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

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.

“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

Jason Johnson is an ASCS Gulf South “Spoiler” at Speedarama

Reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Jason Johnson put an end to Gary Wright’s bid for a perfect Regional weekend by taking the $2,000 triumph in Sunday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at the Speedarama Raceway.

With Wright vying for a $1,000 bonus for topping all three nights of the Gulf South’s “Memorial Day Classic”, Johnson played the role of spoiler by picking off his fifth overall ASCS feature win of the season aboard the Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim.

Wright still picked up a $500 bonus for winning two of the weekend’s three feature events.

Pole starter Brandon Berryman paced the initial pair of rounds before fifth-starter Johnson raced into a lead he would never relinquish. Johnson went on to the checkered flag ahead of Michael Dupuy, with Berryman settling for the show position.

Wright crossed the stripe fourth, with reigning series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek in fifth. Kevin Ramey was sixth, with Chris Sweeney, George White, Wes Miller and Brandon Corn completing the top ten.

Kulhanek, Wright, Beau Smith and Berryman won Sunday night’s heat races, with Eric Baldaccini winning the “B” Main.

George White reclaimed the series points lead with his eighth place finish, as Tommy Bryant missed the feature cut for the first time in eleven events this season after entering the night with a slim 6-point advantage.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Speedarama Raceway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 7w-Dustin Welch.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 3-Gary Watson, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 7. 19-Klint Angelette, 8. 45-Martin Edwards.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 51s-Beau Smith, 2. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 30-Brandon Corn, 5. 52-Roger Oakes, 6. 24-Brandie Jass. DNS: 69-Larry Howery.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 10-George White, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 5c-Chris Coker.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 88-Scottie McDonald, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 25m-Michael McNeil, 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 45-Martin Edwards, 8. 19-Klint Angelette, 9. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 10. 24-Brandie Jass, 11. 71-Channin Tankersley, 12. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 13. 5c-Chris Coker, 14. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 15. 7w-Dustin Welch. DNS: 69-Larry Howery.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 3. 31-Brandon Berryman, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 7. 93-Chris Sweeney, 8. 10-George White, 9. 2-Wes Miller, 10. 30-Brandon Corn, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 88-Scottie McDonald, 13. 25m-Michael McNeil, 14. 15T-Travis Elliott, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 51s-Beau Smith, 17. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 18. 3-Gary Watson, 19. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 20. 52-Roger Oakes.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 1,310, 2. Tommy Bryant 1,265, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,253, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,195, 5. Chris Sweeney 1,186, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,114, 7. (tie) Greg Rilat and Jason Johnson 1,088, 9. Aaron Reutzel 1,080, 10. Travis Elliott 1,073.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Gulf South photos

Gary Wright snares second ASCS Gulf South win in-a-row, this time at Gator

A return to his familiar No. 9 Maxim was apparently just the tonic that Gary Wright needed, as “The Texan” reeled off another win in Saturday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at the Gator Motorplex.

It was Wright’s second win of the weekend in the three-race ASCS Gulf South “Memorial Day Classic” and his fifth in just seven starts aboard his own entry thus far in 2011 after just three Regional wins over the course of the entire 2010 season.

With his second $2,000 triumph in as many nights, Wright has already clinched a $500 bonus for the weekend. Another $2,000 triumph in Sunday’s card at Lufkin’s Speedarama Raceway would net Wright $7,000 for the weekend including a $1,000 bonus for a weekend sweep.

In Saturday’s feature, Wright redrew the pole position after a runner-up finish in his heat race and wired the field for his first ASCS win atop Gator Motorplex clay.

Wright was chased to the line by third-starter Jason Johnson, while Friday night absentee Kevin Ramey dropped in to claim a podium finish by taking the show position. Aaron Reutzel was fourth, with Channin Tankersley rounding out the top five.

Scottie McDonald picked up Hard Charger honors by racing from 15th to sixth, with Brandon Corn, Eric Baldaccini, Brandon Berryman and Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

Heat races for the 30-car field were won by Brandon Corn, Johnson, Reutzel and Tankersley, with McDonald and Baldaccini winning the “B” Mains.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Gator Motorplex:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 30-Brandon Corn, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 88-Scottie McDonald, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 10-George White, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 3-Gary Watson, 8. 22L-Kent Lewis, Jr., 9. 69-Larry Howery.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 51s-Beau Smith, 3. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 6. 45-Martin Edwards, 7. 36-John Pate, 8. 2-Wes Miller, 9. 40-Junior Jenkins.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 93-Chris Sweeney, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 5c-Chris Coker, 7. 66-J.J. Simmons, 8. 23-Darryl Wills.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 7. 52-Roger Oakes, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

First “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 74e-Claud Estes, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 25m-Michael McNeil, 6. 36-John Pate, 7. 22L-Kent Lewis, Jr., 8. 2-Wes Miller, 9. 66-J.J. Simmons. DNS: 76-John Ricketts.

Second “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 19-Klint Angelette, 3. 45-Martin Edwards, 4. 3-Gary Watson, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 5c-Chris Coker, 7. 5-Nathan Hamberg, 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 23-Darryl Wills. DNS: 40-Junior Jenkins.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 88-Scottie McDonald, 7. 30-Brandon Corn, 8. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 10-George White, 12. 35-Greg Rilat, 13. 74e-Claud Estes, 14. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 15. 51s-Beau Smith, 16. 45-Martin Edwards, 17. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 18. 19-Klint Angelette, 19. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 20. 3x-Michael Dupuy.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Tommy Bryant 1,200, 2. George White 1,194, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,128, 4. Chris Sweeney 1,067, 5. Brandon Berryman 1,060, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,049, 7. Greg Rilat 988, 8. Aaron Reutzel 972, 9. Travis Elliott 971, 10. Jason Johnson 938.

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

“The Texan” is Tops in ASCS Gulf South Golden Triangle go

Just because he’s being inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame next weekend doesn’t mean that Gary Wright is done winning races. “The Texan” made that evident on Friday night by topping the opening leg of the Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South three-night “Memorial Day Classic” at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Wright added his 18th overall ASCS Regional win to 127 previous ASCS National triumphs by driving his No. 9 Maxim to victory lane for the fourth in just six 2011 outings aboard his own entry, becoming the first repeat ASCS Gulf South winner of the season through nine events.

While Wright started the feature from the front row outside, it was pole starter Gary Watson leading the opening circuit before Wright took command.

Wright paced the field the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag ahead of fifth-starter Jason Johnson, defending series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, current Gulf South points leader Tommy Bryant and Michael Dupuy, who earned Hard Charger honors by racing from 15th to round out the top five.

Watson was sixth, with Michael McNeil, John Pate, Wes Miller and George White completing the top ten.

Johnson, Chris Sweeney, Watson and Wright topped heat race action, with Dupuy winning the “B” Main.

The Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South “Memorial Day Classic” continues on Saturday night at the Gator Motorplex in Willis, TX, before finishing up at Lufkin’s Speedarama Raceway on Sunday.

With his $2,000 triumph in Friday’s feature, Wright is eligible for a $1,000 bonus if he can pull down wins over each of the next two nights as well.

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

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 10-George White, 3. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 4. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 2-Wes Miller, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 19-Klint Angelette.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 93-Chris Sweeney, 2. 36-John Pate, 3. 40-Junior Jenkins, 4. 24j-Brandie Jass, 5. 76-John Ricketts, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 30-Brandon Corn.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 25m-Michael McNeil, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 66-J.J. Simmons, 7. 5c-Chris Coker.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 51s-Beau Smith, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 35-Greg Rilat, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman, 8. 66-J.J. Simmons, 9. 51s-Beau Smith, 10. 19-Klint Angelette, 11. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 12. 52-Roger Oakes, 13. 76-John Ricketts, 14. 30-Brandon Corn, 15. 5c-Chris Coker.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 25m-Michael McNeil, 8. 36-John Pate, 9. 2-Wes Miller, 10. 10-George White, 11. 93-Chris Sweeney, 12. 35-Greg Rilat, 13. 40-Junior Jenkins, 14. 69-Larry Howery, 15. 24j-Brandie Jass, 16. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 17. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 18. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 19. 15T-Travis Elliott, 20. 71-Channin Tankersley.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Tommy Bryant 1,108, 2. George White 1,086, 3. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,026, 4. Chris Sweeney 957, 5. Brandon Berryman 947, 6. Channin Tankersley 924, 7. Travis Elliott 906, 8. Greg Rilat 882, 9. Gary Watson 871, 10. Aaron Reutzel 842.

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

Wiley Travis Rilat wins wild ASCS Gulf South war at Texana Raceway Park

Texan Travis Rilat used lapped traffic to reel in two-time ASCS National Champion Jason Johnson in Saturday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event at Texana Raceway Park - not once, but twice.

Coming to take the checkers it was nearly four-wide coming of turn 4 in the race to the flag. Both cars made contact with slower traffic and had two wheels off the ground as Rilat eked out the victory, by maybe 3 feet, followed by a celebratory “wing dance.

After missing last year due to Mother Nature the ASCS Gulf South Region Sprint Car stars made the trip to Edna’s Texana Raceway Park on the tight, ¼ mile, paper-clip-shaped gumbo oval. Always a crowd favorite, these winged warriors put on an exciting, high speed show to the delight of the crowd. Tonight would be no exception with one of the wildest finishes this reporter has seen in my 40 years of being involved in racing.

Running in support of the Sprints were the local ‘Outlaw’ Modifieds, Limited Modifieds, Late Models Street Stocks and Hot Stock Trucks.

Wiley Rilat Wins Wild One

As green waved on the 20-car starting field, Johnson jumped out front from the outside pole. In the pack Beau Smith flipped on the back stretch with points leader Tommy Bryant getting a piece of the action and pitting for repairs. On the second try as they dove into turn 1 Evan Pardo jumped wheels sending him airborne in a cork-screw flip into turn 2. Both drivers were able to climb out and walk away.

Finally, the third time was a charm as Johnson again broke out front, followed by T. Rilat and Aaron Reutzel making a big charge from sixth to third. It wasn’t long until the high-flying Johnson caught the back of the field on lap 4. This gave T. Rilat the chance to close. T. Rilat was on Johnson’s rear nerf bar on lap 7 as they duo diced through slower cars. Reutzel used the battle and slower cars to reel in both the leaders.

T. Rilat ducked low on Johnson, who got ‘picked’ up top, to get the point on lap 10. At the crossed flags it was T. Rilat, Johnson, Reutzel, previous night’s winner, Channin Tankersley and George White in the top five. The top two were still nose to tail until Johnson put a classic slide job on T. Rilat going into turn 1 to regain the top spot on lap 18.

Johnson looked to be a runaway winner until he again caught a large pack of slower cars in the final laps. With five to go the lead battle was shaping up again as slower cars became rolling obstacles in the waning laps. As the flagman showed the lead duo two to go, Johnson had a five car length margin on T. Rilat. With the white flag in the air that margin had shrunk to only about a car length as the near capacity crowd rose to its feet.

Johnson, running the top, held the advantage going into turn 3 with two slower cars side by side ahead. T. Rilat took the low road getting along side Johnson in the middle of the corner. T. Rilat made it three wide coming off turn 4 on the bottom, while Johnson carried the momentum up top. T. Rilat jumped a tire sending him bicycling towards the infield as Johnson ran out of room and into the back of Gary Watson.

T. Rilat regained control landing it back on all fours just short of the finish line while Johnson was climbing the tail tank of Watson. At the line it was T. Rilat in the F&J Construction, shoptheboss.com, Murray & Son Enterprises, Shark Racing Engines, Triple X Chassis getting the win by a couple feet as Johnson, with only the rear wheels on the ground, was being carried piggy-back by Watson across the line.

The crowd was going crazy after witnessing what I’d call the biggest OMG racing finish in my lifetime. T. Rilat did a couple do-nuts before climbing out and giving the fans a wing dance.

Several other drivers found themselves looking at the wrong side of the track with Dustin Welch going over in the B-main, while Roger Oakes and Chris Coker flipped in heat race action.

“That was pretty spectacular,” replied Rilat. “It was kind of like a movie script, like Stroker Ace who crossed(the line) upside down. That’s about what this was. I thought for sure I was going to go over there. I knew I had to make a move on the last lap, but those lapped cars were there and I had to get through them. It was pretty exciting and we got it done.”

“I don’t think I could have run Jason(Johnson) down. The lapped cars helped out a lot. Our cars were pretty equal. I passed him him earlier the same way in lapped traffic, on these short tracks it always comes into play.”

“Running these regional shows is a little different than the national shows. There are always some good cars that show up, like Jason and some others. You still have to go all out and be heads up. You can never back down whether it’s a regional or national show.”

“I’m back in good health and everything is coming along good. We’re wining races so it can’t be to bad. We’re just going race here and there the rest of the year and give a shot at the championships next year.”

ASCS Sprint Cars, 25 laps

29 Travis Rilat, 41 Jason Johnson, 87 Aaron Reutzel, 71 Channin Tankersley, 21t Ray Allen Kulhanek, 31 Brandon Berryman, 15T Travis Elliott, 10 George White, 93 Chris Sweeney, 69 Larry Howery, 14E Tommy Bryant, 3 Gary Watson, 51 Jimmy Brooks, 5c Chris Coker, 19 Klint Angelette, 35 Greg Rilat, 12b Logan Bledsoe, 1(52) Roger Oakes, 54 Evan Pardo, 51s Beau Smith

ASCS B-main(Top 6 to A-main)

93 Chris Sweeney, 31 Brandon Berryman, 69 Larry Howery, 51 Jimmy Brooks, 5c Chris Coker, 52 Roger Oakes, 17 Bruce Griffith, 15 Andy VanBlarcum, 7w Dustin Welch

ASCS heats(Top 14 passing points to A-main)

Heat 1

29 Travis Rilat, 54 Evan Pardo, 3 Gary Watson, 14c Tommy Bryant, 12B Logan Bledsoe, 69 Larry Howery, 7w Dustin Welch 5c Chris Coker

Heat 2

87 Aaron Reutzel, 51 Beau Smith, 35 Greg Rilat, 21t Ray Allen Kulhanek,15t Travis Elliott, 31 Brandon Berryman, 17 Bruce Griffith, 15 Andy VanBlarcum

Heat 3

71 Channin Tankersley, 41 Jason Johnson, 10 George White, 19 Klint Angelette, 93 Chris Sweeney, 51 Jimmy Brooks, 52 Roger Oakes

Manning Masters Modified Main

Brazoria’s Jesse Manning bested a short, but stout field in the Outlaw Modified 20-lapper. Manning, running a part-time USMTS schedule, got past another USMTS contender, Rory Jordan early then pulled away throughout the race to take the checkers with a good advantage.

Jordan beat Dustin Brandl off turn 2 to get the early lead with Manning up to second followed by Brandl, Tanner Whitmire and Jason Borlace. Manning got inside Jordan coming off turn 2 on lap 1 with a brief side by side battle down the back stretch. Manning got the best run into turn 3 coming out with the lead on lap 2. Coming to halfway it was Manning, Jordan, Whitmire Brandl and Nick Hardcastle getting by Borlace for fifth.

Stew Savage slowed the action on lap 11 with the races only caution for his spin in turn 4. On the restart, Manning quickly broke out front, while Hardcastle slipped giving up spots to Borlace, Terry Woodall and Brandl. As Manning eased away, Whitmire got by Jordan for second. Hardcastle was able to retake a top five position in the waning laps. Up front it was Manning, with a huge lead, putting the JTC Motors, Auto Repair Unlimited, Jays Equipment, 105 Machine, Evolution Chassis in Victory Lane.

“We’ve been working hard on the set up on this new Evolution Chassis,” commented Manning. “We’ve been struggling for a while, but working with Howard Willis and Russell Moore it’s coming around now. We’ve got on top of it and it’s working out. We’ve got a couple wins under our belt this year and hope to have more.”

“When you get into a new chassis it’s driver preference mostly. It’s the feel and everyone has a different set up they like. What works for one(driver) doesn’t always work for another. So you take a little bit of what they are doing and your own ideas and go for it.”

“It’s a short but stout field here. These guys have come a long way. We all get along well and travel for some of the USMTS Southern Series shows. I wish there more cars around here, but with the economy it’s just the way it goes right now.”

Modified

76 Jesse Manning, 101 Tanner Whitmire, 7x Rory Jordan, 21 Jason Borlace, 94 Nick Hardcastle, 3w Terry Woodall, 00x Dustin Brandl, 77 Jason Lewis, 4 Stew Savage

Modified heat

00x Dustin Brandl, 7x Rory Jordan, 21 Jason Borlace. 76 Jesse Manning, 101 Tanner Whitmire, 94 Nick Hardcastle, 4* Stew Savage, 77 Jason Lewis, 3w Terry Woodall

White Wins Another One

The past few years Texana Raceway has been kind to the former USAC Silver Crown and NASCAR Sunbelt Region champion Paul White(Temple) driving as a hired gun. Tonight would be no different as he battled with GW Hessong and Wade Moyer early in the 20-lap feature. White took over near halfway and then left Moyer, Jensen Prey and Mickey Helms battling for second as he was snagging another checkers.

Seventeen Limited Modified took the green with Hessong getting the run off turn 2, but a tangle back in the pack brought out the caution. Hessong and Moyer stayed side by side on the next start until Hessong got the advantage coming off turn 4 to lead lap 1. Moyer fell in line second trailed by White, Prey and Helms running wheel to wheel with Vince Kacir.

Moyer moved in the give Hessong a look for the lead on lap 2. This gave White an opening to sneak past Moyer for second on lap 3. White then got beside Hessong for the lead but yellow waved for a spin by Bo Beckner on lap 4. On the restart White gave Hessong a look low, but Hessong held on, as the top three got away.

White got a run on Hessong to grab the top spot on lap 8 followed by Moyer to second. Coming to halfway it was White, Moyer, Hessong, Helms and Shane Hoefling getting by Prey for fifth. Helms then picked off Hessong for third on lap 10. Yellow waved on lap 11 for Hoefling who spun in turn 3 and got T-boned by Kacir, ending both their nights.

Back under green, White got away clean with Moyer and Helms fighting for second. Tim Heatherly brought out a yellow on lap 12 when stopped in turn 1. On the restart, Art Rodriguez went around on the front stretch causing Chase Sanchez and Allgayer to spin as they tried to dodge him. Back under green White got a big jump when Helms slipped and fell back to fourth.

Helms and Prey then battled for third swapping the spot on lap 16. Both Helms and Prey caught Moyer with two to go in the scramble for second. Up front it was White, on cruise control and easing away. At the checkers it as White in the B&D, Craftmasters Powdercoating, Westside Performance powered, Big Chief Chassis adding another TRP win to his total.

“We really diced around pretty good,” said White. “The track got tricky enough that it made it a lot of fun. I was trying to take advantage where my car was better they were messing up. One of them was slipping a bit in the middle of the turns and mine was actually a little tight. I just tried to keep myself in the right position and keep working at it until I could get there.”

“This (Bruce Tesch car) is a new one for me after being in the Bridwell car for so long. We’re still trying to get all we can get out of it. We were happy with the other car and knew what we needed to do on it. The things we used to do don’t work on this car like the other one. We had to go another direction to make it all work.”

Limited Modifieds

2w Paul White, 23 Wade Moyer, 57 Jensen Prey, 174 Mickey Helms, 147 GW Hessong, 6 Vince Louden, 22 Art Rodriguez, 24 John Lieta, 26 David McBride, J1 Tim Heatherly, 24x Mike Lieta, 75 Bo Beckner, 11 Jeff Allgayer, 4 Chase Sanchez, 63 Shane Hoefling, 155 Vince Kacir, 21c Barry Codling

Limited Modified heats

Heat 1

23 Wade Moyer, 2w Paul White, 155 Vince Kacir, 174 Mickey Helms, 22 Art Rodriguez, 4 Chase Sanchez, 63 Shane Hoefling, 24 John Lieta

Heat 2

147 GW Hessong, 57 Jensen Prey, 6 Vince Louden, 75 Bo Beckner, J1 Tim Heatherly, 24x Mike Lieta, 11 Jeff Allgayer, 26 David McBride, 21c Barry Codling

In the 12-lap Late Model feature it was Eric Neal going wire to wire for the win. Neal was chased throughout the race by Michael Wagner, who was never able to mount a serious challenge. The races only yellow flew when David Kulhanek spun while battling with Randy Kacir for third.

Late Models

97 Eric Neal, 18 Michael Wagner, 36 Randy Kacir, 9 Mitch Wagner, 37 David Kulhanek

Late Model heat winner, 97 Eric Neal

Justin Bloom took advantage of the misfortune of Jason Bloom to get the lead early in the 12-lap Hot Stock Truck feature. Ja. Bloom got out front on green, but spun off to the turn 4 mud puddle and lost the clutch trying to get out. This gave the lead to Ju. Bloom who pulled away from the field as it spread out, for the victory.

Hot Stock Trucks

84 Justin Bloom, 76 Justin Airhardt, 15 KC Jimmerson, 43 Bob Ort, 88 Mikey Harvel, 62 Scott Symonds, 44 Billy Ragsdale, 49 Jason Bloom

Hot Stock Truck heat winner, 84 Justin Bloom

Chris Shafer jumped out front at the start of the 12-car, 20-lap Street Stock feature with Tony Blankenship second and Mike Moseley, AJ Solis and Jason Fox going three wide for third. Fox and Solis tangled on lap 1 for an early caution that saw Fox pit with a flat tire. On the restart Shafer and Blankenship eased away as Lauren Chamberlain moved past Solis for fourth.

Brian King started his march to the front getting by Fox for fifth on lap 2 and along side Chamberlain. After putting her back a spot, King got by Moseley for third on lap 3 as Kasey Garvin got sixth from Solis. Up front Blankenship ducked under Shafer to get the lead on lap 6, then held off Shafer who tried to retake the spot.

As Blankenship eased away, Moseley slipped and went backwards giving up several positions. Brad Hayes and Solis then began a lap by lap battle for fifth. Shafer was able to chase down Blankenship in traffic with five to go, while Hayes and Solis continued to swap fifth. At the checkers it was Blankenship able to hold the lead and grab the victory over Shafer.

Street Stocks

35 Tony Blankenship, 77 Chris Shafer, 31 Brian King, 55 Lauren Chamberlain, 9* Brad Hayes, 21 AJ Solis, 36 Lucky Gilbert, 19 Kasey Garvin, 58 James Hess, 3 Mike Moseley, 88 Johnny Hess, 21x Jason Fox
Street Stock heat winners, 77 Chris Shafer, 3 Mike Moseley

By JM Hallas
ASCS Gulf South photo in story
Joe Orth photo on front page

Gary Wright holds on to win ASCS Gulf South feature at Speedarama

Gary Wright picked up his second overall American Sprint Car Series Regional feature win of the year by limping to the checkered flag in Saturday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region main event at the Speedarama Raceway.

Working forward from the ninth starting position in his familiar No. 9, Wright raced into the lead on the 15th circuit and then slipped across the finish line in command moments after a piston failure in his powerplant.

Wright claimed the victory just in front of eleventh-starter Jason Johnson, who charged past George White in the final corner for runner-up honors. With a broken steering box, White tagged the wall and flipped across the finish line to claim the show position and assume the ASCS Gulf South points lead.

With the red flag flying with checkered as White flipped, the balance of the field was scored on the previous lap with Scottie McDonald in fourth and Jeffrey Newell posting his first career top-five ASCS finish by rounding out the top five.

Tommy Bryant was sixth, with defending series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, 15th-starter Travis Rilat, Brandon Berryman and pole starter Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

Aaron Reutzel, Bryant, McDonald and Newell topped heat race action, with Travis Rilat winning the “B” Main.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Speedarama Raceway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 3-Gary Watson, 6. 51s-Beau Smith, 7. 17-Channin Tankersley, 8. 7w-Dustin Welch.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 69-Larry Howery. DNS: 64j-Johnny Miller.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 5c-Chris Coker, 3. 10-George White, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 54-Evan Pardo, 6. 28-James Cooper, 7. 25h-Trey Schmidt, 8. 17c-Greg Coleman.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 25m-Michael McNeil, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 40-Junior Jenkins, 6. 2-Wes Miller, 7. 2s-Steve Hubbard.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 54-Evan Pardo, 3. 51s-Beau Smith, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 17-Channin Tankersley, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 40-Junior Jenkins, 8. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 9. 19-Klint Angelette, 10. 28-James Cooper, 11. 69-Larry Howery, 12. 2-Wes Miller, 13. 17c-Greg Coleman, 14. 25h-Trey Schmidt, 15. 2s-Steve Hubbard, 16. 7w-Dustin Welch. DNS: 64j-Johnny Miller.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 10-George White, 4. 88-Scottie McDonald, 5. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 6. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 7. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 15T-Travis Elliott, 12. 25m-Michael McNeil, 13. 35-Greg Rilat, 14. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 15. 54-Evan Pardo, 16. 51s-Beau Smith, 17. 17-Channin Tankersley, 18. 5c-Chris Coker, 19. 3-Gary Watson, 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 389, 2. Aaron Reutzel 353, 3. Brandon Berryman 351, 4. Tommy Bryant 338, 5. Greg Rilat 312, 6. Ray Allen Kulhanek 309, 7. Jeffrey Newell 290, 8. Michael McNeil 287, 9. Chris Sweeney 285, 10. Channin Tankersley 282.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Aaron Reutzel rules ASCS Gulf South at Heart O’ Texas

Leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Aaron Reutzel took full advantage of an idle weekend for the Lucas Oil ASCS National series by racing to victory lane in Friday night’s 30-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region main event at Heart O’ Texas Speedway.

The 20-year-old from Clute, TX, made a late-race move around Brandon Berryman for the lead to claim his second career ASCS Gulf South triumph aboard Kenny Reutzel’s Simpson Race Products No. 87 Triple-X, this one worth $3,000.

While 2009 Gulf South champ Reutzel took the green flag from the sixth starting position, it was two-time series champ Brandon Berryman leading most of the way after starting from the pole. Berryman briefly surrendered the lead on the seventh lap to Jason Johnson, who then jumped the cushion and spun to a stop.

As the laps wound down, Reutzel and Channin Tankersley battled past Berryman on the 22nd circuit only to have Tankersley tangle with a lapped car and get upside down.

With Berryman back up front on the restart, Reutzel kept the pressure on until taking command with just three rounds to go. Reutzel raced on to the checkered flag in front of Berryman, with George White racing into the show position after starting 12th.

Reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Jason Johnson rebounded from his early miscue to salvage fourth, with defending ASCS Gulf South champion Ray Allen Kulhanek rounding out the top five. Claud Estes was sixth, with Martin Edwards, Chris Coker, Gary Watson and Tommy Bryant completing the top ten.

Johnson, Tankersley, Ryan Hall, Berryman and Watson topped heat race action for the 37-car field, with Evan Pardo and Bryant winning the “B” Mains.

After turning over in heat race action, Travis Rilat fell one spot short of a transfer in “B” Main action.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Heart O’ Texas Speedway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 28-James Cooper, 3. 40-Junior Jenkins, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 54-Evan Pardo, 6. 2s-Steve Hubbard, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr. DNS: 17c-Greg Coleman.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 5c-Chris Coker, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 74e-Claud Estes, 5. 9-Brian Parker, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 11x-Justin Melton, 8. 8-Bruce Crockett.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 79-Ryan Hall, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 2-Wes Miller, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 64j-Johnny Miller, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 14b-Robert Byrom.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 10-George White, 3. 25m-Michael McNeil, 4. 51-Beau Smith, 5. 35-Greg Rilat, 6. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 7. 29-Travis Rilat.

Fifth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 7w-Dustin Welch, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.

First “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 54-Evan Pardo, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 51-Beau Smith, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 10. 2s-Steve Hubbard. DNS: 25m-Michael McNeil, 17c-Greg Coleman.

Second “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 2. 64j-Johnny Miller, 3. 76-John Ricketts, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 11x-Justin Melton, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 93-Chris Sweeney, 8. 14b-Robert Byrom, 9. 9-Brian Parker, 10. 7w-Dustin Welch. DNS: 8-Bruce Crockett.

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 10-George White, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 74e-Claud Estes, 7. 45-Martin Edwards, 8. 5c-Chris Coker, 9. 3-Gary Watson, 10. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 11. 15T-Travis Elliott, 12. 64j-Johnny Miller, 13. 54-Evan Pardo, 14. 40-Junior Jenkins, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 79-Ryan Hall, 17. 71-Channin Tankersley, 18. 2-Wes Miller, 19. 28-James Cooper, 20. 76-John Ricketts.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Aaron Reutzel 263, 2. George White 254, 3. Brandon Berryman 238, 4. Tommy Bryant 216, 5. Greg Rilat 208, 6. Wes Miller 198, 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek 190, 8. Channin Tankersley 186, 9. (tie) Michael McNeil and Chris Coker 181.

Story by Lonnie Wheatley

Hafertepe takes Lucas Oil ASCS honors in Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals

Sam Hafertepe, Jr., became the sixth different winner in as many nights of 2011 Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National action by taking top honors in Saturday night’s 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals 30-lap championship finale.

After pacing the initial pair of circuits, Hafertepe rallied past both Danny Lasoski and leader Brian Brown on a lap 17 restart en route to the $6,000 triumph, his second career ASCS National victory aboard the Fisher-powered Lone Star Speedway No. 15h Maxim.

Struggling with a faulty wing slider, the Sunnyvale, TX, shoe slipped back as far as fifth at the race’s midway point before rallying for the win in front of current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader Shane Stewart from eleventh and defending series champion Jason Johnson in third after winning Friday night’s preliminary feature.

“I’d written myself off, the wing was stuck all the way back and I couldn’t get going,” Hafertepe explained. “It finally got where I could keep my momentum up though and we were able to get back up front.”

Starting from the pole position, Hafertepe outgunned Brian Brown for the lead at the drop of the green flag and led just two laps before Brown and fifth-starter Lasoski raced by on the third circuit.

Brown kept the FVP No. 21 Maxim in front of Missouri relative Lasoski over the ensuing rounds, with sixth-starting Brady Bacon putting the top side of turns one and two to good use to race around Hafertepe for third on the ninth circuit and then take second from Lasoski by the midway point as Wayne Johnson relegated Hafertepe to fifth.

A seemingly innocuous caution for Eric Baldaccini’s race-ending excursion off turn three after 16 laps changed the complexion of the race though, as Wayne Johnson clipped an infield tire in turn two and slid to a stop with front end damage on the restart with Bacon falling victim to a failed fuel line on the next try.

Up to third behind Brown and Lasoski after the misfortune of Johnson and Bacon, Hafertepe hustled past them both for the lead and checked out in short order with 2009 series champion Shane Stewart taking over second by the 19th round.

After a final caution for Dustin Morgan in turn two on the 24th lap, Hafertepe checked out again only to reach traffic again before the white flag flew. Stewart tried to move in, but was unable to mount a challenge on the 25-year-old.

Stewart settled for runner-up honors in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered Rockstar Energy Drink No. 57 A.R.T., holding off the late charges of Friday night preliminary winner Jason Johnson in the Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim.

Lasoski crossed the stripe fourth, with Brown rounding out the top five after pacing 13 early rounds. In just his second National start since suffering severe burns last July, Travis Rilat charged from the 17th starting position to claim sixth with 15th-starter Danny Wood, 14th-starter Matt Covington, “Texan” Gary Wright and Missouri’s Kyle Bellm completing the top ten.

Covington, Wood, Johnny Herrera, Tim Crawley, Stewart and Brown won Saturday night’s heat races. Rilat made a lap 12 move around Zach Chappell to win the first “B” Main, while Channin Tankersley’s last corner pass of Dustin Morgan netted the win in an enthralling second “B” Main.

A total of 54 different drivers took part in the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters portion of the 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals without the red flag ever flying over the course of two full nights.

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

Locked in from Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

41-Jason Johnson, 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 99-Brady Bacon, 33-Danny Lasoski.

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

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 12$-Michelle Decker, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 21v-Taylor Velasquez, 8. 28x-Mitch Runge.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 81-Danny Wood, 2. 8-John Carney II, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 2-Dustin Morgan, 5. 1j-Danny Jennings, 6. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 7. 15T-Travis Elliott, 8. 51-Beau Smith.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 2. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 3. 38-Wayne Johnson, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 2x-Logan Payne, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman, 8. 53-Jack Dover.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 0-Zach Chappell, 3. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 4. 15d-Brady Demeree, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 31x-Mark Pace, 7. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 8. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 10-George White, 3. 2L-Logan Forler, 4. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 5. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 6. 45-Martin Edwards, 7. 54-Evan Pardo, 8. 23-Seth Bergman.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 28-Jeff Swindell, 3. 01-Gary Wright, 4. 14-Michael Lang, 5. 23x-Darryl Wills, 6. 35g-Barry Gifford, 7. 1x-Garry Lee Maier, 8. 9-Brian Parker.

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

First “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 8-John Carney II, 3. 0-Zach Chappell, 4. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 12$-Michelle Decker, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 35g-Barry Gifford, 9. 31x-Mark Pace, 10. 15T-Travis Elliott, 11. 45-Martin Edwards, 12. 15d-Brady Demeree, 13. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 14. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15. 9-Brian Parker. DNS: 44w-Austen Wheatley, 31-Brandon Berryman, 53-Jack Dover.

Second “B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 2-Dustin Morgan, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 28-Jeff Swindell, 5. 1x-Garry Lee Maier, 6. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 7. 1j-Danny Jennings, 8. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 9. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 10. 54-Evan Pardo, 11. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 12. 23x-Darryl Wills, 13. 21v-Taylor Velasquez, 14. 51-Beau Smith, 15. 28x-Mitch Runge, 16. 2x-Logan Payne. DNS: 14-Michael Lang, 23-Seth Bergman.

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

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 33-Danny Lasoski, 5. 21-Brian Brown, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 81-Danny Wood, 8. 95-Matt Covington, 9. 01-Gary Wright, 10. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 11. 88-Tim Crawley, 12. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 13. 71-Channin Tankersley, 14. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 15. 28-Jeff Swindell, 16. 0-Zach Chappell, 17. 2L-Logan Forler, 18. 8-John Carney II, 19. 10-George White, 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 21. 2-Dustin Morgan, 22. 99-Brady Bacon, 23. 38-Wayne Johnson, 24. 4-Eric Baldaccini.

Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1-2, Brian Brown 3-16, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 17-30.

Note: Jeff Swindell and Aaron Reutzel both utilized their first provisionals of 2011 to start the main event.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Driver Points (Top 15): 1. Shane Stewart 800, 2. Johnny Herrera 743, 3. Tim Crawley 665, 4. Jeff Swindell 664, 5. Brady Bacon 654, 6. Aaron Reutzel 627, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 604, 8. Seth Bergman 600, 9. Gary Wright 596, 10. Logan Forler 553, 11. Zach Chappell 543, 12. Dustin Morgan 501, 13. (tie) Mason Moore and Trey Starks 391, 15. Jack Dover 387.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 837, 2. Paul Silva #57 - 800, 3. Herrera/Main #45x - 743, 4. Mike Ward #88 - 665, 5. Swindell Group #28 – 664, 6. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 - 654, 7. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 627, 8. Bruce Racing #18 – 604, 9. Petersen Motorsports #23 - 600, 10. Cooper/Sperry #01/51 - 596, 11. Steve Forler #2L – 553, 12. Randy Washburn #0 – 543, 13. M&M Motorsports #2 – 501, 14. (tie) Harley Van Dyke #5h and Terry Starks #55 – 391

by Lonnie Wheatley
Tim Aylwin photos

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

“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.”

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

Andy Shouse ends 6-year ASCS drought at Speedarama Raceway

Oklahoma invader Andy Shouse foiled Jason Johnson’s hopes of an American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region Labor Day weekend tripleheader sweep by racing to victory lane in Sunday night’s 25-lap main event at Speedarama Raceway.

The 2004 ASCS Sooner Region champion hailing from Oklahoma City surged past Beau Smith for the lead at the midway point and set the pace the rest of the way for his third career ASCS Regional triumph and the first since a Sooner score at Cowtown Speedway nearly six years ago on September 25, 2004.

“It was getting a little rough in the middle coming off of two, I found a little piece just above it that gave us a really good run off the corner,” Shouse explained in victory lane.

In the process, Shouse denied Johnson a weekend sweep which would have been worth an extra $1,000 from Griffith Trucking for Johnson. Johnson rebounded from an early encounter with Gary Wright to snare third at the line behind Shouse and Channin Tankersley and collected an extra $500 for winning two of three events over the weekend.

After the initial start was waved off for a three-car tangle in turn one, Beau Smith gunned into the lead from the pole position with third-starting Shouse working past Tommy Bryant for second in the opening circuits.

With Smith fending off Shouse, Tankersley and Bryant, Johnson’s hopes of a three-peat were diminished when he and Gary Wright tangled exiting turn two and slid to a stop on the backstretch while battling for sixth on the fifth circuit. Both restarted at the tail.

Shouse went to work on Smith and ultimately raced into the lead on the 13th round, a lap before fourth-running Bryant stopped in turn three with Johnson and Wright back up to seventh and ninth, respectively.

While Shouse cruised out front in the ensuing circuits, Tankersley battled past Smith for second as Johnson and Wright scratched their way forward. The race’s final caution flew just four laps shy of the checkered flag when Smith spun to a stop on the backstretch after contact with Johnson, who was up to fourth as Wright checked his mount into the pit area.

Shouse held off Tankersley over the final four rounds to secure the win aboard the Bishop Racing Components No. 27, while Johnson nipped 15th-starter Skip Wilson at the line for the show position. Wilson was fourth, with Aaron Reutzel rounding out the top five.

Chris Sweeney was sixth, with Travis Elliott, Wes Miller, Jimmy Brooks and Larry Howery completing the top ten.

Scottie McDonald, Bryant, Miller and Johnson topped heat race action for the 32-car field, with Wilson winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Gulf South Results from Speedarama Raceway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 51s-Beau Smith, 3. 3-Gary Watson, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 58-Gary Floyd, 7. 36-John Pate. DNS: 74e-Claud Estes.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 85-Tommy Bryant, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 6. 14-Michael Lang, 7. 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr., 8. 19-Klint Angelette.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 51w-Wes Miller, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 5c-Chris Coker, 5. 16-Koty Adams, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 30-Brandon Corn, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 9x-Gary Wright, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 15T-Travis Elliott, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman. DNS: 8-Bruce Crockett.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 69-Larry Howery, 3. 16-Koty Adams, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 7. 31-Brandon Berryman, 8. 76-John Ricketts, 9. 19-Klint Angelette, 10. 58-Gary Floyd, 11. 36-John Pate, 12. 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr., 13. 14-Michael Lang, 14. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr. DNS: 5c-Chris Coker, 30x-Bean Elliott, 30-Brandon Corn, 8b-Bruce Crockett.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 27-Andy Shouse, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 15T-Travis Elliott, 8. 51w-Wes Miller, 9. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 10. 69-Larry Howery, 11. 51s-Beau Smith, 12. 9x-Gary Wright, 13. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 14. 16-Koty Adams, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 74e-Claud Estes, 17. 85-Tommy Bryant, 18. 3-Gary Watson, 19. 88-Scottie McDonald, 20. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,165, 2. Aaron Reutzel 2,098, 3. Tommy Bryant 2,083, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,986, 5. Travis Elliott 1,911, 6. Chris Sweeney 1,833, 7. Wes Miller 1,770, 8. Beau Smith 1,684, 9. Scottie McDonald 1,679, 10. Logan Bledsoe 1,641.

Photos and story by Lonnie Wheatley

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