch-and-a-half or so, we just got it back together as good as we could,” Ballou explained. “I really don’t know how it worked so well in the feature.”

After heat race and qualifying race action, the Rocklin, CA, native that now calls Indiana home found himself seven rows deep in the 13th starting position with Travis Rilat and reigning TNT champion Brady Bacon leading the way to the green flag.

Brady Bacon (99) and race winner Robert Ballou (81) race for the lead during Saturday's Sprint Bandits TNT feature at Houston Raceway Park

Brady Bacon (99) and race winner Robert Ballou (81) race for the lead during Saturday's Sprint Bandits TNT feature at Houston Raceway Park

Ballou was joined deep in the field early on by Hockett, who spun in turn four while running third on the third lap, thus setting the stage for what ultimately proved to be a three-wide scramble off the final corner for the checkered flag and $3,000 winner’s share that went with it.

Robert Ballou on his way to victory at Houston Raceway Park

Robert Ballou on his way to victory at Houston Raceway Park

Rilat, who first won his heat race and then made a last corner pass of Justin Melton to win his qualifier to earn the pole aboard the www.shoptheboss.com No. 50off entry, gunned into the early lead and paced the early laps in front of Bacon.

Casey Shuman moved past Ray Allen Kulhanek for third by the fifth round but surrendered the position under a lap eight stoppage with a broken fuel line. Shuman rejoined the field at the tail, only to have a similar problem end his race after 19 laps.

The feature’s initial red flag appeared for Jimmy Brooks, who jumped the cushion and went for a wild ride in turn two with eight laps in the books. On the restart, fourth-running Justin Melton did the same in turn three to bring out another red flag. Both drivers were uninjured.

Ballou was up to fourth after the pair of red flags and disposed of Kulhanek for third soon after action resumed, with Hockett steadily working his way through the field as well with Rilat and Bacon leading the way.

Bacon began pressuring Rilat for the lead at the midway point and never eased up, with Ballou joining in on the lead battle after the race’s final caution flew for Shuman on the 19th lap.

The battle soon became a four-way joust for the point, as Hockett charged past Matt Sherrell for fourth on the lap 19 restart and set his sights on the lead.

Rilat fended off his trio of challengers as long as he could until Bacon finally battled in front on the 23rd lap with Ballou and Hockett following suit over the next pair of rounds. “We made some changes on that red flag to try to loosen the car up and we just weren’t as good after that,” Rilat explained afterward.

With Bacon sticking to the low side in Mike and Megan Eubanks’ Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X, Ballou pounded the cushion in an effort to edge ahead as Hockett stuck the VKCC Motorsports No. 75 in the middle of the battle.

“I went for a tearoff with about five to go and there weren’t any left, so I just used my hand to clear my shield as much as I could, I just had to go for it up there,” Ballou explained.

Ballou finally edged ahead exiting turn four to take the white flag, setting up an epic final-lap duel. The trio diced for the top position over the final 3/8 of a mile, racing in formation off the final corner with Ballou mere inches ahead of Hockett, who was in turn perhaps a foot ahead of Bacon.

Hockett narrowly missed out on the spin-and-win, while Bacon fell one win off Ballou’s TNT total after the pair entered with six wins each.

“I was thinking it was about time to go to the top, I was about to go up there and then it was too late,” Bacon explained afterward.

Rilat slipped to fourth at the stripe, while Matt Sherrell rounded out the top five in just his second career wingless 410-ci Sprint Car outing.

Zach Chappell was sixth, with Ray Allen Kulhanek in seventh after racing among the top five much of the way.

Illinois shoe J.C. Bland edged Anthony Nicholson at the stripe for eighth, with Nicholson’s trip from Memphis netting a $500 bonus as the top-finishing 360-ci powerplant to bring his night’s take to more than $1,000.

Jake Simmons completed the top ten.

Nicholson and Rilat won the heat races, with Shuman and Rilat topping the qualifying races.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless series returns to action next Friday night, May 7, at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, before moving on to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway for the TNT Front Row Challenge on Saturday night, May 8.

Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Results
Houston Raceway Park:

Heat Races:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. 11-Justin Melton, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 7s-Jake Simmons, 8. 17-Channin Tankersley, 9. 51-Jimmy Brooks.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 50-Travis Rilat, 2. 98-J.C Bland, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 10x-Casey Shuman, 5. 2-Wayne Johnson, 6. 35-Matt Sherrell, 7. 81-Robert Ballou, 8. 99x-Leon Bacon. DNS: 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr.

Qualifying Races:

Qualifier One (8 Laps): 1. 10x-Casey Shuman, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 35-Matt Sherrell, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 98-J.C. Bland, 7. 81-Robert Ballou, 8. 99x-Leon Bacon, 9. 17-Channin Tankersley.

Qualifier Two (8 Laps): 1. 50-Travis Rilat, 2. 11-Justin Melton, 3. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 7s-Jake Simmons, 7. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 8. 2-Wayne Johnson. DNS: 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr.

Houston Raceway Park Sprint Bandits TNT Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 50-Travis Rilat, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 8. 98-J.C. Bland, 9. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 10. 7s-Jake Simmons, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 10x-Casey Shuman, 13. 11-Justin Melton, 14. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 15. 2-Wayne Johnson, 16. 99x-Leon Bacon, 17. 17-Channin Tankersley, 18. 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr.

Lap Leaders: Travis Rilat 1-22, Brady Bacon 23-28, Robert Ballou 29-30.

Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT Points (Top 10): 1. Robert Ballou 150, 2. Jesse Hockett 142, 3. Brady Bacon 135, 4. Travis Rilat 130, 5. Matt Sherrell 125, 6. Zach Chappell 122, 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek 119, 8. J.C. Bland 116, 9. Anthony Nicholson 113, 10. Jake Simmons 110.

By Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS

Jason Johnson Cashes in with ASCS Gulf South win at Houston Raceway Park

April 4, 2010

Jason Johnson got a much-needed win by wiring the field in Saturday night’s 25-lap American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region main event to top the Inaugural Lone Star Shootout at Houston Raceway Park.

Jason Johnson and crew enjoy ASCS Gulf South victory lane after topping the Inaugural Lone Star Shootout at HRP

Jason Johnson and crew enjoy ASCS Gulf South victory lane after topping the Inaugural Lone Star Shootout at HRP

The Ragin’ Cajun’s 23rd career ASCS Gulf South triumph and 73rd overall ASCS victory was the first for the newly-formed Jason Johnson Racing team in just its second night of competition after debuting in the recent Lucas Oil ASCS National opener.

While Johnson paced the field all the way aboard the Don Ott-powered Haynes/Pope Transportation No. 41 Maxim, he withstood mid-race pressure from Travis Rilat and then a late charge from Gary Wright to secure the $3,000 triumph.

Jason Johnson (41) holds off Travis RIlat (29) during Saturday night's ASCS Gulf South feature at Houston Raceway Park

Jason Johnson (41) holds off Travis RIlat (29) during Saturday night's ASCS Gulf South feature at Houston Raceway Park

“The first win, this is huge,” an ecstatic Johnson relayed from victory lane.

While Rilat led the feature field to the green flag, it was Johnson gunning into the lead at the outset from the front row outside.

Reeling in the tail of the field in just a handful of laps, a pair of cautions in the opening ten circuits gave Johnson clear track just as traffic was about to factor into the proceedings on a pair of occasions.

But after California’s Kyle Hirst coasted to a stop on the ninth lap, Rilat had an opportunity when Johnson began working through traffic at the midway point.

Rilat closed to Johnson’s tailtank on the 15th round, only to have Johnson make a timely move around a lapped car to slip away by several car lengths. Very soon after, Rilat coasted to a stop on the frontstretch with terminal engine woes, setting up a seven-lap dash to the checkered flag with “The Texan” now in the role of chaser.

A pair of lapped cars between the leader and Wright was just the cushion Johnson needed though. Reaching traffic once again with two rounds to go, Wright rapidly closed the gap on Johnson. But when Johnson made a nimble move through a pair of cars entering turn one on the final circuit, the race was all but over.

Johnson flashed under the checkered flag to take the win and become the third different winner in as many 2010 ASCS Gulf South feature events, with Wright settling for runner-up honors.

After starting eighth, Missouri’s Brian Brown was on the move following the lap nine caution and climbed to third by race’s end with defending ASCS Gulf South champion Aaron Reutzel and 14th-starter Michael Dupuy rounding out the top five.

Brady Bacon charged from 19th to sixth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., 15th-starter Tommy Bryant, Eric Baldaccini and Channin Tankersley completing the top ten.

Kyle Hirst, Bruce, Jr., Baldaccini and Johnson topped heat race action for Saturday night’s 36-car field, with Bacon making a lap 10 move around Chris Sweeney to win the 12-lap “B” Main.

American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region Results from Houston Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 6-Kyle Hirst, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 51w-Wes Miller, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 9. 70-Anthony Reaves.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 10-Ricky Logan, 5. 00-Michael Dupuy, 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 99-Brady Bacon, 9. 1g-Cody Gardner.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 85-Tommy Bryant, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 61-Travis Knighton, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 8z-Zach Pringle, 8. 3T-Tyler King, 9. 19-Klint Angelette.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 87x-Billy Melton, 7. 28-James Cooper, 8. 3-Gary Watson, 9. 5-Jack Spencer.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 87x-Billy Melton, 5. 61-Travis Knighton, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 19-Klint Angelette, 9. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 10. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 11. 52-Roger Oakes, 12. 5-Jack Spencer, 13. 28-James Cooper, 14. 3T-Tyler King, 15. 8z-Zach Pringle, 16. 3-Gary Watson, 17. 70-Anthony Reaves. DNS: 1g-Cody Gardner.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 00-Michael Dupuy, 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 8. 85-Tommy Bryant, 9. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 10. 71-Channin Tankersley, 11. 31-Brandon Berryman, 12. 51w-Wes Miller, 13. 88-Scottie McDonald, 14. 87x-Billy Melton, 15. 93-Chris Sweeney, 16. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 17. 61-Travis Knighton, 18. 30x-Bean Elliott, 19. 29-Travis Rilat, 20. 10-Ricky Logan, 21. 6-Kyle Hirst, 22. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 23. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 24. 35-Greg Rilat.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian Brown 404, 2. Brady Bacon 379, 3. Tony Bruce, Jr. 374, 4. Travis Rilat 359, 5. Gary Wright 357, 6. Ricky Logan 341, 7. (tie) Tommy Bryant and Aaron Reutzel 336, 9. Brandon Berryman 324, 10. Wes Miller 321.

By Lonnie Wheatley

Sammy Swindell opens ASCS Season with Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals win

March 20, 2010

Sammy Swindell kicked off his pursuit of the 2010 Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Sere presented by K&N Filters $60,000 championship by winning Friday night’s 37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals 30-lap main event.

Living Legend Sammy Swindell with yet another feature win

Living Legend Sammy Swindell with yet another feature win

The winningest driver in Devil’s Bowl Speedway history, Swindell stormed into the lead on the sixth round aboard the J&D Motorsports/Swindell Motorsports No. 10 Maxim and never looked back en route to the $6,000 triumph.

Originally slated as a two-day event, encroaching foul weather forced the early cancellation of the Saturday portion, ratcheting up Friday’s event to the standard Lucas Oil ASCS National one-day purse.

And when all the final checkered flag flew, the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars opened the 2010 season the same way 2009 finished out; with Tennessee’s Swindell in victory lane.

Swindell, who closed out the 2009 campaign with a Western World Championships score at USA Raceway, gridded Friday’s feature outside the second row as pole starter Sean McClelland outgunned Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Channin Tankersley for the early lead.

Swindell chased the lead duo for several rounds before racing by Tankersley for second on the fifth round and then disposing of McClelland for the lead on the low side of turns one and two on a lap six restart.

“I was searching around and finally found a good spot to get off the bottom of turn two,” Swindell explained after his fifth career ASCS National triumph.

While Swindell paced the field, fifth-starter Brady Bacon surged past both Tankersley and McClelland for second on the eighth round and set his sights on Swindell.

Bacon reeled in the veteran ace a time or two, only to have a caution slow the pace. Swindell proved much too strong on the restarts and raced to Will Hale’s checkered flag virtually unchallenged.

“I’m still learning these ASCS cars, I was actually getting a little too tight toward the end,” Swindell explained. “That might have been a problem if we’d got into a lot of traffic, but with the yellows we didn’t really run into that.”

Picking up a night in Joe Zierolf’s No. c41, Wayne Johnson rallied from the 18th starting position to fifth in the opening seven circuits. After trading some wild sliders with Danny Wood, Johnson ultimately battled past Bacon for the runner-up slot on the 21st lap and held the position to the line.

Bacon matched his career-best Lucas Oil Sprint Car finish by taking the show position aboard the Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X, with Wood fourth in the H&H Enterprises No. 94.

Tony Bruce, Jr., rounded out the top five in the Bruce Racing No. 18 Maxim, with defending series champion Shane Stewart charging from 23rd to sixth after utilizing a provisional to start the main event.

Jesse Hockett was seventh, with Ricky Logan, Zach Chappell and Travis Rilat completing the top ten. Austen Wheatley ran among the top ten most of the way until a right rear vibration that resulted from some frontstretch wall contact dropped him to eleventh.

Debuting with his own race team, 2008 series champion Jason Johnson finished 12th after a lap 12 spin in turn one.

Tankersley held down the third position in the main event until a lost muffler prompted the black flag and a race-ending trip to the pit area after seven laps.

Chappell, Bruce, Tankersley, McClelland, Swindell, Derek Hagar and Danny Jennings topped heat race action for the 62-car field, with Jason Johnson, Wayne Johnson and Jack Dover winning the “B” Mains.

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters return to action on Friday night, April 9, at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, TX, before moving on to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway the following night, April 10.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters
37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Results:

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 45-Martin Edwards, 6. 91x-Taylor Milton, 7. 15-Bud Goodwin, 8. 30-Brandon Corn, 9. 03-Joe Wood, Jr.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 10a-Ricky Logan, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. C41-Wayne Johnson, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 5-Brent Swift, 8. 14e-Todd Evans, 9. 74x-Joshua Hodges.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 24-Justin Carver, 5. 6-Kyle Hirst, 6. 27-Andy Shouse, 7. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 3g-Darren Long.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 3. 00-Michael Dupuy, 4. 75x-Don Young, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 72-Sherman Davis, 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 8. 86-Josh Fisher. DNS: 5m-Glenn Martin.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 10-Sammy Swindell, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 31-Matt Clevenger, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 8. 9x-Gary Wright, 9. 88-Tim Crawley.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 9h-Derek Hagar, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 94-Danny Wood, 5. 98-Joe Ramaker, 6. 9-Brian Parker, 7. 8w-Jordan Whitehead, 8. 87x-Billy Melton. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale.

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 1J-Danny Jennings, 2. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 2w-Whit Gastineau, 7. 21-Brian Brown, 8. 14x-Jody Rosenboom.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 75x-Don Young, 7. 72-Sherman Davis, 8. 6-Kyle Hirst, 9. 30-Brandon Corn, 10. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 11. 8w-Jordan Whitehead, 12. 27-Andy Shouse, 13. 9-Brian Parker. DNS: 14x-Jody Rosenboom, 14e-Todd Evans, 5m-Glenn Martin.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. C41-Wayne Johnson, 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 65-Skip Wilson, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 2k-Whit Gastineau, 10. 35-Matt Sherrell, 11. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 12. 15-Bud Goodwin, 13. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 14. 3g-Darren Long. DNS: 21-Brian Brown.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 3. 45-Martin Edwards, 4. 91x-Taylor Milton, 5. 98-Joe Ramaker, 6. 88-Tim Crawley, 7. 87x-Billy Melton, 8. 31-Matt Clevenger, 9. 24-Justin Carver, 10. 9x-Gary Wright, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 00-Michael Dupuy, 13. 5-Brent Swift, 14. 22k-Koby Barksdale. DNS: 86-Josh Fisher.

37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 10-Sammy Swindell, 2. C41-Wayne Johnson, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 94-Danny Wood, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 57-Shane Stewart, 7. 75-Jesse Hockett, 8. 10a-Ricky Logan, 9. 50z-Zach Chappell, 10. 29-Travis Rilat, 11. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 12. 41-Jason Johnson, 13. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 14. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 15. 1-Sean McClelland, 16. 53-Jack Dover, 17. 1J-Danny Jennings, 18. 9x-Gary Wright, 19. 9h-Derek Hagar, 20. 14-Michael Lang, 21. 71-Channin Tankersley, 22. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 23. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 24. 22-Koby Barksdale.

Lap Leaders: Sean McClelland 1-5, Sammy Swindell 6-30.

Note: Shane Stewart and Gary Wright utilized provisionals based on 2009 points to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 15): 1. Sammy Swindell 150, 2. Wayne Johnson 142, 3. Brady Bacon 135, 4. Danny Wood 130, 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 125, 6. Shane Stewart 122, 7. Jesse Hockett 119, 8. Ricky Logan 116, 9. Zach Chappell 113, 10. Travis Rilat 110, 11. Austen Wheatley 108, 12. Jason Johnson 106, 13. Kevin Ramey 104, 14. Johnny Herrera 102, 15. Sean McClelland 100.

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo Lonnie Wheatley

Texan Gary Wright finds Victory Lane in ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series

July 12, 2009

For the first time in 2009 championship points competition, Gary Wright reached Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters victory lane by topping Saturday night’s 30-lap feature event at I-90 Speedway.

Gary Wright snared victory honors in Saturday night's 30-lap ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series main event at Hartford, South Dakota's I-90 Speedway

Gary Wright snared victory honors in Saturday night's 30-lap ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series main event at Hartford, South Dakota's I-90 Speedway

Wright’s 125th National win didn’t come without a stiff challenge from local ace Chad Meyer though, with Tim Crawley then closing in on “The Texan’s” tailtank as the checkered flag flew on the fast-paced affair atop the high-banked, 3/8-mile dirt oval.

“For no bigger than this track is, this place is really fast,” Wright commented after the $6,000 triumph. “It was really good, both top and bottom and we had the right car for it.”

Gary Wright drove Scott Brown's ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim to victory lane in Saturday night's 30-lap Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series feature

Gary Wright drove Scott Brown's ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim to victory lane in Saturday night's 30-lap Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series feature

Meyer, who paced the opening ten rounds before surrendering the point to Wright, turned up the heat on the eventual winner after a lap 18 restart, briefly surging into the lead at one point as the final laps clicked off.

Wright edged back out front though, moved to the bottom and went on to secure the win aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim. It was his sixth overall ASCS win of the year after four Regional scores and a Speedweek victory.

“I saw somebody down there and knew it was probably time to move to the bottom,” Wright explained. “Turned out the bottom was probably a little faster than the top had been.”

While Wright started the main event in sixth, it was polesitter Meyer outgunning Danny Wood for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Meyer set a strong pace up front, with Wright battling past fourth-starter Darren Long and then Wood by the fifth circuit to move into second.

As Meyer reached the tail of the 24-car feature field, Wright raced by on the high side of turns three and four to take command on the 11th circuit. But, Wright was never able to slip away, as Meyer kept pace while fending off seventh-starter Crawley at the same time for the runner-up slot.

Wright found clear track when the caution flew after 18 laps for Long’s turn two spin. The caution also offered new life to Meyer though, as he began pressuring Wright for the point when action resumed.

The pair battled for the lead in side-by-side fashion for several laps before Wright finally regained control of the lead on the 24th lap. As Meyer began to lose ground, Crawley moved in to try to make it three wins in a row after sweeping last weekend’s Riverside double.

But, as the checkered flag flew upon Wright, Crawley had to settle for runner-up honors aboard Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim just a couple of car-lengths back.

Travis Rilat battled from eighth to take the show position aboard the Shark-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with defending series champion Jason Johnson also advancing a handful of positions to claim fourth in Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

Meyer rounded out the top five in the Weseman-powered No. 1w, with Tony Bruce, Jr., racing from 15th to sixth. Paul McMahan climbed from 19th to seventh, with Wood slipping to eighth at the stripe.

After utilizing his first provisional of the year, Jesse Hockett charged from 23rd to ninth, while 18th-starter Shane Stewart rebounded from a cut right rear tire two laps into the main to complete the top ten.

Chad Corken, Crawley, Johnson, Meyer, Butch Hanssen and Randy Droescher topped heat race action for the 52-car field, with McMahan, Stewart and Gary Taylor winning the “B” Mains.

Johnn Cressman flipped in turn two in the night’s opening heat race. Cressman walked away uninjured but done for the night.

Johnn Cressman goes for a ride off turn two in the opening heat race of Saturday night's ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series event at I-90 Speedway

Johnn Cressman goes for a ride off turn two in the opening heat race of Saturday night's ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series event at I-90 Speedway

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
I-90 Speedway – Hartford, SD

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 11-Chad Corken, 2. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 22-Matt Heinzerling, 5. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 19-John Lambertz, 8. 85-Justin Saathoff, 9. 56-Johnn Cressman.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 82-Jason Danley, 3. 11m-Troy Meyer, 4. 3d-Paul McMahan, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 5-Eric Lutz, 7. X-Chuck Swenson, 8. 28-Mitch Runge, 9. 91a-Aaron Wendt.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 75c-Casey Heser, 3. 27-Jody Rosenboom, 4. 7-Darren Long, 5. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 6. 25-Dylan Peterson, 7. 1x-Justin Glaser, 8. 32-Greg Valentine, 9. 5x-Dave Glennon.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 1w-Chad Meyer, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 10-Justin Jacobsma, 8. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 9. 5w-Dusty Wasmund.

Heat Five (10 Laps): 1. 8k-Butch Hanssen, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 1-Sean McClelland, 5. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 6. 101-Chuck McGillivray, 7. 23-Seth Bergman, 8. 8-Lane Brenden.

Heat Six (10 Laps): 1. 24-Randy Droescher, 2. 13jm-Jordan Martens, 3. 91-Gary Taylor, 4. 05-Bill Boles, 5. 71-R.J. Johnson, 6. 3-Donovan Peterson, 7. 15x-Joe Riedel, 8. 0x-Jess Beckett.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 11m-Troy Meyer, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 10a-Ricky Logan, 5. X-Chuck Swenson, 6. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 7. 2-Kenneth Walker, 8. 8-Lane Brenden, 9. 25-Dylan Peterson, 10. 23-Seth Bergman, 11. 17b-Ryan Bickett. DNS: 56-Johnn Cressman.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 5. 19-John Lambertz, 6. 28-Mitch Runge, 7. 1x-Justin Glaser, 8. 5x-Dave Glennon, 9. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 10. 91a-Aaron Wendt, 11. 85-Justin Saathoff, 12. 27-Jody Rosenboom.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 91-Gary Taylor, 2. 5-Eric Lutz, 3. 71-R.J. Johnson, 4. 3-Donovan Peterson, 5. 05-Bill Boles, 6. 101-Chuck McGillivray, 7. 22-Matt Heinzerling, 8. 0x-Jess Beckett, 9. 10-Justin Jacobsma, 10. 15x-Joe Riedel, 11. 32-Greg Valentine, 12. 5w-Dusty Wasmund.

“A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 1w-Chad Meyer, 6. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 7. 3d-Paul McMahan, 8. 94-Danny Wood, 9. 13-Jesse Hockett, 10. 57-Shane Stewart, 11. 81au-Gavin Punch, 12. 5-Eric Lutz, 13. 7-Darren Long, 14. 1-Sean McClelland, 15. 91-Gary Taylor, 16. 11m-Troy Meyer, 17. 11-Chad Corken, 18. 8k-Butch Hanssen, 19. 82-Jason Danley, 20. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 21. 75c-Casey Heser, 22. 24-Randy Droescher, 23. 53-Jack Dover, 24. 13jm-Jordan Martens.

Lap Leaders: Chad Meyer 1-10, Gary Wright 11-21, Chad Meyer 22, Gary Wright 23-30.

Note: Jesse Hockett and Sean McClelland utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main. It was the first of the year for Hockett and the second of the year for McClelland.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. Gary Wright 1,146, 2. Jason Johnson 1,132, 3. Shane Stewart 1,120, 4. Travis Rilat 1,043, 5. Tim Crawley 1,027, 6. Paul McMahan 1,018, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 1,007, 8. Danny Wood 1,006, 9. Jack Dover 975, 10. Jesse Hockett 917, 11. Nick Smith 870, 12. Sean McClelland 830, 13. Gary Taylor 786, 14. Brady Bacon 752, 15. Darren Long 731, 16. Gavin Punch 727, 17. Kenneth Walker 719, 18. Chad Corken 701, 19. Seth Bergman 649, 20. Ricky Logan 639.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Tim Crawley conquers ASCS in Rock ‘N Roll 50 to sweep series return to Riverside

July 5, 2009

Arkansas ace Tim Crawley completed a weekend sweep of the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters much-anticipated return to Riverside Speedway by winning Saturday night’s Rock ‘N Roll 50 championship feature event atop the storied ¼-mile gumbo clay oval.

Tim Crawley swept the weekend's ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series Rock 'N Roll 50 feature event, the first 50-lapper in series history

Tim Crawley swept the weekend's ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series Rock 'N Roll 50 feature event, the first 50-lapper in series history

The three-time Lucas Oil ASCS National champion wrestled the lead away from Justin Sturch on the 31st round en route to topping the first 50-lapper in series history, collecting the $6,000 winner’s share and a nifty Gibson Les Paul guitar event trophy with the VERSUS cameras catching all the action.

“What a great weekend!” Crawley exclaimed in victory lane. “Last night it was pretty much wide open, but tonight was more about being patient and waiting for the right time to make that move.”

Tim Crawley picked up a Gibson Les Paul guitar and $6,000 at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, AR

Tim Crawley picked up a Gibson Les Paul guitar and $6,000 at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, AR

After racing from eleventh to win Friday night’s preliminary feature, Crawley drew the pole position for Saturday night’s 50-lap finale. But, it was Justin Sturch gunning into the lead at the outset from the front row outside after racing his way into the six-car redraw by ranking among the night’s top two earners in passing points.

Sturch paced 30 rounds before Crawley snuck underneath entering turn one on the 31st circuit and never looked back, ultimately taking the checkered flag aboard Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim with a comfortable straightaway advantage.

“Justin (Sturch) drove a strong race, but he left one hole open and I was there to plug it,” Crawley explained. “We owe David McCarver a lot of credit on this one, he busted his tail to have an engine ready for tonight.”

While Crawley cruised out front in the waning laps, event promoter Tony Bruce, Jr., slipped around Sturch in the closing circuits to snare runner-up honors in the Rider-powered Sundial Tee Shirts/AMC Plumbing No. 18 Maxim.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this worn out in my life,” the Kansas shoe commented upon climbing out of his mount on a muggy night next to the Mississippi River after piling 50 laps upon double duty as racer and promoter. “It’s worth it though, it was a great race and we look forward to doing this every year.”

Sturch, the reigning track champion at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway, settled for his best career Lucas Oil ASCS finish by taking third in his No. 9 entry, commenting that, “We were just getting way too loose there at the end, we’re satisfied with what we got. I was a little concerned that we were about to get freight-trained, but I think a lot of the other guys had the same problem.”

Gary Wright battled forward from 11th to earn fourth in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Richwood Construction No. 9x Maxim to take over the series points lead by six markers over Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart, who are now tied for second.

Jesse Hockett battled amongst the lead handful of cars throughout, ultimately rounding out the top five in the RMS-powered VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch No. 13 JEI.

Gary Taylor advanced a half dozen positions to finish sixth, with Jan Howard, Nick Smith, Shane Stewart and 23rd-starter Jason Johnson completing the top ten.

The feature event ran off with four yellow flags and two reds. The first yellow flew after two laps when third-starter Darren Long looped it in turn one. Two laps later, Paul McMahan came to a stop in turn three with engine woes.

Chad Corken tumbled in turn two on the ninth lap to bring out the first red flag, with Brady Bacon spinning to a stop in turn two with 16 laps in the books. After Dustin Morgan coasted to a stop with mechanical issues after 36 laps, Travis Rilat got upside down in turn two three laps later after running among the top five throughout. Terry Gray and Danny Wood were collected in the melee, with Gray forced pitside along with Rilat.

A pair of drivers used provisionals to start the main event, including reigning series champion Jason Johnson and Nebraska’s Jack Dover.

After tangling with Ricky Logan and flipping in turn four on the opening lap of the night’s sixth and final heat race, Johnson used his first provisional of the year after being unable to transfer from his “B” Main.

Struggling in his heat and “B” Main, Dover regrouped to race from 24th to eleventh to garner the R.E. Technologies Young Gun of the Race award, presented to the night’s top finisher under 21 years of age. Don Young claimed Friday night’s Young Gun award.

With 50 cars on hand for Saturday night’s Rock ‘N Roll 50, Wright, Marshall Skinner, Taylor, Jan Howard, Smith and Stewart topped heat race action. Matt Covington, Danny Wood and Paul McMahan won the “B” Mains.

Gavin Punch slipped too high exiting turn two in the second “B” Main and flipped after tagging the wall. Punch walked away uninjured, as did the night’s other flip victims.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Riverside Speedway – West Memphis, AR
Rock ‘N Roll 50 Preliminary Event Results

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 2 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 81au-Gavin Punch, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 5. 75-Don Young, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 7-Darren Long, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 85-Jerry Bell.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 2. 13-Jesse Hockett, 3. 6-Raymond Stull, 4. 23-Seth Bergman, 5. 4x-Jan Howard, 6. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 7. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 8. 93-Dustin Morgan, 9. 51-Lee Sowell.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 8z-Zach Pringle, 6. 11-Chad Corken, 7. 3d-Paul McMahan, 8. 91-Gary Taylor, 9. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 2. 39-Brad Bowden, 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 8x-Chris Williams, 5. 17-Tim Sites, 6. 58-Wade Oliver, 7. 1-Sean McClelland, 8. 97-Aaron Berryhill. DNS: 44-Ronny Howard.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 45-Dale Howard, 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 3-A.G. Rains, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 10a-Ricky Logan, 8. 12-Trey Robb.

“B” Mains (Top 3 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 3-A.G. Rains, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 3d-Paul McMahan, 6. 7-Darren Long, 7. 11-Chad Corken, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 17-Tim Sites, 10. 51-Lee Sowell, 11. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 12. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick. DNS: 4x-Jan Howard, 93-Dustin Morgan.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 8z-Zach Pringle, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 8x-Chris Williams, 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 23-Seth Bergman, 7. 10a-Ricky Logan, 8. 91-Gary Taylor, 9. 44-Ronny Howard, 10. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 11. 12-Trey Robb, 12. 85-Jerry Bell, 13. 58-Wade Oliver. DNS: 97-Aaron Berryhill.

Rock N’ Roll 50 Preliminary “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 9x-Gary Wright, 6. 45-Dale Howard, 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 8. 57-Shane Stewart, 9. 3d-Paul McMahan, 10. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 11. 3-A.G. Rains, 12. 2-Kenneth Walker, 13. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 14. 9-Justin Sturch, 15. 39-Brad Bowden, 16. 75-Don Young, 17. 15s-Nick Smith, 18. 6-Raymond Stull, 19. 94-Danny Wood, 20. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 21. 8z-Zach Pringle, 22. 81au-Gavin Punch, 23. 99-Brady Bacon, 24. 53-Jack Dover.

Lap Leaders: Tony Bruce, Jr. 1-17, Tim Crawley 18-30.

Note: Paul McMahan and Nick Smith utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main. It was McMahan’s first of the year and Smith’s second of the year.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Riverside Speedway – West Memphis, AR
Rock ‘N Roll 50 Results

Locked in From Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

88-Tim Crawley, 29-Travis Rilat, 13-Jesse Hockett, 18-Tony Bruce, Jr.

Heat Races (Top 12 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 12-Trey Robb, 3. 95-Matt Covington, 4. 39-Brad Bowden, 5. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 6. 6-Raymond Stull, 7. 53-Jack Dover, 8. 75-Don Young.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 26-Marshall Skinner, 2. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 10-Terry Gray, 5. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 51-Lee Sowell, 8. 3-A.G. Rains.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 91-Gary Taylor, 2. 7-Darren Long, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 45-Dale Howard, 7. 8x-Chris Williams, 8. 17-Tim Sites.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 4x-Jan Howard, 2. 58-Wade Oliver, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 5. 78-Henry Gustavus, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 7. 16p-Dewayne Prince, 8. 44-Ronny Howard.

Heat Five (10 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 3d-Paul McMahan, 3. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 4. 8z-Zach Pringle, 5. 2T-Todd Fayard, 6. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick, 7. 85-Jerry Bell.

Heat Six (10 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 11-Chad Corken, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 81au-Gavin Punch, 6. 10a-Ricky Logan, 7. 41-Jason Johnson.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 11-Chad Corken, 3. 10a-Ricky Logan, 4. 12-Trey Robb, 5. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 8. 39-Brad Bowden, 9. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 9. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 10. 17-Tim Sites, 11. 44-Ronny Howard.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 3. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 4. 8z-Zach Pringle, 5. 6-Raymond Stull, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 75-Don Young, 8. 8x-Chris Williams, 9. 85-Jerry Bell, 10. 2T-Todd Fayard, 11. 81au-Gavin Punch.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 4. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 51-Lee Sowell, 7. 16p-Dewayne Prince, 8. 45-Dale Howard, 9. 23-Seth Bergman, 10. 78-Henry Gustavus, 11. 3-A.G. Rains.

Rock N’ Roll 50 “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (50 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 9-Justin Sturch, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 13-Jesse Hockett, 6. 91-Gary Taylor, 7. 4x-Jan Howard, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 57-Shane Stewart, 10. 41-Jason Johnson, 11. 53-Jack Dover, 12. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 13. 7-Darren Long, 14. 1-Sean McClelland, 15. 94-Danny Wood, 16. 95-Matt Covington, 17. 29-Travis Rilat, 18. 10-Terry Gray, 19. 93-Dustin Morgan, 20. 26-Marshall Skinner, 21. 58-Wade Oliver, 22. 99-Brady Bacon, 23. 11-Chad Corken, 24. 3d-Paul McMahan.

Lap Leaders: Justin Sturch 1-30, Tim Crawley 31-50.

Note: Jason Johnson and Jack Dover utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main. It was the first of the year for both drivers.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. Gary Wright 996, 2. (tie) Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart 990, 4. Travis Rilat 899, 5. Paul McMahan 882, 6. Tim Crawley 881, 7. Danny Wood 872, 8. Jack Dover 871, 9. Nick Smith 870, 10. Tony Bruce, Jr. 869, 11. Jesse Hockett 785, 12. Brady Bacon 752, 13. Sean McClelland 728, 14. Gary Taylor 666, 15. Kenneth Walker 644, 16. Trey Robb 632, 17. (tie) Aaron Berryhill and Matt Covington 625, 19. Darren Long 607, 20. Gavin Punch 599.

by Lonnie Wheatley

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