• Home
• About LSS
• Dirt Calendar
• Paved Calendar
• Touring Series

Subscribe

• Login
• Forums
• Audio
• Live Blogs
• Video

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

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

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

Lucas Oil Sprint Cars on Deck: Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals

Race fans in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex will have one last opportunity to catch the nation’s most intensely competitive Sprint Car series in action next weekend when the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters take to the famed Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX.

Revisiting the same venue that launched a new era of Sprint Car racing earlier this year in March, the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars tackle the famed half-mile clay oval just east of Dallas next Friday and Saturday, October 16-17, for the 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Cars opened what has been a wildly competitive 2009 campaign with 67 competitors from 17 different states taking in the Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals in March, with Jason Johnson ultimately making his car wide enough down the backstretch to fend off Tony Bruce, Jr., for top honors. To add insult to injury, Bruce’s No. 18 entry weighed in just below the required 1,475 lb. minimum afterwards and he was credited with 24th rather than second.

While reigning series champion Johnson won the Spring Nationals finale, it was Oklahoma native Shane Stewart winning the Spring Nationals prelim.

That weekend proved to be a harbinger of things to come, as “The Ragin’ Cajun” and “Sugar Shane” have locked horns for the $60,000 series championship, with defending Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals champion Gary Wright in the title mix much of the way as well.

Stewart matched Johnson in the win column with his third triumph of the year in the series most recent outing, a wild night of racing action at Wheatland, Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway on September 26, to whittle Johnson’s advantage to just 22 points with only I-30 Speedway’s Short Track Nationals and USA Raceway’s Western World Championships remaining after the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals.

A Northwest journey gone awry dimmed Wright’s championship hopes, as “The Texan” has fallen 68 points off of Johnson’s lead pace in his bid for a fifth series title.

While Johnson, Stewart and Wright have risen to the top of the point charts, a stellar group of 17 teams have taken in the entire Lucas Oil Sprint Car slate or missed just one event, with another handful of teams taking in the vast majority of the events.

Just behind the lead trio in current points, which will award a total of $250,000 to the final top 15, is 2003 series champion Travis Rilat, with three-time series king Tim Crawley rounding out the current top five.

Leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Paul McMahan is currently sixth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., three-time series runner-up Danny Wood, 19-year-old rookie shoe Jack Dover and Jesse Hockett completing the current top ten.

Tulsa racer Sean McClelland is just outside the top ten in eleventh, one spot ahead of fellow Tulsa-area racer Kenneth Walker. Other top Lucas Oil rookie contenders include Ohio’s Darren Long, Colorado’s Chad Corken, Washington’s Seth Bergman and Gavin Punch.

Still ranked 13th after missing the series Lucas Oil Speedway event, Washington native Gary Taylor will reportedly team with Dallas-area contender Brian Parker for the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals with California’s Jonathan Allard taking the wheel of the Bobby Sparks No. 91 entry.

The 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals weekend of activities kicks off with the Third Annual Steve King Foundation Golf Tournament at the Buffalo Creek Golf Club in Rockwall, TX, on Thursday, October 15. More information regarding the Golf Tournament is available at http://www.smileysracing.com/steve-king-golf.php.

The Series: Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters

When & Where: Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 p.m. noon – 3rd Annual Steve King Foundation Golf Tournament
Friday night, October 16 at 8:00 p.m. – 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals prelim
Saturday night, October 17 at 8:00 p.m. – 36th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale

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

Lucas Oil ASCS Devil’s Bowl History:
Devil’s Bowl Speedway has been hosting the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series since 1994, with 20 different drivers scoring at least one victory in 58 feature events. Gary Wright has claimed 19 of his 125 career ASCS National wins at Devil’s Bowl, including Winter Nationals triumphs in 2003, 2005 and 2008.

Wright and Jason Johnson have had somewhat of a stranglehold on victory lane at Devil’s Bowl over the past couple of seasons, combining to win ten of the last twelve features atop the storied clay oval. Only Tony Bruce, Jr. (a Spring Nationals preliminary winner in 2008) and Shane Stewart (a Spring Nationals preliminary winner this year), have interrupted the Wright-Johnson reign of terror at Da’ Bowl.

While Wright topped last year’s Winter Nationals to go along with previous victories in 2005 and 2003, Jason Johnson gave car owner Lanny Row his first Winter Nationals triumph in 2007, Travis Rilat topped the event in 2006 and Shane Stewart won the event in 2004.

Devil’s Bowl Lucas Oil ASCS winners include: Gary Wright 19, Jason Johnson 7, Wayne Johnson 4, Danny Jennings 3, Kevin Ramey 3, Shane Carson 2, Terry Gray 2, Garry Lee Maier 2, Mike Peters 2, Travis Rilat 2, Shane Stewart 2, Sammy Swindell 2, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Tim Crawley 1, Edd French 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Larry Neighbors 1, Alan Payne 1, Jake Peters 1, Mike Ward 1.

Devil’s Bowl Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-race Winners: Shane Carson (6/21/94), Alan Payne (5/12/95), Mike Ward (7/23/95), Mike Peters (9/1/95), Sammy Swindell (9/2/95), Sammy Swindell (9/3/95), Wayne Johnson (6/18/96), Terry Gray (7/6/96), Terry Gray (11/1/96), Johnny Herrera (11/2/96), Shane Carson (4/5/97), Wayne Johnson (6/18/97), Edd French (10/31/97), Mike Peters (11/1/97), Gary Wright (6/19/98), Gary Wright (10/3/98), Garry Lee Maier (10/4/98), Gary Wright (7/8/99), Garry Lee Maier (7/30/99), Gary Wright (10/1/99), Gary Wright (10/2/99), Gary Wright (7/21/00), Gary Wright (10/6/00), Larry Neighbors (4/20/01), Gary Wright (7/20/01), Gary Wright (10/6/01), Travis Rilat (4/19/02), Jason Johnson (6/7/02), Wayne Johnson (10/4/02), Gary Wright (10/5/02), Kevin Ramey (4/18/03), Tim Crawley (10/17/03), Gary Wright (10/18/03), Shane Stewart (10/23/04), Danny Jennings (3/18/05), Danny Jennings (3/19/05), Danny Jennings (6/9/05), Gary Wright (10/21/05), Gary Wright (10/22/05), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Spring Nationals makeup feature), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Summer Nationals), Gary Wright (7/13/06), Jason Johnson (10/13/06), Travis Rilat (10/14/06), Wayne Johnson (3/16/07), Jake Peters (3/17/07), Gary Wright (5/12/07), Gary Wright (7/19/07), Jason Johnson (10/12/07), Jason Johnson (10/13/07), Tony Bruce, Jr. (3/14/08), Gary Wright (3/15/08), Jason Johnson (5/10/08), Gary Wright (7/17/08), Jason Johnson (10/17/08), Gary Wright (10/18/08), Shane Stewart (3/20/09), Jason Johnson (3/21/09).

Current Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters Points:

Top Twenty: 1. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 2,010, 2. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,988, 3. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,942, 4. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,861, 5. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 1,823, 6. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 1,812, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,799, 8. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 1,758, 9. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,747, 10. Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 1,693, 11. Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 1,544, 12. Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 1,382, 13. Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) 1,321, 14. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 1,311, 15. Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 1,280, 16. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 1,247, 17. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 1,194, 18. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 1,008, 19. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 907, 20. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 870.

Brodix Rookie of the Year Points (Top Five): 1. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 1,812, 2. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,747, 3. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 1,311, 4. Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 1,280, 5. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 1,247.

2009 Lucas Oil Sprint Car Feature Winners:

Jason Johnson 3, Shane Stewart 3, Tim Crawley 2, Terry McCarl 2, Travis Rilat 2, Roger Crockett 1, Jack Dover 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Gary Wright 1. Speedweek winners; Tony Bruce, Jr., Zach Chappell, Tim Crawley, Nick Smith and Gary Wright.

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

October 29-31 – 22nd Annual Short Track Nationals – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR)
November 19-21 – 42nd Annual Western World Championships – USA Raceway (Tucson, AZ)
November 22 18th Annual ASCS Awards Banquet presented by Brodix – Old Tucson Studios

Lucas Oil Sprint Cars on the Web:

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

Also, the Lucas Oil ASCS Show airs on www.racinboys.com each Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET, recapping the previous week’s events while also previewing upcoming action.

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

Lucas Oil Sprint Cars on TV:

The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters will be featured in ten one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network

Events to be aired on VERSUS include the following:

Event Date – Track (Location) – Air Date & Re-Air Date (All Times Eastern)
Mar. 20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 5/2/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 5/7/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Mar. 21 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 5/23/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 5/27/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
May 23 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS) – 8/8/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 8/13/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
May 24 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS) – 8/15/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 8/20/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
July 3 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 9/13/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 9/17/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
July 4 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 9/20/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 9/24/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 10/18/09 @ 6:00 p.m. & 10/22/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Aug. 7 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 11/1/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 11/5/09 @ 6:00 p.m.
Aug. 8 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 11/22/09 @ 6:00 p.m. & 11/25/09 @ 6:00 p.m.
Sept. 26 – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) – 11/29/09 @ 6:00 p.m. & 12/3/09 @ 5:00 p.m.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for approximately 30 nights of racing action at 16 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country’s top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.

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

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

Gary Wright rolls to ASCS Regional Sprint Car Clash win at Devil’s Bowl Speedway

Devil’s Bowl Speedway has been kind to Gary Wright over the years. “The Texan” added yet another win atop the fabled ½-mile clay oval by topping Saturday night’s 25-lap American Sprint Car Series Gulf South vs. Lone Star Clash main event.

Starting outside the second row, Wright wrestled the lead away from Gulf South Iron-man Greg Rilat on the fifth round and never looked back en route to his seventh overall ASCS feature win of the year aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Richwood Construction No. 9x Maxim.

Wright also won the ASCS Lone Star vs. Sooner Challenge event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in May.

After a late red flag for a turn two tumble including sixth-running Sean McClelland and Kent Lewis, Jr., the four-time Lucas Oil Sprint Car national champion checked out over the final circuits to take the checkered flag in front of Travis Rilat.

Rilat, who started alongside his father Greg Rilat on the front row, took over second when the elder Rilat slipped off the top of turn two on the sixth circuit to bring out a quick caution.

Current Lucas Oil Sprint Car national points leader Jason Johnson worked from eighth to claim the show position behind Wright and Rilat, with current ASCS Lone Star points leader Kevin Ramey and Michael Lang rounding out the top five.

Eric Baldaccini was sixth, with Justin Spoerl, ASCS Gulf South points leader Aaron Reutzel, Tommy Bryant and 23rd-starter Scottie McDonald competing the top ten.

Ramey, Johnson, Lang, Travis Rilat and Channin Tankersley topped heat race action for Saturday night’s 42-car field, with Brian McClelland and Kent Lewis, Jr., winning the twin “B” Mains.

ASCS Gulf South vs. Lone Star Results from Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 4. 17w-Brad Welborn, 5. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 6. 11-Justin Melton, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 76-John Ricketts, 9. 87x-Billy Melton.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 6-Justin Spoerl, 5. 25-Brian McClelland, 6. 5m-Glenn Martin, 7. 2-Joe Zierolf, 8. 5c-Chris Coker, 9. 20k-Ray Allen Kulhanek.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 14-Michael Lang, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 9-Brian Parker, 4. 45x-Martin Edwards, 5. 45-J.P. Bailey, 6. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 7. 71T-Shane Thompson, 8. 74e-Claud Estes.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 3. 1r-Scott Reneau, 4. 12w-Dale Wester, 5. 3-Gary Watson, 6. 65-Skip Wilson, 7. 81au-Gavin Punch, 8. 15T-Travis Elliott.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 24-David Gailley, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 30x-Bean Elliott, 8. 69-Larry Howery.

First “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 25-Brian McClelland, 2. 3-Gary Watson, 3. 88-Scottie McDonald, 4. 20k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 2-Joe Zierolf, 8. 31-Brandom Berryman, 9. 65-Skip Wilson, 10. 5m-Glenn Martin, 11. 71T-Shane Thompson. DNS: 87x-Billy Melton.

Second “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 2. 12w-Dale Wester, 3. 45-J.P. Bailey, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 74e-Claud Estes, 6. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 7. 76-John Ricketts, 8. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 9. 5c-Chris Coker, 10. 81au-Gavin Punch, 11. 11-Justin Melton. DNS: 15T-Travis Elliott.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 14-Michael Lang, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 6-Justin Spoerl, 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 9. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 10. 88-Scottie McDonald, 11. 45-J.P. Bailey, 12. 35-Greg Rilat, 13. 12w-Dale Wester, 14. 9-Brian Parker, 15. 1-Sean McClelland, 16. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 17. 45x-Martin Edwards, 18. 3-Gary Watson, 19. 71-Channin Tankersley, 20. 25-Brian McClelland, 21. 24-David Gailley, 22. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 23. 1r-Scott Reneau, 24. 17w-Brad Welborn.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Aaron Reutzel 2,782, 2. Tommy Bryant 2,720, 3. Channin Tankersley 2,632, 4. Scottie McDonald 2,576, 5. Kent Lewis, Jr. 2,534, 6. Brandon Berryman 2,501, 7. Greg Rilat 2,459, 8. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,346, 9. Gary Watson 2,337, 10. Jimmy Brooks 2,273.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Kevin Ramey 1,970, 2. Brad Welborn 1,803, 3. Justin Melton 1,772, 4. Eric Baldaccini 1,751, 5. Claud Estes 1,737, 6. Michael Lang 1,704, 7. Matt Clevenger 1,626, 8. Scott Reneau 1,606, 9. Brian McClelland 1,594, 10. John Ricketts 1,508.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Kevin Ramey romps to ASCS Lone Star vrs Gulf South Sprint Car win at RPM Speedway

After the Gulf South Region got the upper hand versus the Lone Star Region five weeks ago at Waco, Kevin Ramey struck a blow for the ASCS Lone Star forces by reaching victory lane in Friday night’s 25-lap feature at RPM Speedway.

Ramey raced around Brian McClelland for the lead in the early stages and went on to capture the $2,000 winner’s share in the opening leg of the ASCS Gulf South vs. Lone Star Clash atop the ¼-mile clay oval, giving the Fort Worth shoe his second win in as many tries at the new RPM facility.

Ramey held off Gulf South shoe Tommy Bryant, the Gulf South vs. Lone Star winner at Waco on July 31, over the final rounds to post his fifth overall ASCS Regional triumph of the season aboard the Williams Motorsports Wells-powered City Vending No. 7m Maxim.

Four-time Lucas Oil Sprint Car National champion Gary Wright finished a close third, with McClelland and Eric Baldaccini rounding out the top five.

Ray Allen Kulhanek was sixth, with Sean McClelland, Brad Welborn, 17th-starter Justin Melton and Kent Lewis, Jr., completing the top ten.

Welborn, Billy Melton, Travis Rilat, Gulf South points leader Aaron Reutzel, Brian McClelland and Bryant topped heat race action for the 42-car field, with Skip Wilson and Gavin Punch winning the twin “B” Mains.

With the ASCS Gulf South vs. Lone Star Challenge knotted at one apiece after Friday’s feature event, the rubber match is set for Saturday night at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, a makeup of the event rained out on August 1.

ASCS Gulf South vs. Lone Star Results from RPM Speedway:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 17w-Brad Welborn, 2. 1r-Scott Reneau, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 88-Scottie McDonald, 5. 11-Justin Melton, 6. 5c-Chris Coker, 7. 14-Michael Lang.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 87x-Billy Melton, 2. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 76-John Ricketts, 7. 2-Joe Zierolf.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 6-Justin Spoerl, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 9-Brian Parker, 6. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 7. 71T-Shane Thompson.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 3. 30x-Bean Elliott, 4. 5m-Glenn Martin, 5. 20-Chad Wilson, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 3-Gary Watson.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 25-Brian McClelland, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 20k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 81au-Gavin Punch, 5. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 19-Klint Angelette.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 21t-Tommy Bryant, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 9x-Gary Wright, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 12w-Dale Wester, 6. 74e-Claud Estes, 7. 8-Charlie McDonald.

First “B” Feature: 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 11-Justin Melton, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 71T-Shane Thompson, 6. 20-Chad Wilson, 7. 19-Klint Angelette, 8. 76-John Ricketts, 9. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 10. 35-Greg Rilat, 11. 45-Martin Edwards, 12. 31-Brandon Berryman, 13. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 14. 31m-Matt Clevenger.

Second “B” Feature: 1. 81au-Gavin Punch, 2. 6-Justin Spoerl, 3. 88-Scottie McDonald, 4. 1r-Scott Reneau, 5. 71-Channin Tankersley, 6. 9-Brian Parker, 7. 69-Larry Howery, 8. 5m-Glenn Martin, 9. 74e-Claud Estes, 10. 5c-Chris Coker, 11. 12w-Dale Wester, 12. 3-Gary Watson, 13. 8-Charlie McDonald, 14. 2-Joe Zierolf.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 3. 9x-Gary Wright, 4. 25-Brian McClelland, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 20k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 1-Sean McClelland, 8. 17w-Brad Welborn, 9. 11-Justin Melton, 10. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 11. 87x-Billy Melton, 12. 88-Scottie McDonald, 13. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14. 14-Michael Lang, 15. 30x-Bean Elliott, 16. 65-Skip Wilson, 17. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 18. 6-Justkin Spoerl, 19. 29-Travis Rilat, 20. 81au-Gavin Punch.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Aaron Reutzel 2,640, 2. Tommy Bryant 2,580, 3. Channin Tankersley 2,502, 4. Scottie McDonald 2,438, 5. Kent Lewis, Jr. 2,400, 6. Brandon Berryman 2,385, 7. Greg Rilat 2,323, 8. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,220, 9. Gary Watson 2,205, 10. Jimmy Brooks 2,145.

ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Kevin Ramey 1,820, 2. Brad Welborn 1,677, 3. Justin Melton 1,664, 4. Matt Clevenger 1,626, 5. Claud Estes 1,613, 6. Eric Baldaccini 1,607, 7. Michael Lang 1,558, 8. Scott Reneau 1,478, 9. Brian McClelland 1,462, 10. John Ricketts 1,390.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Shane Stewart shines in national ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series event; Texan Gary Wright second.

Bixby, Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart snared his second Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters feature win of the year by topping Friday night’s 30-lap series debut atop the ¼-mile Cottage Grove Speedway clay oval.

After pacing the early rounds, Stewart battled back around Austen Wheatley for keeps on the 12th circuit and then held off fellow Sooner State shoe Wayne Johnson over the final rounds to secure his 17th career National win aboard the Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 A.R.T.

“I can’t say enough about the track prep here, it’s incredible,” Stewart commented after the win. “It’s good on the bottom, it’s good on the top, you can race all over this track.”

Stewart locked himself into Saturday’s main event along with the balance of Friday night’s top four finishers including Wayne Johnson, Jason Johnson and Roger Crockett.

After chasing down Jesse Hockett to win the night’s opening heat race and earn a position in the eight-car redraw, Stewart drew the pole position for the preliminary main event.

And, after outgunning fellow front-row starter and four-time series champion Gary Wright for the lead at the drop of the green flag, Stewart paced the early rounds while working the low side at the track.

With the likes of Wright, Wayne Johnson, Danny Wood and Roger Crockett among Stewart’s early pursuers, the early challenge for the point came from an unlikely source in the form of 16-year-old Lake Stevens, WA, shoe Austen Wheatley.

Working the top side of the track, Wheatley battled past Wright for second and then reeled in Stewart to take command on the sixth round. It was just the tip Stewart needed.

“I thought the bottom was gonna be good enough, but then he showed me the top side and thank God he did,” Stewart explained.

Stewart followed Wheatley’s lead to the cushion and when the young gun reached lapped traffic on the tenth round, it was just a couple of more circuits before one slip allowed Stewart to race back into the lead with W. Johnson and Crockett following in short order.

“I just wish we could have stayed up front a little longer, it’s not easy against those guys though,” Wheatley explained after ultimately finishing sixth.

Racing through heavy lapped traffic, Johnson closed in on Stewart a time or two before a caution flew after 19 circuits when fifth-running Danny Wood tangled with Chad Groves in turn two.

Back under way after the race’s second and final caution, Stewart cruised until lapped traffic in the final handful of rounds gave Johnson one last gasp at the leader. Stewart worked traffic without issue however, while Johnson settled for runner-up honors in the Ostrich-powered H.A.M. Construction No. 35a Maxim.

“We needed it after struggling so bad last weekend,” Johnson commented.

Jason Johnson made a late move to snare the show position in Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle, taking sole possession of the series points lead after Gary Wright pulled to the infield in the final handful of laps with a blown engine.

Crockett took the fourth and final lock-in position to Saturday night’s main event aboard the Shaver-powered Omlid & Swinney Fire Protection & Security No. 11c KPC, with Paul McMahan picking off a half-dozen positions to round out the top five aboard the J&D Motorsports No. 3d Maxim.

Wheatley held in for sixth, with Seth Bergman posting his top series finish of the season by charging from 17th to seventh. Jack Dover was eighth, with Jesse Hockett and 20th-starter Jason Solwold completing the top ten.

Stewart, Wood, Dover and Wright topped heat race action for the 36-car field, with Bergman and Steven Tiner winning the “B” Mains.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Cottage Grove Speedway – Cottage Grove, OR

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

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 13-Jesse Hockett, 3. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 4. 3d-Paul McMahan, 5. 41s-Dale Smith, 6. 23-Seth Bergman, 7. 11-Chad Corken, 8. 53x-Andy Gregg, 9. 91-Gary Taylor.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 25c-Chad Groves, 4. 10-Kyle Miller, 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 12-Jared Ridge, 7. 12p-Randy Pierce, 8. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 9. 7-Darren Long.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 11c-Roger Crockett, 3. 98m-Mitch Olson, 4. 75-Dan Menne, 5. 5h-Justyn Cox, 6. 88-Tim Crawley, 7. 51-Jason Solwold, 8. 6m-Phillip Del Rosa, 9. 10h-Steven Horner.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 94T-Steven Tiner, 6. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 7. 68-Rob Held, 8. 23T-Colin Baker. DNS: 33-Nate Morelock.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman, 2. 12-Jared Ridge, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 91-Gary Taylor, 5. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 6. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 7. 10h-Steven Horner, 8. 6m-Phillip Del Rosa, 9. 68-Rob Held, 10. 10-Kyle Miller.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 94T-Steven Tiner, 2. 51-Jason Solwold, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 75-Dan Menne, 5. 53x-Andy Gregg, 6. 12p-Randy Pierce, 7. 7-Darren Long, 8. 11-Chad Corken, 9. 23T-Colin Baker. DNS: 33-Nate Morelock.

Lucas Oil ASCS Preliminary Cottage Grove Speedway Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 11c-Roger Crockett, 5. 3d-Paul McMahan, 6. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 7. 23-Seth Bergman, 8. 53-Jack Dover, 9. 13-Jesse Hockett, 10. 51-Jason Solwold, 11. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 12. 1-Sean McClelland, 13. 12-Jared Ridge, 14. 88-Tim Crawley, 15. 29-Travis Rilat, 16. 2-Kenneth Walker, 17. 94T-Steven Tiner, 18. 5h-Justyn Cox, 19. 98m-Mitch Olson, 20. 41s-Dale Smith, 21. 9x-Gary Wright, 22. 94-Danny Wood, 23. 25c-Chad Groves, 24. 91-Gary Taylor.

Lap Leaders: Shane Stewart 1-5, Austen Wheatley 6-11, Stewart 12-30.

Note: Tony Bruce, Jr., and Gary Taylor utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. Jason Johnson 1,564, 2. Shane Stewart 1,544, 3. Gary Wright 1,528, 4. Travis Rilat 1,459, 5. Tim Crawley 1,433, 6. Paul McMahan 1,418, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 1,407, 8. Danny Wood 1,344, 9. Jack Dover 1,339, 10. Jesse Hockett 1,295, 11. Sean McClelland 1,184, 12. Gary Taylor 1,126, 13. Kenneth Walker 1,030, 14. Darren Long 1,018, 15. Seth Bergman 968, 16. Chad Corken 967, 17. Gavin Punch 907, 18. Nick Smith 870, 19. Brady Bacon 752, 20. Ricky Logan 639.

ASCS Northwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jared Ridge 1,686, 2. Roger Crockett 1,680, 3. Steven Tiner 1,676, 4. Mitch Olson 1,594, 5. Henry VanDam 1,577, 6. Chad Groves 1,501, 7. Randy Pierce 1,370, 8. Justyn Cox 1,341, 9. Colin Baker 1,073, 10. Austen Wheatley 965.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Texan Travis Rilat pockets $10,092 in ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series “Brownfield Memorial”

The inaugural weekend of competition for the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters within the State of Washington concluded with Forney, TX, shoe Travis Rilat collecting the $10,092 winner’s share in Saturday night’s 35-lap Third Annual Fred Brownfield Memorial at Grays Harbor Raceway.

But, after setting the pace for the initial 32 laps, it looked as if it would be a night of heartbreak for Rilat when Friday night winner Roger Crockett rocketed into the lead and sailed to the checkered flag.

“I just messed up there, I knew better and I still missed my line getting into one on that last restart and Roger was there to take advantage,” Rilat explained afterward.

The explanation came from victory lane though with the past ASCS National champion taking the victory after Crockett rolled across the scales seven pounds shy of the 1,475 pound minimum weight requirement.

“This isn’t the way we wanted to win, but we’ll definitely take the ten-thousand and ninety-two dollars,” Rilat smiled after his second Lucas Oil win of the year and 24th National score of his career.

“It’s great to win up here in front of the Shark Engine and Triple-X Chassis guys, they make sure we have good stuff to work with and I’m glad we got to show ‘em what we can do,” Rilat commented.

After chasing Crockett to the stripe in Friday night’s preliminary feature, Rilat started Saturday night’s main event from the pole position with Crockett alongside. And, while Rilat gunned into the lead at the outset, he had his hands full with Crockett throughout.

The duo battled for the lead virtually the entire distance, racing through traffic much of the way. But, after a pair of cautions in the final half of the race, Rilat appeared to have Crockett cleared.

One final caution with just three laps to go gave Oregon’s Crockett one last shot. And, when Rilat drifted high into one, Crockett took quick advantage and raced into the lead for keeps. It proved to be all for naught, however, when Crockett’s mount proved too light at the scales.

Not only did the disqualification cost Crockett the prestigious victory, it also negated a second consecutive ASCS Northwest Speedweek championship. Missouri’s Jesse Hockett, who won the opening three legs of ASCS Northwest Speedweek, claimed the crown despite a 20th-place finish in Saturday’s finale after turn two trouble on the 16th round while running seventh.

Chasing Rilat’s F&J Construction No. 29 across the line was defending series champion Jason Johnson, who battled past Travis Rutz in the final rounds to snare runner-up honors in Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

“I just wish we could of got up there to contend for the win, we just couldn’t quite get there,” Johnson explained.

Rutz earned the show position in the Rudeen Racing No. 26 entry, commenting that, “Trading sliders back and forth with guys like Jason Johnson and Travis Rilat, that was a blast.”

Racing forward from 15th, Gary Wright snuck by Tim Crawley in the final corner to snare fourth in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim.

Crawley rounded out the top five in Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim, with Tony Bruce, Jr., crossing the stripe in sixth.

After utilizing a provisional to start the main event, Washington native Gary Taylor charged from 23rd to seventh, with 19th-starter Shane Stewart, 17th-starter Wayne Johnson and 20th-starter Paul McMahan completing the top ten.

Jason Solwold was battling for third throughout with Rutz and Johnson before tangling with a lapped car just seven laps shy of the checkered flag.

Hockett, Jared Peterson, Mike Melwicks, Sean McClelland and Danny Wood topped Saturday night’s heat race action, with W. Johnson, Jay Cole and Stewart winning the “B” Mains.

J.J. Hickle’s night came to an end after flipping in the opening corner of the night’s fifth and final heat race. Chad Groves got upside down in turn two in the night’s third “B” Main. There were no injuries.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Third Annual Fred Brownfield Memorial
Grays Harbor Raceway – Elma, WA

Locked in from Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

11c-Roger Crockett, 29-Travis Rilat, 88-Tim Crawley, 41-Jason Johnson.

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

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 13-Jesse Hockett, 2. 9j-J.J. Dishneau, 3. 26-Travis Rutz, 4. 08-Steve Vague, 5. 12-Jared Ridge, 6. 23-Seth Bergman, 7. 6-Jayme Barnes, 8. 11-Chad Corken, 9. 72-Glenn Borden, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 9p-Jared Peterson, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 4. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 5. 0j-Jay Cole, 6. 15c-Cody Anderlini, 7. 53-Jack Dover, 8. 7k-Danny Kirkpatrick, 9. 15j-Jeff Dunlap. DNS: 81au-Gavin Punch.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 2m-Mike Melwicks, 2. 94T-Steven Tiner, 3. 3d-Paul McMahan, 4. 25c-Chad Groves, 5. 76-Shawn Rice, 6. 12p-Randy Pierce, 7. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 8. 4-Nick Engberg, 9. 96-Mack Brown.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 4. 18T-Travis Jacobson, 5. 98m-Mitch Olson, 6. 23T-Colin Baker, 7. 5h-Justyn Cox, 8. 21w-Vern Wheeler, 9. 15d-Dan Dunlap.

Heat Five (10 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 51-Jason Solwold, 3. 91-Gary Taylor, 4. 29v-Robbie Vaughn, 5. 94z-Zach Zimmerly, 6. 7-Darren Long, 7. 33-Nate Morelock, 8. 6m-Phillip Del Rosa, 9. 7a-J.J. Hickle.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 2. 3d-Paul McMahan, 3. 29v-Robbie Vaughn, 4. 08-Steve Vague, 5. 7-Darren Long, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 7k-Danny Kirkpatrick, 8. 23T-Colin Baker, 9. 15c-Cody Anderlini, 10. 72-Glenn Borden, 11. 96-Mack Brown, 12. 33-Nate Morelock.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 0j-Jay Cole, 2. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 3. 94T-Steven Tiner, 4. 91-Gary Taylor, 5. 6-Jayme Barnes, 6. 98m-Mitch Olson, 7. 4-Nick Engberg, 8. 12p-Randy Pierce, 9. 5h-Justyn Cox, 10. 6m-Phillip Del Rosa, 11. 15j-Jeff Dunlap. DNS: 81au-Gavin Punch.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 11-Chad Corken, 4. 76-Shawn Rice, 5. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 6. 21w-Vern Wheeler, 7. 23-Seth Bergman, 8. 94z-Zach Zimmerly, 9. 25c-Chad Groves, 10. 15d-Dan Dunlap. DNS: 7a-J.J. Hickle.

Third Annual Fred Brownfield Memorial “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (35 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 26-Travis Rutz, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 88-Tim Crawley, 6. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 7. 91-Gary Taylor, 8. 57-Shane Stewart, 9. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 10. 3d-Paul McMahan, 11. 18T-Travis Jacobson, 12. 0j-Jay Cole, 13. 2m-Mike Melwicks, 14. 9p-Jared Peterson, 15. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 16. 12-Jared Ridge, 17. 9j-J.J. Dishneau, 18. 51-Jason Solwold, 19. 94-Danny Wood, 20. 13-Jesse Hockett, 21. 53-Jack Dover, 22. 7-Darren Long, 23. 1-Sean McClelland, 24. 11c-Roger Crockett (Disqualified; weighed in below required minimum).

Lap Leaders: Travis Rilat 1-32, Roger Crockett 33-35.

Note: Gary Taylor and Darren Long utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. (tie) Jason Johnson and Gary Wright 1,420, 3. Shane Stewart 1,394, 4. Travis Rilat 1,339, 5. Tim Crawley 1,311, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. 1,279, 7. Paul McMahan 1,278, 8. Danny Wood 1,238, 9. Jack Dover 1,205, 10. Jesse Hockett 1,163, 11. Sean McClelland 1,058, 12. Gary Taylor 1,024, 13. Darren Long 943, 14. Kenneth Walker 912, 15. Chad Corken 892, 16. Nick Smith 870, 17. Gavin Punch 847, 18. Seth Bergman 832, 19. Brady Bacon 752, 20. Ricky Logan 639.

ASCS Northwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jared Ridge 1,544, 2. Steven Tiner 1,536, 3. Roger Crockett 1,530, 4. Mitch Olson 1,458, 5. Henry VanDam 1,449, 6. Chad Groves 1,369, 7. Randy Pierce 1,246, 8. Justyn Cox 1,203, 9. Jay Cole 954, 10. Colin Baker 953.

ASCS Northwest Speedweek Points (Top Ten through Round Five of Five): 1. Jesse Hockett 696, 2. Roger Crockett 674, 3. Jared Ridge 658, 4. Jay Cole 648, 5. Wayne Johnson 625, 6. Steven Tiner 619, 7. Henry Van Dam 581, 8. Mitch Olson 577, 9. Mike Melwicks 565, 10. Chad Groves 530.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Crockett a Rocket in ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series Brownfield Memorial Prelim

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters broke some new ground with its first event within the State of Washington on Friday night at Grays Harbor Raceway.

But, for the fans on hand, it was a familiar face in victory lane as Roger Crockett topped the 30-lap Fred Brownfield Memorial preliminary feature event atop the 3/8-mile clay oval, fending off a stellar field of 52 entries including a full contingent of Lucas Oil ASCS title contenders.

“You’re not going to find a tougher field of Sprint Cars anywhere in the country, this is a big win for us,” Crockett commented after the triumph aboard the Shaver-powered Omlid & Swinney Fire Protection & Security No. 11c KPC.

Taking the lead at the outset from his pole starting position, Crockett caught a break or two in traffic to keep Travis Rilat at bay, with Tim Crawley and Jason Johnson also locking into Saturday night’s $10,092-to-win Fred Brownfield Memorial championship feature event.

After a convincing triumph in the night’s first of six heat races, Crockett redrew the pole position with Snohomish, WA, native Seth Bergman gridding to his outside in his return to Washington.

Crockett gunned into the lead at the drop of the green flag, leaving Bergman to battle with third-starter Rilat for the runner-up slot. Crockett reached lapped traffic in just a handful of circuits, with Rilat disposing of Bergman and setting his sights on the leader.

The Forney, TX, shoe reeled in Crockett and momentarily surged into the lead exiting turn two on the eleventh round. A lapped car forced Rilat to check up though, with Crockett breezing through the open door to retain command.

“We had him there, but that lapped car got in the way,” Rilat commented after his runner-up finish aboard the Shark-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X. “Obviously we want to win every night out, but this locks us into the money night tomorrow so we’re happy with it.”

Shortly after that lapped traffic mixer, the red flag flew when Ohio’s Darren Long took a rough ride down the backstretch with 13 laps in the books.

When action resumed, Tim Crawley slid past Bergman for third, with Bergman slowing to a stop moments later with race-ending woes.

Crockett kept his rivals at a distance over the final circuits, taking his second career Lucas Oil ASCS National triumph with a ten car-length advantage over Rilat as Arkansas’ Crawley claimed the show position in Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim.

“We were just a touch too tight,” Crawley commented afterward.

Defending series champion Jason Johnson of Eunice, LA, slid past Steven Tiner for the fourth and final lock-in position on a lap 25 restart, securing a position for Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle among the first three rows of Saturday’s main event.

Rallying from 15th, Shane Stewart made a late move to round out the top five in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 A.R.T., with Tiner the second ASCS Northwest rep (after Crockett) across the stripe in sixth.

Jesse Hockett picked off a handful of positions to finish seventh after sweeping three nights of ASCS Northwest Speedweek action in Oregon, with Tony Bruce, Jr., in eighth. Four-time series champion Gary Wright escaped the night with a slim four-point lead over Johnson by racing from 16th to ninth, with Paul McMahan completing the top ten.

Crockett, Crawley, Mitch Olson, Jason Solwold, Bruce and Danny Kirkpatrick topped heat race action, with Sean McClelland, Darren Long and Kenneth Walker winning the “B” Mains.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Third Annual Fred Brownfield Memorial Preliminary
Grays Harbor Raceway – Elma, WA

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

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 11c-Roger Crockett, 2. 13-Jesse Hockett, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 91-Gary Taylor, 5. 9j-J.J. Dishneau, 6. 21w-Vern Wheeler, 7. 15d-Dan Dunlap, 8. 7n-Chadd Noland, 9. 29v-Robbie Vaughn.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 08-Steve Vague, 3. 3d-Paul McMahan, 4. 0j-Jay Cole, 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 94z-Zach Zimmerly, 7. 6-Jayme Barnes, 8. 76-Shawn Rice, 9. 5h-Justyn Cox.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 98m-Mitch Olson, 2. 94T-Steven Tiner, 3. 9p-Jared Peterson, 4. 2m-Mike Melwicks, 5. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 6. 4-Nick Engberg, 7. 6m-Phillip Del Rosa, 8. 15c-Cody Anderlini, 9. 26-Travis Rutz.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 51-Jason Solwold, 2. 72-Glenn Borden, 3. 12-Jared Ridge, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 25c-Chad Groves, 6. 7a-J.J. Hickle, 7. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 8. 11-Chad Corken. DNS: 81au-Gavin Punch.

Heat Five (10 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 5. 7-Darren Long, 6. 23T-Colin Baker, 7. 18T-Travis Jacobson, 8. 96-Mack Brown.

Heat Six (10 Laps): 1. 7k-Danny Kirkpatrick, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 23-Seth Bergman, 4. 12p-Randy Pierce, 5. 15J-Jeff Dunlap, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 94-Danny Wood, 8. F1-Rick Fauver.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 0j-Jay Cole, 3. 7a-J.J. Hickle, 4. 08-Steve Vague, 5. 26-Travis Rutz, 6. 94-Danny Wood, 7. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 8. 2m-Mike Melwicks, 9. 18T-Travis Jacobson, 10. 15c-Cody Anderlini, 11. 6m-Phillip Del Rosa. DNS: 7n-Chadd Noland.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 7-Darren Long, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 72-Glenn Borden, 4. 35a-Wayne Johnson, 5. 94z-Zach Zimmerly, 6. 76-Shawn Rice, 7. 12p-Randy Pierce, 8. 21w-Vern Wheeler, 9. 5h-Justyn Cox, 10. 4-Nick Engberg, 11. 96-Mack Brown, 12. 11-Chad Corken.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 2-Kenneth Walker, 2. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 3. 9p-Jared Peterson, 4. 6-Jayme Barnes, 5. 25c-Chad Groves, 6. 9j-J.J Dishneau, 7. 23T-Colin Baker, 8. 15d-Dan Dunlap, 9. 15j-Jeff Dunlap, 10. 29v-Robbie Vaughn. DNS: F1-Rick Fauver, 81au-Gavin Punch.

“A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 11c-Roger Crockett, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 94T-Steven Tiner, 7. 13-Jesse Hockett, 8. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 9. 9x-Gary Wright, 10. 3d-Paul McMahan, 11. 12-Jared Ridge, 12. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 13. 1-Sean McClelland, 14. 53-Jack Dover, 15. 94-Danny Wood, 16. 2-Kenneth Walker, 17. 11-Chad Corken, 18. 0j-Jay Cole, 19. 51-Jason Solwold, 20. 7k-Danny Kirkpatrick, 21. 23-Seth Bergman, 22. 7-Darren Long, 23. 98m-Mitch Olson, 24. 91-Gary Taylor.

Lap Leaders: Roger Crockett 1-30.

Note: Danny Wood and Chad Corken utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main. It was the first of the year for both drivers.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 20): 1. Gary Wright 1,278, 2. Jason Johnson 1,274, 3. Shane Stewart 1,260, 4. Travis Rilat 1,189, 5. Tim Crawley 1,171, 6. Paul McMahan 1,148, 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 1,141, 8. Danny Wood 1,126, 9. Jack Dover 1,097, 10. Jesse Hockett 1,053, 11. Sean McClelland 954, 12. Gary Taylor 888, 13. Nick Smith 870, 14. (tie) Darren Long and Kenneth Walker 837, 16. Chad Corken 817, 17. Gavin Punch 787, 18. Seth Bergman 757, 19. Brady Bacon 752, 20. Ricky Logan 639.

ASCS Northwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. (tie) Jared Ridge and Steven Tiner 1,406, 3. Roger Crockett 1,398, 4. Mitch Olson 1,338, 5. Henry VanDam 1,309, 6. Chad Groves 1,259, 7. Randy Pierce 1,130, 8. Justyn Cox 1,093, 9. Chadd Noland 928, 10. Colin Baker 837.

ASCS Northwest Speedweek Points (Top Ten through Round Three of Five): 1. Jesse Hockett 586, 2. Roger Crockett 572, 3. Steven Tiner 544, 4. Jared Ridge 540, 5. Jay Cole 522, 6. Mitch Olson 502, 7. Wayne Johnson 493, 8. Henry Van Dam 461, 9. Chad Groves 455, 10. Mike Melwicks 441.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Next Page »

Copyright © 2005-2009 Lone Star Speedzone · 139 E. Hopkins, Suite 200-E, San Marcos, TX 78666 · Log in