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ASCS Gulf South and Lone Star Regions set for their “North Texas Clash” this weekend

The American Sprint Car Series Gulf South and Lone Star Regions are ready to try it again.

Just a few weeks ago, after Gulf South shoe Tommy Bryant topped the Challenge event at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway, Mother Nature intervened and washed out the scheduled Devil’s Bowl card the following night.

Now, the ASCS Gulf South and Lone Star Regions will square off for another pair of $2,000-to-win events in North Texas this weekend. On Friday night, the North Texas Clash kicks off at the ¼-mile RPM Speedway in Crandall, TX. Then, on Saturday night, it’s on to the famed ½-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway clay oval in Mesquite.

Leading the way into the weekend for their respective Regions are Fort Worth’s Kevin Ramey and Clute’s Aaron Reutzel. Ramey is trying to add the inaugural Lone Star title to a pair of previous ASCS Sooner crowns, while the 19-year-old Reutzel is trying to bag his first Sprint Car title in the form of the ASCS Gulf South championship.

Ramey has extended his lead in the Lone Star title chase to 135 markers despite a Saturday night tumble out of the park at Cowtown Speedway. The battle for second behind him is a close one, as just 13 points separate Brad Welborn (Princeton), Justin Melton and Matt Clevenger (both of Flower Mound). Claud Estes rounds out the current top five in Gulf South points.

To the South, Reutzel holds a 72-point advantage over Conroe’s Tommy Bryant, with Channin Tankersley (Highlands), Scottie McDonald (New Caney) and two-time and defending champion Brandon Berryman (Missouri City) rounding out the current top five.

This past weekend, Lucas Oil Sprint Car point leader Jason Johnson added his second Gulf South triumph of the season to become the fourth driver to post multiple Gulf South wins. Bryant and Gary Wright have each claimed three wins, with Johnson joining Ray Allen Kulhanek with two wins. With a dozen different winners in 18 feature events thus far, single wins have been claimed by Reutzel, Berryman, Eric Baldaccini, Travis Rilat, Trey Robb, Ramey, Skip Wilson and George White.

Also this past weekend, Brian McClelland and Travis Rilat ran the number of Lone Star feature winners to nine in a dozen events. Ramey leads the way with three wins, Baldaccini has claimed a pair of triumphs and McClelland and Rilat joined Skip Wilson, Jerry Bell, Nick Smith, Gary Wright and Tommy Bryant as single winners.

Friday’s racing action at RPM Speedway is slated to go green at 8:30 p.m., with Saturday’s card at Devil’s Bowl Speedway firing off at 8:00 p.m.

The semi-banked, ¼-mile RPM Speedway dirt oval is located southeast of Crandall, TX, on US 175 to CR 4106 (Bud Story Road exit) to the intersection of CR 4104. For more information, contact the track at 972-427-6822.

The ½-mile high-banked Devil’s Bowl Speedway clay oval is located six miles east of Dallas’ Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. For more information, contact the track at 972-222-2421.

The ASCS Gulf South Region is set for 27 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Texas in 2009.

The inaugural slate of ASCS Lone Star Region competition consists of 18 events at nine different tracks throughout North Texas in addition to one venture north of the Red River to Oklahoma City’s State Fair Speedway.

Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at RPM Speedway:
7/10/09 – Kevin Ramey (Lone Star)

Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Devil’s Bowl Speedway:
5/9/09 – Gary Wright (Lone Star vs. Sooner)
9/27/08 – Justin Spoerl (Sooner)
9/1/07 – Jason Johnson (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
7/22/06 – Larry Neighbors (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
7/16/05 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
10/16/04 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
7/12/03 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South vs. Sooner)

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Gary Wright right in ASCS Red River Shootout at Devil’s Bowl Speedway

Just when it looked as though Nebraska’s Jack Dover was going to pull off a spectacular win in Round Two of the ASCS Red River Shootout at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Lady Luck intervened and gave a friendly nod to Gary Wright.

And, taking full advantage, “The Texan” came away with Saturday night’s $2,000 ASCS Lone Star Region vs. American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region 25-lap triumph atop the famed ½-mile clay oval.

While Wright found himself standing in a familiar place at night’s end, the Devil’s Bowl Speedway victory lane, the hard-earned win came after surviving the best efforts of a pair of salty 19-year-olds in the form of Brady Bacon and Jack Dover.

After Wright and Bacon diced for the point most of the way, Dover surged from third into the lead with a daring move in turns three and four on the 22nd lap only to have his engine sour one circuit later.

Wright, the four-time Lucas Oil ASCS National champion, then paced the final two rounds to collect his third ASCS Regional triumph of the season aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Richwood Construction No. 9x Maxim.

“I’m not sure what happened to Dover, but we got a little lucky on that one,” Wright commented in victory lane.

Taking command on the 13th round, Wright finally found a hint of breathing room after the caution flew for Matt Covington’s turn two spin with 15 laps in the books.

But, when Wright hit lapped traffic again with a handful of laps to go, Bacon and Dover quickly closed the gap to renew the battle that had been brewing at the midway point.

“That lapped car was killing me, I had to lock it up a couple of times just to keep from wrecking,” Wright explained.

It was all the opportunity that Dover needed, blitzing past both Bacon and Wright in one fell swoop for the lead at the completion of the 22nd lap. A lap later, one last caution flew when Sean McClelland slid off the top of turn four.

And, before action could resume, Dover pulled his mount pitside with terminal engine problems. “I felt it flatten out right before that caution, we wouldn’t have even made those last two laps,” the 2008 ASCS Midwest Region champion commented.

Under that same caution, Bacon’s strong run came to an early end as well when he retired to the pit area with a depleted fuel cell and a cut right rear tire. After starting on the front row to the outside of pole starter Wright, Bacon had officially held the lead on eleven of the hotly contested opening dozen circuits.

Wright, who had led lap seven and then laps 13-21, set sail on the final two-lap dash to the line and took the checkered flag in front of Danny Wood, who finished second to Wright’s son-in-law Nick Smith one night earlier in the opening leg of the ASCS Red River Shootout at State Fair Speedway.

Travis Rilat claimed the show position, while Kevin Ramey maintained his ASCS Lone Star points lead by advancing from the sixth row to finish fourth.

Originally slated to start tenth, Joe Wood, Jr., took advantage of a pair of opening lap cautions to rejoin the field and charged from 22nd to round out the top five.

Jason Johnson was in the thick of a five-car scramble for the lead at the midway point that also included Bacon, Wright, Dover and Wood when he locked it up and spun in turn two. The reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion restarted at the tail of the field and rallied to finish sixth.

Donnie Ray Crawford posted a seventh-place run, while Eric Baldaccini rebounded from a pair of early issues to claim eighth. Arizona’s Ben Gregg raced from 20th to ninth, with New Mexico’s Colt Treharn completing the top ten.

Claud Estes, Dale Wester, Crawford, Wood and Wright topped heat race action for the 44-car field, with J.P. Bailey and Matt Covington winning the twin “B” Mains.

After going for a wild ride down the frontstretch as the green flag flew upon the night’s third heat race, Brian Parker emerged relatively unscathed.

ASCS Red River Shootout Round Two
American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region vs. ASCS Lone Star Region
Results from Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 74e-Claud Estes, 2. 26-Dalton Steed, 3. 87x-Billy Melton, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 45x-Martin Edwards, 6. 17w-Brad Welborn, 7. 24-David Gailley, 8. 22J-John Gaston, 9. 69h-Larry Howery.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 12w-Dale Wester, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 6. 5m-Glenn Martin, 7. 04-Brad Graham, 8. 88r-Andy Rea, 9. 25-Robert Sellers.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 77-Colt Treharn, 4. 22b-Ben Gregg, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 14-Michael Lang, 7. 72-Sherman Davis, 8. 76-John Ricketts, 9. 9-Brian Parker.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 45-J.P. Bailey, 4. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 5. 1r-Scott Reneau, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 10-George White, 8. 11m-Brandon Moseley. DNS: 8-Shane Pace.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 45k-Kolt Walker, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 6. 13-Kathryne Minter, 7. 11-Justin Melton, 8. 87-Brian McClelland.

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 45-J.P. Bailey, 2. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 3. 72-Sherman Davis, 4. 11-Justin Melton, 5. 22J-John Gaston, 6. 69h-Larry Howery, 7. 11m-Brandon Moseley, 8. 10-George White, 9. 14-Michael Lang, 10. 1r-Scott Reneau, 11. 04-Brad Graham, 12. 93-Dustin Morgan, 13. 31m-Matt Clevenger. DNS: 9-Brian Parker.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 22b-Ben Gregg, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 17w-Brad Welborn, 5. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 6. 5m-Glenn Martin, 7. 76-John Ricketts, 8. 25-Robert Sellers, 9. 87-Brian McClelland, 10. 24-David Gailley, 11. 13-Kathryne Minter, 12. 88r-Andy Rea, 13. 45x-Martin Edwards. DNS: 8-Shane Pace.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 6. 41-Jason Johnson, 7. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 8. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 9. 22b-Ben Gregg, 10. 77-Colt Treharn, 11. 95-Matt Covington, 12. 74e-Claud Estes, 13. 12w-Dale Wester, 14. 99-Brady Bacon, 15. 53-Jack Dover, 16. 1-Sean McClelland, 17. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 18. 45k-Kolt Walker, 19. 45-J.P. Bailey, 20. 87x-Billy Melton, 21. 26-Dalton Steed, 22. 72-Sherman Davis.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Kevin Ramey 590, 2. Brad Welborn 522, 3. Brian McClelland 514, 4. Matt Clevenger 506, 5. J.P. Bailey 500, 6. Kolt Walker 488, 7. Justin Melton 486, 8. Eric Baldaccini 473, 9. Claud Estes 465, 10. Michael Lang 443.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Danny Wood 446, 2. Joe Wood, Jr. 418, 3. Sean McClelland 410, 4. Matt Covington 400, 5. Brady Bacon 394, 6. Dustin Morgan 390, 7. J.P. Bailey 380, 8. Sherman Davis 374, 9. Robert Sellers 366, 10. Kyle Bellm 332.

By Lonnie Wheatley
Photos courtesy of ASCS

Shane Stewart Wins Lucas Oil ASCS Opener at Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals

A new era in Sprint Car racing kicked off with the opening night of the 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals as Oklahoma native Shane Stewart raced to victory lane in the season opening 25-lap feature event for the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters.

Stewart raced around early leader Paul McMahan on the tenth round and later held off the closing duo of Gary Wright and Jason Johnson to strike the winning blow in the opening salvo of the Lucas Oil ASCS $60,000 championship points chase.

“This has got to be one of my biggest wins,” were the first words out of Stewart’s mouth after climbing from Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 ART-chassis. “Paul and his guys did an unbelievable job, just four days ago the trailer was completely empty and now it’s got about all we could need.”

Stewart beat four-time series champion Gary Wright to the stripe by two car-lengths, with defending series champion Jason Johnson claiming the show position. Brian Brown snared the fourth and final lock-in position to Saturday night’s 30-lap Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals championship feature event by crossing the stripe in fourth.

After starting the feature from the second row inside, Stewart spent the early rounds chasing McMahan, who had outgunned Brown for the lead at the drop of the green.

But, after three quick cautions in the opening handful of laps, Stewart began pressuring McMahan for the point before diving into the lead in turn three on the tenth lap.

“I thought he (McMahan) would be a little stronger than what he was,” Stewart explained afterward. “We were just a little tight early, so I knew we’d probably get better as the race went on.”

Out front, Stewart worked through traffic adeptly to keep Wright and Johnson at bay in the final rounds en route to his 16th career ASCS National triumph.

“We just need a backup motor and then I’m sure we can stay out here all year and try to keep racking up the points,” Stewart commented of his Lucas Oil ASCS title aspirations.

Just as Stewart took command on the tenth circuit, the action immediately behind him for position was intense between McMahan, Wright and Johnson. Wright finally battled into the second position on the 15th round with Johnson following suit. A lap later, McMahan bicycled in turn two and lost three more positions.

Wright, who surrendered the second starting position and was shuffled back to 14th in the grid (last among heat race transfers to the “A” Main) after swapping out powerplants, had wasted little time racing into contention by cracking the top five in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim after just five laps.

Wright then took fourth from Brown by the ninth round before surging past both Johnson and McMahan in traffic. Wright closed in on Stewart in the closing circuits before settling for runner-up honors and locking into Saturday’s feature in his bid for back-to-back Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals honors.

Working forward from seventh, Johnson kicked off his title defense with a close third-place run in the Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle, while Brown took advantage of McMahan’s lap 16 slip to snare fourth in the Super Clean No. 21 Maxim.

Riding a wave of 15 consecutive ASCS Regional feature wins into the weekend, New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera rounded out the top five just a couple of car lengths behind Brown.

McMahan settled for sixth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., earning KSE Hard Charger honors by racing from 20th to seventh. Jack Dover bounced back from an early stop to snare eighth after starting 18th, while Danny Wood recovered from an early foray off of turn two to claim ninth. After running among the top five in the early stages, Pennsylvania’s Trevor Lewis completed the top ten.

Stewart, Wright, Kyle Bellm, Nick Smith, Herrera, Lewis, Aaron Berryhill and Wood topped heat race action for the 65-car field, with Michael Dupuy, Skip Wilson, Dustin Morgan and Dover victorious in the 12-lap “B” Mains.

The red flag flew on the opening lap of the night’s eighth and final heat race when Minnesota’s Neil Stevens and Nebraska’s Mark Pace both flipped wildly in the opening pair of corners after contact. Both drivers emerged relatively unscathed.

36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Preliminary Results:

Heat Races (Top 14 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 4 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 93-Dustin Morgan, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 2-Kenneth Walker, 8. 50-Stephanie Chappell, 9. 12w-Dale Wester.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 9jr-Derek Hagar, 7. 12-Trey Robb, 8. 9-Brian Parker.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 2. 4c-Mike Chadd, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 53-Jack Dover, 6. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 7. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 8. 5m-Glenn Martin.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 00-Michael Dupuy, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 15-Kerry McAlister, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. e85-Zach Chappell, 7. 17w-Brad Welborn, 8. 91-Gary Taylor.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 81au-Gavin Punch, 4. 12J-Jared Ridge, 5. 7-Darren Long, 6. 87-Billy Melton, 7. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 8. 99-Brady Bacon.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 2. 11F-Foster Landon, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 27-Andy Shouse, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 11-Chad Corken, 7. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 8. 85-Jerry Bell.

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 2. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 3. 65-Skip Wilson, 4. 10-Bryan Dobesh, 5. 95-Matt Covington, 6. 35-Derrik Ortega, 7. 65g-Jordan Goldesberry, 8. 45-Martin Edwards.

Heat Eight (8 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 3d-Paul McMahan, 3. 86-Josh Fisher, 4. 4x-Jamie Passmore, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 7. 2x-Neil Stevens, 8. 31-Mark Pace.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 00-Michael Dupuy, 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 7. 15-Kerry McAlister, 8. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 9. 12-Trey Robb, 10. 12J-Jared Ridge, 11. 65g-Jordan Goldesberry, 12. 9-Brian Parker. DNS: 91-Gary Taylor.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. e85-Zach Chappell, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 8. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 9. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 10. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 11. 9jr-Derek Hagar. DNS: 2x-Neil Stevens, 31-Mark Pace.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 93-Dustin Morgan, 2. 81au-Gavin Punch, 3. 86-Josh Fisher, 4. 4x-Jamie Passmore, 5. 11-Chad Corken, 6. 7-Darren Long, 7. 10a-Ricky Logan, 8. 27-Andy Shouse, 9. 17w-Brad Welborn, 10. 85-Jerry Bell, 11. 12w-Dale Wester, 12. 45-Martin Edwards. DNS: 51-Jimmy Brooks.

Fourth “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 11F-Foster Landon, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 95-Matt Covington, 6. 14e-Justin Spoerl, 7. 2-Kenneth Walker, 8. 87-Billy Melton, 9. 35-Derrik Ortega, 10. 5m-Glenn Martin 11. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 12. 50-Stephanie Chappell.

36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Preliminary “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 21-Brian Brown, 5. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 6. 3d-Paul McMahan, 7. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 8. 53-Jack Dover, 9. 94-Danny Wood, 10. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 11. 15s-Nick Smith, 12. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 13. 00-Michael Dupuy, 14. 10-Bryan Dobesh, 15. 1-Sean McClelland, 16. 81au-Gavin Punch, 17. 11F-Foster Landon, 18. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 19. 93-Dustin Morgan, 20. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 21. 65-Skip Wilson, 22. 50-Stephanie Chappell, 23. 4c-Mike Chadd, 24. 13k-Kathryne Minter.

Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-9, Shane Stewart 10-25.

Note: Stephanie Chappell and Eric Baldaccini utilized provisionals based on 2008 owner’s points to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 15): 1. Shane Stewart 150, 2. Gary Wright 146, 3. Jason Johnson 144, 4. Brian Brown 142, 5. Johnny Herrera 140, 6. Paul McMahan 138, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 136, 8. Jack Dover 134, 9. Danny Wood 132, 10. Trevor Lewis 130, 11. Nick Smith 128, 12. Aaron Berryhill 126, 13. Michael Dupuy 124, 14. Bryan Dobesh 122, 15. Sean McClelland 120.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Devil’s Bowl hosts the Lucas Oil ASCS “Spring Nationals” this weekend

After months of anticipation, it’s just about here as the quest for the 2009 Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters championship kicks off with this weekend’s 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals in Mesquite, TX.

A staggering field of approximately 70 or so entries is expected for the two-night stand atop the famed Devil’s Bowl clay on Friday and Saturday as the VERSUS Network cameras take in all the action for a tape-delayed telecast.

This weekend’s event kicks off a new era of Sprint Car racing, launching a much-anticipated season under the Lucas Oil banner that was announced last August. A whopping $250,000 point fund is in place, with $60,000 earmarked for the series 2009 champion.

Gunning for a second consecutive title is Louisiana’s Jason Johnson, who held off four-time series king Gary Wright to take top honors in 2008. The duo of Johnson and Wright has combined to win nine of the last ten ASCS National feature events at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

They’ll have their hands full this weekend with a pit area that will be overflowing with top talent from throughout the nation, including another 25 or so competitors that have stated intentions of taking in the full Lucas Oil ASCS slate in 2009.

Those ready for Lucas Oil ASCS title consideration in 2009 include the following:

1 Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) – The former ASCS Sooner Region champ ranked sixth in 2006 National points. Sean is ready for his second full National effort after working the bugs out during a Gulf South double a couple of weeks ago.

1a Robby Wolfgang (Sioux Falls, SD) – Going Scruffy style by tagging an “a” to the number 1, the 16-year-old will see one new track after another in his first year on the National trail.

2 Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) – Set for his second year on Tour after ranking eighth last year.

3d Paul McMahan (Nashville, TN) – The 2002 STN winner makes his first start in the No. 3d entry this weekend as he kicks off his title pursuit.

4 Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) – A top-five Gulf South finisher at Cleveland, Eric needs a strong start to stay on the road after ranking sixth and picking up Rookie of the Year honors last year.

7 Darren Long (Elida, OH) – Kicks off his Rookie of the Year campaign with his first visit to Devil’s Bowl.

9x Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) – A sweep of the Gulf South opening weekend on March 6-7 just serves notice that “The Texan” will be hard to top in his bid for an unprecedented fifth series championship. Races under the Lubbock Wrecker Service banner in 2009.

10a Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) – Breaks away from the Saturday Knoxville routine to take on the road.

11 Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) – Ready to contend for Rookie of the Year honors after ranking fourth in ASCS Rocky Mountain points last year.

12 Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) – The 16-year-old makes his second full National effort, now teamed with past Gulf South champ Jerry Bell.

13 Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) – Staying sharp by staying busy, “The Rocket” already has a $13,000 ASCS Rebel win in Florida and a non-wing Canyon win at Manzanita.

13m Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) – With past East Bay champ R.J. Johnson spinning the wrenches, the 18-year-old gears up for her second year of National competition.

15s Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) – Looks for a fourth-consecutive top-ten series ranking after becoming just the 23rd driver in series history to top the 100-features started mark last season.

18 Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) – The reigning Short Track Nationals champion guns for the series title in 2009, finished second behind Gary Wright in Gulf South events on March 6-7.

21 Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) – A strong start over the next couple of weeks could force the defending Knoxville Raceway champion’s hand. Opened the 2009 season with a Sunday win at Springfield to bring the curtain down on an event that only took four months to get in the books.

23 Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) – The first Washington-based team to tackle the Lucas Oil ASCS Series, Seth has ranked among the best of the Northwest over the past three seasons.

29 Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) – Just 14 features away from becoming the third driver in series history to reach the 300 mark, a deflating left rear cost the 2003 champion a possible Gulf South win at Beaumont on March 6.

41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) – With fifty-one overall ASCS feature wins over the past three years, the reigning series champion posted a pair of fourth-place finishes in Gulf South action on March 6-7.

53 Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) – Back from New Zealand to pursue Rookie of the Year honors after earning the Midwest Region championship and National Newcomer of the Year honors in 2008.

55 Donnie Ray Crawford (Tulsa, OK) – The 2008 SMRS Midget runner-up hooks up with Wade Wiseley’s A&W Motorsports team for a run at the Lucas Oil ASCS title in 2009.

57 Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) – Shane can shine, especially when teamed with Paul Silva. They’ll have things ready to roll just in time.

86 Josh Fisher (Smithton, MO) – Takes to the Lucas Oil ASCS trail after capturing the Lake Ozark championship in 2008 and National Rookie of the Year honors in 2007.

91 Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) – GT makes his debut aboard the Sparks entry at Devil’s Bowl.

93 Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK) – After working out some bugs at Springfield, Dustin is set for his first full winged campaign after several seasons of primarily topless action.

94 Danny Wood (Norman, OK) – A three-time series runner-up tries for the top spot aboard the familiar H&H entry.

95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) – The fourth-place Sooner finisher last year goes National in 2009.

97 Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) – Providing last-lap dramatics at Lake Ozark last year much to Jason Johnson’s chagrin, Berryhill is set for his first full Lucas Oil ASCS effort.

99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) – An STN feature starter, Bacon should show Devil’s Bowl improvement with functional steering and brakes.

And those are just the likely series championship contenders.

Another 30-40 are likely for this weekend’s competition including Zach Chappell, two-time ASCS Northern Plains champion Lee Grosz, two-time ASCS Sooner Region champion Kevin Ramey, ASCS Rocky Mountain Region champion Derrik Ortega and past ASCS Sooner Region champion Danny Jennings among others.

The top four finishers in Friday night’s 25-lap preliminary feature will be locked into Saturday night’s 30-lap finale, with the balance of the field battling through another full card of heats and “B” Mains to fill out the Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals championship feature event.

The Series:

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters

When & Where:

Friday night, March 20 at 8:00 p.m. – 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals prelim
Saturday night, March 21 at 8:00 p.m. – 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals finale

Track Information:

Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – ½-mile, high-banked clay oval located six miles east of Dallas’ I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. Track phone: 972-222-2421.

Lucas Oil ASCS Devil’s Bowl History:

Devil’s Bowl Speedway has been hosting the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series since 1994, with 20 different drivers scoring at least one victory in 56 feature events. Gary Wright has claimed 19 of his 124 career ASCS National wins at Devil’s Bowl, including his first Spring Nationals triumph last year along with a July Speedweek win and then another Winter Nationals triumph in October.

Wright and Jason Johnson have had somewhat of a stranglehold on victory lane at Devil’s Bowl over the past couple of seasons, combining to win nine of the last ten features atop the storied clay oval. Only Tony Bruce, Jr., a Spring Nationals preliminary winner last year, has interrupted the Wright-Johnson reign of terror at Da’ Bowl.

While Wright is the reigning Spring Nationals champion, other recent Spring Nationals winners include Jake Peters (2007), Kevin Ramey (2006) and Danny Jennings (2005).

Devil’s Bowl Lucas Oil ASCS winners include: Gary Wright 19, Jason Johnson 6, Wayne Johnson 4, Danny Jennings 3, Kevin Ramey 3, Shane Carson 2, Terry Gray 2, Garry Lee Maier 2, Mike Peters 2, Travis Rilat 2, Sammy Swindell 2, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Tim Crawley 1, Edd French 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Larry Neighbors 1, Alan Payne 1, Jake Peters 1, Shane Stewart 1, Mike Ward 1.

Devil’s Bowl Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-race Winners: Shane Carson (6/21/94), Alan Payne (5/12/95), Mike Ward (7/23/95), Mike Peters (9/1/95), Sammy Swindell (9/2/95), Sammy Swindell (9/3/95), Wayne Johnson (6/18/96), Terry Gray (7/6/96), Terry Gray (11/1/96), Johnny Herrera (11/2/96), Shane Carson (4/5/97), Wayne Johnson (6/18/97), Edd French (10/31/97), Mike Peters (11/1/97), Gary Wright (6/19/98), Gary Wright (10/3/98), Garry Lee Maier (10/4/98), Gary Wright (7/8/99), Garry Lee Maier (7/30/99), Gary Wright (10/1/99), Gary Wright (10/2/99), Gary Wright (7/21/00), Gary Wright (10/6/00), Larry Neighbors (4/20/01), Gary Wright (7/20/01), Gary Wright (10/6/01), Travis Rilat (4/19/02), Jason Johnson (6/7/02), Wayne Johnson (10/4/02), Gary Wright (10/5/02), Kevin Ramey (4/18/03), Tim Crawley (10/17/03), Gary Wright (10/18/03), Shane Stewart (10/23/04), Danny Jennings (3/18/05), Danny Jennings (3/19/05), Danny Jennings (6/9/05), Gary Wright (10/21/05), Gary Wright (10/22/05), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Spring Nationals makeup feature), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Summer Nationals), Gary Wright (7/13/06), Jason Johnson (10/13/06), Travis Rilat (10/14/06), Wayne Johnson (3/16/07), Jake Peters (3/17/07), Gary Wright (5/12/07), Gary Wright (7/19/07), Jason Johnson (10/12/07), Jason Johnson (10/13/07), Tony Bruce, Jr. (3/14/08), Gary Wright (3/15/08), Jason Johnson (5/10/08), Gary Wright (7/17/08), Jason Johnson (10/17/08), Gary Wright (10/18/08).

2009 Lucas Oil ASCS Feature Winners:

None – Season Opener.

Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:

March 27 – State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK)
March 28 – State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK)
April 18 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR)
May 1 – Tri-City Speedway (Granite City, IL)

Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:

Those unable to catch all the action in person can listen to every Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters live at www.racinboys.com.

Official results, championship point updates, photos and race notes will be available at www.ascsracing.com.

Lucas Oil ASCS on TV:

The Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals will be the first two of ten Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters events scheduled to be broadcast on a tape delayed basis on the VERSUS Network.

Events to be aired on VERSUS include the following:
March 20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)
March 21 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)
May 23 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS)
May 24 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS)
July 3 – Presleyland Motorsports Park (Chandler, IN)
July 4 – Presleyland Motorsports Park (Chandler, IN)
August 6 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
August 7 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
August 8 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
September 26 – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO)

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 34 nights of racing action at 16 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country’s top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
Posted 3/16/2009

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