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

April 4, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Lonnie Wheatley

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

March 20, 2010

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

Living Legend Sammy Swindell with yet another feature win

Living Legend Sammy Swindell with yet another feature win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo Lonnie Wheatley

Gary “The Texan” Wright nails ASCS Gulf South win at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

March 6, 2010

The American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region opened up the 2010 season in much the same way as 2009, with Gary Wright standing in victory lane at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

For the second year in a row, “The Texan” topped the $3,000-to-win, 25-lap Prelude to the Gulf Coast Nationals to launch the season for the ASCS Gulf South Region atop the Golden Triangle clay.

Gary Wright topped Friday night's ASCS Gulf South Region season opener at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

Gary Wright topped Friday night's ASCS Gulf South Region season opener at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

However, rather than wait for the last lap to make the winning move like last year, Wright gunned into the lead at the outset aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/The Shop No. 9x Maxim and never looked back en route to a third ASCS Gulf South season opening win.

“As heavy as the track was tonight, it was real easy to get in trouble in traffic or really anywhere,” Wright explained. “We got lucky tonight and stayed out of trouble, we’ll get cleaned up and try to get another one tomorrow.”

Gary Wright drove to victory lane in Friday night's season opening ASCS Gulf South Region main event at Beaumont's Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Gary Wright drove to victory lane in Friday night's season opening ASCS Gulf South Region main event at Beaumont's Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

A move past Tommy Bryant and Bruce Crockett in the final two laps of his heat race landed Wright in the redraw. And when he drew the number one pill, that may have been all the luck the four-time Lucas Oil National Sprint Car champion needed.

Weathering three red flag periods over the initial four circuits, including a pair on the initial two starts, Wright paced the early circuits in front of fellow front row starter Klint Angelette before Travis Rilat, Ricky Logan and Jesse Hockett freight trained the 16-year-old on a lap five restart.

Gary Wright (9x) outgunned 16-year-old Klint Angelette (19) at the outset of Friday night's season-opening ASCS Gulf South Region main event at Beaumont's Golden Triangle Raceway Park and never looked back en route to the $3,000 Prelude to the Gulf Coast Nationals triumph.

Gary Wright (9x) outgunned 16-year-old Klint Angelette (19) at the outset of Friday night's season-opening ASCS Gulf South Region main event at Beaumont's Golden Triangle Raceway Park and never looked back en route to the $3,000 Prelude to the Gulf Coast Nationals triumph.

After one final caution after nine circuits for Dustin Morgan’s turn four spin, the final 16 rounds ran off in non-stop fashion with Wright distancing himself from the field while lapping well into the top ten.

Rilat held off several challenges from Logan over the latter portion of the race for runner-up honors, with Logan settling for the show position. Hockett advanced from ninth in the early rounds to snare fourth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., rounding out the top five.

Brady Bacon crossed the stripe sixth, making it a sweep of the top six positions by prospective Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters championship contenders.

Brian Brown crossed the stripe in seventh, with two-time ASCS Gulf South champ Brandon Berryman the final car on the lead lap in eighth, just ahead of fellow Gulf South shoes Wes Miller and Scottie McDonald.

The initial attempt to start the main event was waved off for a Jimmy Brooks tumble in turn one, with the second start going red as well when reigning ASCS Gulf South champ Aaron Reutzel launched out of the park in turn two. Four laps later, Tommy Bryant tumbled in turn two as well. There were no injuries.

Brown, Angelette, Brooks, Wright and Morgan topped heat race action for the 37-car field, with Berryman and Reutzel winning the twin “B” Mains.

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

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 61-Travis Knighton, 3. 93-Chris Sweeney, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 28-James Cooper, 8. 3T-Tyler King.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 19-Klint Angelette, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 74-Brandon Corn, 6. C41-Wayne Johnson, 7. 14-Michael Lang, 8. 35-Greg Rilat.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 2. 51w-Wes Miller, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 00-Michael Dupuy, 6. 4m-Michael Miller, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 8-Bruce Crockett, 3. 10-Ricky Logan, 4. 85-Tommy Bryant, 5. 87x-Billy Melton, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 51s-Beau Smith.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 93x-Dustin Morgan, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 88-Scottie McDonald, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 76-John Ricketts, 7. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek.

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. C41-Wayne Johnson, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 87x-Billy Melton, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 35-Greg Rilat, 8. 28-James Cooper, 9. 51s-Beau Smith, 10. 4m-Michael Miller, 11. 15T-Travis Elliott. DNS: 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 85-Tommy Bryant, 3. 74-Brandon Corn, 4. 00-Michael Dupuy, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 76-John Ricketts, 7. 14-Michael Lang, 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 3T-Tyler King, 10. 71-Channin Tankersley, 11. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 10-Ricky Logan, 4. 75-Jesse Hockett, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 21-Brian Brown, 8. 31-Brandon Berryman, 9. 51w-Wes Miller, 10. 88-Scottie McDonald, 11. 93x-Dustin Morgan, 12. 19-Klint Angelette, 13. 61-Travis Knighton, 14. 74-Brandon Corn, 15. 93-Chris Sweeney, 16. 85-Tommy Bryant, 17. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 18. C41-Wayne Johnson, 19. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 20. 8-Bruce Crockett (DNS).

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 150, 2. Travis Rilat 142, 3. Ricky Logan 135, 4. Jesse Hockett 130, 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 125, 6. Brady Bacon 122, 7. Brian Brown 119, 8. Brandon Berryman 116, 9. Wes Miller 113, 10. Scottie McDonald 110.

By Lonnie Wheatley
Photos courtesy ASCS

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

July 12, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“A” Main Event:

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley