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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos and Story by Lonnie Wheatley

Tommy Bryant Bags ASCS Lone Star Sprint Car win at Cowtown/s November Sprint Shootout

Tommy Bryant bagged his third American Sprint Car Series regional win of the year by topping Cowtown Speedway’s Fourth Annual November Sprint Shootout 35-lap championship feature event on Saturday night.

While Bryant tacked the season-ending ASCS Lone Star feature win on to a pair of previous ASCS Gulf South wins, it was Eric Baldaccini coming away with the 2010 ASCS Lone Star championship.

Bryant started Saturday night’s main event from the pole position, but it was fellow Gulf South shoe and 2009 champ Aaron Reutzel leading the initial handful of laps before running afoul of lapped traffic.

Bryant assumed the point and led the rest of the way aboard Todd Evans’ Sport Clips No. 14e machine for his seventh career ASCS Regional win in front of Justin Melton, with Andy Shouse, newly-crowned ASCS Gulf South champ Ray Allen Kulhanek and Kevin Ramey rounding out the top five.

Brandon Berryman was sixth, with Claud Estes, 20th-starter Travis Elliott, 19th-starter J.P. Bailey and Rafe Essary completing the top ten.

Despite a 19th place finish in the season finale, 22-year-old Baldaccini of Keller, TX, claimed the ASCS Lone Star title by an 81-point margin over Claud Estes.

Kolt Walker, D.J. Estes, Melton, Ramey and Brian McClelland won Saturday night’s heat races, with Bailey and Elliott winning the “B” Mains.

ASCS Lone Star Saturday Results from Cowtown Speedway’s November Sprint Shootout:

Locked in from Friday Night’s Feature: 1x-Gary Taylor, 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14e-Tommy Bryant, 30-Brandon Corn.

First Heat (10 Laps): 1. 45k-Kolt Walker, 2. 74e-Claud Estes, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 0-Chris Morgan, 6. 26-Dalton Steed, 7. 22a-Dan Adkins, 8. 45x-Martin Edwards. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale.

Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. 74d-D.J. Estes, 2. 36-Jonathan Beason, 3. 45-J.P. Bailey, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 29-Greg Rilat, 6. 4j-Jamie Passmore, 7. 8a-Alan Myers, 8. 05-Dustin Woods. DNS: 33-Mark Huddleston.

Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 67-Rodney Henderson, 5. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 6. 15b-Michael Brown, 7. 16-Koty Adams, 8. 58-Gary Floyd, 9. 79-Ryan Hall.

Fourth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 85-Jerry Bell, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 66-J.J. Simmons, 6. 24-Evan Pardo, 7. 40-Junior Jenkins, 8. 010-Brian Roberts. DNS: 5m-Raven Culp.

Fifth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 25-Brian McClelland, 2. 26x-Rafe Essary, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 17g-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 2-Logan Payne, 7. 7-Roger Wayne Brown, 8. 15-Curtis Wayne Brown.

First “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 45-J.P. Bailey, 2. 29-Greg Rilat, 3. 66-J.J. Simmons, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 24-Evan Pardo, 6. 67-Rodney Henderson, 7. 45x-Martin Edwards, 8. 17g-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 9. 2-Logan Payne, 10. 40-Junior Jenkins, 11. 010-Brian Roberts, 12. 16-Koty Adams, 13. 7-Roger Wayne Brown. DNS: 33-Mark Huddleston, 79-Ryan Hall.

Second “B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 15T-Travis Elliott, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 15b-Michael Brown, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 4j-Jamie Passmore, 6. 58-Gary Floyd, 7. 26-Dalton Steed, 8. 0-Chris Morgan, 9. 8a-Alan Myers, 10. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 11. 05-Dustin Woods, 12. 22a-Dan Adkins, 13. 15-Curtis Wayne Brown. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale, 5m-Raven Culp.

“A” Feature (35 Laps): 1. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 2. 11-Justin Melton, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 15T-Travis Elliott, 9. 45-J.P. Bailey, 10. 26x-Rafe Essary, 11. 29-Greg Rilat, 12. 15b-Michael Brown, 13. 36-Jonathan Beason, 14. 1x-Gary Taylor, 15. 22-Koby Barksdale, 16. 45k-Kolt Walker, 17. 30-Brandon Corn, 18. 25-Brian McClelland, 19. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 20. 9-Justin Sturch, 21. 74d-D.J. Estes, 22. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 23. 85-Jerry Bell, 24. 66-J.J. Simmons.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top 10): 1. Eric Baldaccini 1,862, 2. Claud Estes 1,781, 3. Justin Melton 1,702, 4. Brandon Corn 1,631, 5. Martin Edwards 1,572, 6. John Ricketts 1,540, 7. Kolt Walker 1,513, 8. Brian McClelland 1,407, 9. Kevin Ramey 1,367, 10. Preston Peebles II 1,333.

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photos by Rudy Garcia

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

Claude Estes takes ASCS Red River Challenge honors at Cowtown Speedway

Claud Estes became the second first-time ASCS Red River Challenge victor in as many nights by topping Saturday night’s 25-lap ASCS Lone Star vs. American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region main event atop the high-banked, ¼-mile Cowtown Speedway dirt oval.

The ASCS Lone Star rep from Godley, TX, fought off past ASCS Sooner champion Andy Shouse over the final rounds for the $2,000 triumph, his first in Lone Star action and first ASCS triumph since a Gulf South score at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway in June of 2004.

Estes took Saturday night’s checkered flag aboard the Texas United Bank Card/Skyvue Corp. No. 74e ahead of Shouse, with Kevin Ramey, George White and current ASCS Lone Star points leader Eric Baldaccini rounding out the top five.

Brian McClelland was sixth, with Michael Lang, J.P. Bailey, 19th-starter Brandon Corn and Ryan Hall completing the top ten.

Skip Wilson, Estes, Kolt Walker and Kenneth Walker topped heat race action, with Corn flourishing in the “B” Main.

ASCS Lone Star vs. Sooner Results from Cowtown Speedway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 3. 0c-Preston Peebles II, 4. 45-J.P. Bailey, 5. 45x-Martin Edwards, 6. 40-Junior Jenkins. DNS: 20-Chad Wilson.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 74e-Claud Estes, 2. 26-Dalton Steed, 3. 10-George White, 4. 79-Ryan Hall, 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 11-Justin Melton, 7. 56-Jarrett Lucito.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 45k-Kolt Walker, 2. 25-Brian McClelland, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 14-Michael Lang, 5. 15b-Michael Brown, 6. 1r-Scott Reneau, 7. 5c-Chris Coker.

Fourth Heat (8 Laps): 1. 2-Kenneth Walker, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 30-Brandon Corn, 6. 67-John Ricketts.

“B” Main: 1. 30-Brandon Corn, 2. 15b-Michael Brown, 3. 11-Justin Melton, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 5c-Chris Coker, 6. 67-John Ricketts, 7. 56-Jarrett Lucito. DNS: 40-Junior Jenkins, 20-Chad Wilson.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 74e-Claud Estes, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 10-George White, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 25-Brian McClelland, 7. 14-Michael Lang, 8. 45-J.P. Bailey, 9. 30-Brandon Corn, 10. 79-Ryan Hall, 11. 15b-Michael Brown, 12. 0c-Preston Peebles II, 13. 11-Justin Melton, 14. 1-Sean McClelland, 15. 45x-Martin Edwards, 16. 67-John Ricketts, 17. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 18. 65-Skip Wilson, 19. 1r-Scott Reneau, 20. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 21. 5c-Chris Coker, 22. 26-Dalton Steed, 23. 45k-Kolt Walker, 24. 2-Kenneth Walker.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top 10): 1. Eric Baldaccini 1,293, 2. Claud Estes 1,181, 3. Justin Melton 1,126, 4. Preston Peebles II 1,099, 5. Martin Edwards 1,079, 6. John Ricketts 1,061, 7. Brandon Corn 1,056, 8. Brian McClelland 1,001, 9. Kevin Ramey 975, 10. Scott Reneau 930.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Sean McClelland 1,210, 2. Joe Wood, Jr. 1,150, 3. Kenneth Walker 1,121, 4. Andy Shouse 1,081, 5. Donnie Ray Crawford 1,077, 6. Brian McClelland 997, 7. Michelle Decker 719, 8. Tony Bruce, Jr. 687, 9. Danny Jennings 555, 10. Joshua Hodges 553.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS photo

ASCS Gulf South headed to Golden Triangle and Houston Raceway Park this weekend

After a pair of idle weekends to regroup after a Memorial Day triple, the ASCS Gulf South Region fires back to action with the second of three scheduled Golden Triangle Raceway Park – Houston Raceway Park weekend doubles.

On Friday night, the series makes its third stop of the year at Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park before moving on to Baytown’s Houston Raceway Park on Saturday night for a $3,000 to win tilt.

Riding the strength of six top-tens in eight feature runs, including five consecutive top-five finishes, 2005 ASCS Gulf South champion Ray Allen Kulhanek of Montgomery, TX, carries the points lead into the weekend.

The winner of last year’s June event at Houston Raceway Park, Kulhanek holds a 17-point edge over defending series champion Aaron Reutzel of Clute, TX, with two-time Gulf South kingpin Brandon Berryman of Missouri City, TX, just another ten points back in third.

Conroe’s Tommy Bryant enters the weekend ranked fourth, with New Caney’s Scottie McDonald rounding out the current top five.

The balance of the current top ten in ASCS Gulf South points includes Travis Elliott (Alvin), Chris Sweeney (Channelview), Wes Miller (Santa Fe), Greg Rilat (Texas City) and Eric Baldaccini (Keller).

Seven different drivers have cracked ASCS Gulf South victory lane in eight events thus far in 2010, with only Jason Johnson doubling up. Single wins have been claimed by Berryman, Bryant, Gary Wright, Brian Brown, Kent Lewis, Jr., and Chris Morgan. Morgan topped the most recent event at Golden Triangle with a last-corner pass of Skip Wilson, while Jason Johnson won the initial Houston Raceway Park event of 2010.

Friday’s racing action at Golden Triangle Raceway Park goes green at 8:00 p.m., while Saturday’s card at Houston Raceway Park fires off at 7:00 p.m.

Golden Triangle Raceway Park is located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 near Beaumont, TX. For more information, contact the track at 409-752-7200.

Houston Raceway Park is located east of Houston on I-10 to Exit 798, then three miles south on State Road 146, then 0.8 miles southeast on FM 1405, then 1.5 miles northeast on FM 565. For more information, contact the track at 281-383-7223.

The ASCS Gulf South Region is slated for 27 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Texas in 2010.

In its 19th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing, the American Sprint Car Series brings the best of Sprint Car racing to approximately 100 different tracks throughout 30 states and Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
5/28/10 – Chris Morgan
3/5/10 – Gary Wright
10/2/09 – Channin Tankersley
9/18/09 – Jason Johnson
7/17/09 – Aaron Reutzel
6/19/09 – Travis Rilat
5/16/09 - Gary Wright
5/16/09 - Tommy Bryant (4/24 Makeup Feature)
3/6/09 - Gary Wright
8/15/08 - Channin Tankersley
7/18/08 - Gary Watson
5/9/08 - Channin Tankersley
2/29/08 - Jason Johnson
9/28/07 - Jason Johnson
6/22/07 - Michael Dupuy
5/18/07 - Brandon Berryman
4/6/07 - Jason Johnson
9/29/06 - Kevin Ramey
8/18/06 - Jason Johnson
6/23/06 - Gary Watson
8/19/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
6/17/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/15/05 - Travis Rilat
9/18/04 - Kelly Angelette
7/9/04 - Stephen Chevallier
* 9/28/02 - Michael Dupuy
* 9/27/02 - Tim Crawley
7/5/02 - Buddy Bodden
5/24/02 - Jason Johnson
* 4/5/02 - Zach Chappell

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Houston Raceway Park:
4/3/10 – Jason Johnson
9/19/09 – Gary Wright
7/18/09 – Kevin Ramey
6/20/09 – Ray Allen Kulhanek
5/16/09 - Eric Baldaccini
9/27/08 - Jason Johnson
6/21/08 - Michael Dupuy
5/10/08 - Brandon Berryman
3/1/08 - Jack Dover
9/29/07 - Brandon Berryman
8/18/07 - Travis Rilat
5/19/07 - Johnny Miller
9/30/06 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
8/19/06 - Brad Best
6/24/06 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/8/06 - Travis Rilat
8/20/05 - Lane Whittington
6/18/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
7/10/04 - Kevin Ramey

* - Indicates events held in conjunction with ASCS National Tour.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley
TWC photo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo Lonnie Wheatley

Kevin Ramey rules Devil’s Bowl ASCS Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series Winter Nationals for First Lucas Oil Sprint Car Win of 2009

Fort Worth’s Kevin Ramey has enjoyed a fair amount of success at Devil’s Bowl Speedway over the years, including several track championships along with Spring and Summer Nationals triumphs. But, one thing that was missing from the résumé was a Winter Nationals score.

The newly-crowned ASCS Lone Star Region champion took care of that on Sunday afternoon by reeling in his first Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters triumph of the season to put the caps on the 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals, picking up a hefty $6,000 winner’s share in the process.

“Even Regional guys can win these things!” an enthused Ramey exclaimed after besting a weekend field of 61 Lucas Oil Sprint Car Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals competitors and joining Fred Brownfield Memorial preliminary winner Roger Crockett as just the second Regional racer to top a Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series feature event thus far in 2009.

After starting on the front row outside and slipping back to third in the early going, Ramey drove the Williams Motorsports Wells-powered City Vending No. 7m Maxim into the lead on the fifth circuit and survived some tense final rounds in the 30-lapper to secure his ninth career ASCS National triumph in front of early leader Gary Wright, with series point leader Shane Stewart, Johnny Herrera and 22nd-starter Sammy Swindell rounding out the top five.

“We’ve won a few of these before but it’s been a while, this one is the sweetest,” Ramey commented in victory lane. “We’ve won a Spring Nationals and a Summer Nationals before, now we’ve got a Winter Nationals to go along with it!”

Ramey, who topped both a weather-delayed Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals and then Summer Nationals on the same night in June of 2006, gridded Sunday’s feature outside the front row only to have Saturday night preliminary winner Gary Wright gun into the lead after the initial pair of starts were waved off for incidents, including a Darren Long flip in turn two.

With third-starter Eric Baldaccini the first to discover just how effective the high line was on the reworked ½-mile clay oval as the sun settled beyond the turn three tree-line, Ramey slipped to third momentarily as Baldaccini edged ahead of Wright to lead the fourth circuit.

The 2008 Brodix Rookie of the Year’s stint in the lead was a short-lived one however, as he slipped just a bit too high exiting turn two and fell back to sixth as Ramey took quick advantage of the slightest of hesitations by Wright to race into the lead.

Sticking primarily to the high line after the Baldaccini tip, Ramey led Wright and fourth-starter Sam Hafertepe, Jr., as Baldaccini worked his way back up to fourth by the eighth circuit.

With the leaders into traffic by the eleventh round, the man on the move was 12th-starter Jack Dover. The 19-year-old Nebraska shoe battled past Brian Brown and Shane Stewart to crack the top five by the 12th circuit and then took fourth away from Baldaccini on the 16th round.

Dover immediately moved in on Hafertepe for third, only to perilously spin to a seemingly harmless stop along the backstretch and into the turn three entry after contact with 18 laps in the books. Dover rejoined the fray at the tail, only to succumb to suspected rear end woes two laps later.

Back up to fourth after Dover’s slide down the backstretch, Baldaccini fell to the tail of the field when he slipped off turn two on the lap 19 restart and soon shredded a left rear tire to precipitate another caution on the 25th lap.

Ramey had to survive another pair of interruptions in the final pair of laps, with top-five runners Hafertepe and Brian Brown both coming to a stop on separate occasions.

Ramey was not to be deterred, adding his sixth overall ASCS feature win of the season and the first in National competition since July of 2006.

Wright settled for runner-up honors in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Richwood Construction No. 9x Maxim, with Shane Stewart making a late move into the show position aboard Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 A.R.T. to extend his lead in the $60,000 championship points chase to 24 markers over tenth-place finisher Jason Johnson, with Wright 40 points out of the lead entering the 22nd Annual Short Track Nationals at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on October 29-31.

New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera worked forward from 13th to snare fourth at the line in the No. 45x entry, with Sammy Swindell making a late burst to round out the top five in the Rolfe No. 10 after starting 22nd.

Paul McMahan crossed the stripe in sixth, with 19th-starter Wayne Johnson, 16th-starter Travis Rilat, Brady Bacon and 18th-starter Jason Johnson completing the top ten.

Danny Jennings, Dover, Bacon, McMahan, Kenneth Walker and John Carney II won Sunday afternoon’s heat races, with Dustin Morgan, Jason Johnson and Wayne Johnson winning the “B” Mains. Morgan was forced pitside with mechanical issues two laps into the feature, while Carney flipped without injury entering turn three on the ensuing restart.

Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters
36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals Championship Finale Results
Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX

Locked in from Saturday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

9x-Gary Wright, 57-Shane Stewart, 7m-Kevin Ramey, 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.

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

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 1j-Danny Jennings, 2. 22j-John Gaston, 3. 91-Jonathan Allard, 4. 10-Sammy Swindell, 5. 22b-Ben Gregg, 6. 88-Tim Crawley, 7. 99d-Rickey Hood, 8. 45k-Kolt Walker, 9. 87x-Billy Melton.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 29L-Larry Long, 7. 81au-Gavin Punch, 8. 76-John Ricketts, 9. 165-Haley Arnold.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 6-Justin Spoerl, 5. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 6. 8m-Kyle McCutcheon, 7. 12w-Dale Wester, 8. 9-Brian Parker, 9. 87a-Andrew Marshala.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 9T-Gary Taylor, 3. 7-Darren Long, 4. 1-Sean McClelland, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 24-David Gailley, 7. 11-Chad Corken, 8. 45-Martin Edwards. DNS: 69-Larry Howery.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 2-Kenneth Walker, 2. 23-Seth Bergman, 3. 14aj-Wayne Johnson, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 6. 4m-Randi Miller, 7. 99j-Jake Ossenfort, 8. 3-Mark Shirshekan. DNS: e85-Zach Chappell.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 3s-John Carney II, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 27-Andy Shouse, 4. 13-Jesse Hockett, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 35-Greg Rilat, 8. 22-Koby Barksdale, 9. 75-Don Young.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 93-Dustin Morgan, 2. 91-Jonathan Allard, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 9T-Gary Taylor, 5. 10a-Ricky Logan, 6. 99d-Rickey Hood, 7. 29L-Larry Long, 8. 24-David Gailley, 9. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 10. 23-Seth Bergman, 11. 76-John Ricketts, 12. 03-Joe Wood, Jr. DNS: 45k-Kolt Walker, 75-Don Young.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 4m-Randi Miller, 5. 27-Andy Shouse, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 35-Greg Rilat, 8. 81au-Gavin Punch, 9. 22-Koby Barksdale, 10. 9-Brian Parker, 11. 99j-Jake Ossenfort, 12. 1-Sean McClelland, 13. 12w-Dale Wester. DNS: e85-Zach Chappell.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 14aj-Wayne Johnson, 2. 10-Sammy Swindell, 3. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 4. 22b-Ben Gregg, 5. 22j-John Gaston, 6. 11-Chad Corken, 7. 45-Martin Edwards, 8. 3-Mark Shirshekan, 9. 87x-Billy Melton, 10. 65-Skip Wilson, 11. 165-Haley Arnold. DNS: 6-Justin Spoerl, 8m-Kyle McCutcheon, 69-Larry Howery.

Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 5. 10-Sammy Swindell, 6. 3d-Paul McMahan, 7. 14aj-Wayne Johnson, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 99-Brady Bacon, 10 41-Jason Johnson, 11. 13-Jesse Hockett, 12. 94-Danny Wood, 13. 1j-Danny Jennings, 14. 2-Kenneth Walker, 15. 21-Brian Brown, 16. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 17. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 18. 53-Jack Dover, 19. 91-Jonathan Allard, 20. 88-Tim Crawley, 21. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 22. 3s-John Carney II, 23. 93-Dustin Morgan, 24. 7-Darren Long.

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-3, Eric Baldaccini 4, Kevin Ramey 5-30.

Note: Tim Crawley and Jesse Hockett utilized Lucas Oil Sprint Car provisionals to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil Sprint Car Presented by K&N Filters Points (Top Twenty): 1. Shane Stewart 2,278, 2. Jason Johnson 2,254, 3. Gary Wright 2,238, 4. Travis Rilat 2,117, 5. Paul McMahan 2,066, 6. Tim Crawley 2,043, 7. Danny Wood 2,020, 8. Tony Bruce, Jr. 1,982, 9. Jack Dover 1,963, 10. Jesse Hockett 1,961, 11. Sean McClelland 1,694, 12. Kenneth Walker 1,628, 13. Darren Long 1,519, 14. Chad Corken 1,487, 15. Gary Taylor 1,471, 16. Seth Bergman 1,397, 17. Gavin Punch 1,344, 18. Brady Bacon 1,215, 19. Wayne Johnson 1,118, 20. Ricky Logan 974.

by Lonnie Wheatley

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