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

Subscribe

• Login
• Forums
• Audio
• Live Blogs
• Video

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

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.

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.”

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.

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

Tim Crawley conquers ASCS in Rock ‘N Roll 50 to sweep series return to Riverside

Arkansas ace Tim Crawley completed a weekend sweep of the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters much-anticipated return to Riverside Speedway by winning Saturday night’s Rock ‘N Roll 50 championship feature event atop the storied ¼-mile gumbo clay oval.

The three-time Lucas Oil ASCS National champion wrestled the lead away from Justin Sturch on the 31st round en route to topping the first 50-lapper in series history, collecting the $6,000 winner’s share and a nifty Gibson Les Paul guitar event trophy with the VERSUS cameras catching all the action.

“What a great weekend!” Crawley exclaimed in victory lane. “Last night it was pretty much wide open, but tonight was more about being patient and waiting for the right time to make that move.”

After racing from eleventh to win Friday night’s preliminary feature, Crawley drew the pole position for Saturday night’s 50-lap finale. But, it was Justin Sturch gunning into the lead at the outset from the front row outside after racing his way into the six-car redraw by ranking among the night’s top two earners in passing points.

Sturch paced 30 rounds before Crawley snuck underneath entering turn one on the 31st circuit and never looked back, ultimately taking the checkered flag aboard Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim with a comfortable straightaway advantage.

“Justin (Sturch) drove a strong race, but he left one hole open and I was there to plug it,” Crawley explained. “We owe David McCarver a lot of credit on this one, he busted his tail to have an engine ready for tonight.”

While Crawley cruised out front in the waning laps, event promoter Tony Bruce, Jr., slipped around Sturch in the closing circuits to snare runner-up honors in the Rider-powered Sundial Tee Shirts/AMC Plumbing No. 18 Maxim.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this worn out in my life,” the Kansas shoe commented upon climbing out of his mount on a muggy night next to the Mississippi River after piling 50 laps upon double duty as racer and promoter. “It’s worth it though, it was a great race and we look forward to doing this every year.”

Sturch, the reigning track champion at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway, settled for his best career Lucas Oil ASCS finish by taking third in his No. 9 entry, commenting that, “We were just getting way too loose there at the end, we’re satisfied with what we got. I was a little concerned that we were about to get freight-trained, but I think a lot of the other guys had the same problem.”

Gary Wright battled forward from 11th to earn fourth in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Richwood Construction No. 9x Maxim to take over the series points lead by six markers over Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart, who are now tied for second.

Jesse Hockett battled amongst the lead handful of cars throughout, ultimately rounding out the top five in the RMS-powered VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch No. 13 JEI.

Gary Taylor advanced a half dozen positions to finish sixth, with Jan Howard, Nick Smith, Shane Stewart and 23rd-starter Jason Johnson completing the top ten.

The feature event ran off with four yellow flags and two reds. The first yellow flew after two laps when third-starter Darren Long looped it in turn one. Two laps later, Paul McMahan came to a stop in turn three with engine woes.

Chad Corken tumbled in turn two on the ninth lap to bring out the first red flag, with Brady Bacon spinning to a stop in turn two with 16 laps in the books. After Dustin Morgan coasted to a stop with mechanical issues after 36 laps, Travis Rilat got upside down in turn two three laps later after running among the top five throughout. Terry Gray and Danny Wood were collected in the melee, with Gray forced pitside along with Rilat.

A pair of drivers used provisionals to start the main event, including reigning series champion Jason Johnson and Nebraska’s Jack Dover.

After tangling with Ricky Logan and flipping in turn four on the opening lap of the night’s sixth and final heat race, Johnson used his first provisional of the year after being unable to transfer from his “B” Main.

Struggling in his heat and “B” Main, Dover regrouped to race from 24th to eleventh to garner the R.E. Technologies Young Gun of the Race award, presented to the night’s top finisher under 21 years of age. Don Young claimed Friday night’s Young Gun award.

With 50 cars on hand for Saturday night’s Rock ‘N Roll 50, Wright, Marshall Skinner, Taylor, Jan Howard, Smith and Stewart topped heat race action. Matt Covington, Danny Wood and Paul McMahan won the “B” Mains.

Gavin Punch slipped too high exiting turn two in the second “B” Main and flipped after tagging the wall. Punch walked away uninjured, as did the night’s other flip victims.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Riverside Speedway – West Memphis, AR
Rock ‘N Roll 50 Preliminary Event Results

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

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 81au-Gavin Punch, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 5. 75-Don Young, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 7-Darren Long, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 85-Jerry Bell.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 2. 13-Jesse Hockett, 3. 6-Raymond Stull, 4. 23-Seth Bergman, 5. 4x-Jan Howard, 6. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 7. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 8. 93-Dustin Morgan, 9. 51-Lee Sowell.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 8z-Zach Pringle, 6. 11-Chad Corken, 7. 3d-Paul McMahan, 8. 91-Gary Taylor, 9. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 2. 39-Brad Bowden, 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 8x-Chris Williams, 5. 17-Tim Sites, 6. 58-Wade Oliver, 7. 1-Sean McClelland, 8. 97-Aaron Berryhill. DNS: 44-Ronny Howard.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 45-Dale Howard, 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 3-A.G. Rains, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 10a-Ricky Logan, 8. 12-Trey Robb.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 3-A.G. Rains, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 3d-Paul McMahan, 6. 7-Darren Long, 7. 11-Chad Corken, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 17-Tim Sites, 10. 51-Lee Sowell, 11. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 12. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick. DNS: 4x-Jan Howard, 93-Dustin Morgan.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 8z-Zach Pringle, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 8x-Chris Williams, 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 23-Seth Bergman, 7. 10a-Ricky Logan, 8. 91-Gary Taylor, 9. 44-Ronny Howard, 10. 13k-Kathryne Minter, 11. 12-Trey Robb, 12. 85-Jerry Bell, 13. 58-Wade Oliver. DNS: 97-Aaron Berryhill.

Rock N’ Roll 50 Preliminary “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 13-Jesse Hockett, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 9x-Gary Wright, 6. 45-Dale Howard, 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 8. 57-Shane Stewart, 9. 3d-Paul McMahan, 10. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 11. 3-A.G. Rains, 12. 2-Kenneth Walker, 13. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 14. 9-Justin Sturch, 15. 39-Brad Bowden, 16. 75-Don Young, 17. 15s-Nick Smith, 18. 6-Raymond Stull, 19. 94-Danny Wood, 20. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 21. 8z-Zach Pringle, 22. 81au-Gavin Punch, 23. 99-Brady Bacon, 24. 53-Jack Dover.

Lap Leaders: Tony Bruce, Jr. 1-17, Tim Crawley 18-30.

Note: Paul McMahan and Nick Smith utilized Lucas Oil ASCS provisionals to start the “A” Main. It was McMahan’s first of the year and Smith’s second of the year.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
Riverside Speedway – West Memphis, AR
Rock ‘N Roll 50 Results

Locked in From Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

88-Tim Crawley, 29-Travis Rilat, 13-Jesse Hockett, 18-Tony Bruce, Jr.

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

Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 12-Trey Robb, 3. 95-Matt Covington, 4. 39-Brad Bowden, 5. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 6. 6-Raymond Stull, 7. 53-Jack Dover, 8. 75-Don Young.

Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 26-Marshall Skinner, 2. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 10-Terry Gray, 5. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 51-Lee Sowell, 8. 3-A.G. Rains.

Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 91-Gary Taylor, 2. 7-Darren Long, 3. 94-Danny Wood, 4. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 45-Dale Howard, 7. 8x-Chris Williams, 8. 17-Tim Sites.

Heat Four (10 Laps): 1. 4x-Jan Howard, 2. 58-Wade Oliver, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 5. 78-Henry Gustavus, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 7. 16p-Dewayne Prince, 8. 44-Ronny Howard.

Heat Five (10 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 3d-Paul McMahan, 3. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 4. 8z-Zach Pringle, 5. 2T-Todd Fayard, 6. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick, 7. 85-Jerry Bell.

Heat Six (10 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 11-Chad Corken, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 81au-Gavin Punch, 6. 10a-Ricky Logan, 7. 41-Jason Johnson.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 11-Chad Corken, 3. 10a-Ricky Logan, 4. 12-Trey Robb, 5. 22-Kevin Kilpatrick, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 8. 39-Brad Bowden, 9. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 9. 7n-Philip Faulkner, 10. 17-Tim Sites, 11. 44-Ronny Howard.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 3. 40-Ernie Ainsworth, 4. 8z-Zach Pringle, 5. 6-Raymond Stull, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 75-Don Young, 8. 8x-Chris Williams, 9. 85-Jerry Bell, 10. 2T-Todd Fayard, 11. 81au-Gavin Punch.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 1-Sean McClelland, 3. 12d-Jeff Swindell, 4. 1e-Eddie Gallagher, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 51-Lee Sowell, 7. 16p-Dewayne Prince, 8. 45-Dale Howard, 9. 23-Seth Bergman, 10. 78-Henry Gustavus, 11. 3-A.G. Rains.

Rock N’ Roll 50 “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (50 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 9-Justin Sturch, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 13-Jesse Hockett, 6. 91-Gary Taylor, 7. 4x-Jan Howard, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 57-Shane Stewart, 10. 41-Jason Johnson, 11. 53-Jack Dover, 12. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 13. 7-Darren Long, 14. 1-Sean McClelland, 15. 94-Danny Wood, 16. 95-Matt Covington, 17. 29-Travis Rilat, 18. 10-Terry Gray, 19. 93-Dustin Morgan, 20. 26-Marshall Skinner, 21. 58-Wade Oliver, 22. 99-Brady Bacon, 23. 11-Chad Corken, 24. 3d-Paul McMahan.

Lap Leaders: Justin Sturch 1-30, Tim Crawley 31-50.

Note: Jason Johnson and Jack Dover 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 996, 2. (tie) Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart 990, 4. Travis Rilat 899, 5. Paul McMahan 882, 6. Tim Crawley 881, 7. Danny Wood 872, 8. Jack Dover 871, 9. Nick Smith 870, 10. Tony Bruce, Jr. 869, 11. Jesse Hockett 785, 12. Brady Bacon 752, 13. Sean McClelland 728, 14. Gary Taylor 666, 15. Kenneth Walker 644, 16. Trey Robb 632, 17. (tie) Aaron Berryhill and Matt Covington 625, 19. Darren Long 607, 20. Gavin Punch 599.

by Lonnie Wheatley

‘Zach Attack’ in ASCS Speedweek round three; Chappell wins wild one

Zach Chappell became the third different winner in as many legs of the 17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters by topping Tuesday night’s 30-lap feature at Creek County Speedway.

The Talala, OK, racer paced the final four circuits after racing forward from 16th in the wildly unpredictable affair atop the tight ¼-mile bullring to capture his second career ASCS Speedweek triumph and first ASCS win since a Sooner score in July of 2005.

“It feels good to win this, the team’s really been working hard and they had this one coming,” Chappell commented after his triumph aboard the family-owned Legend’s Bar-B-Q & Steak Joint No. 50z Maxim.

After Tony Bruce, Jr., and Seth Bergman enjoyed stints at the head of the pack, Chappell became the race’s fourth and final leader when Tim Crawley surrendered the point with a cut right rear in the final handful of laps. And, it was a cut that was by all indications inflicted by Chappell.

“I don’t like to race like that and sure didn’t mean to get into him,” Chappell explained. “I had a real good run off of two and tried to cut down into three to try to get around and I guess I clipped his right rear. It’s not the way we wanted it. But, hey, we’ll take it.”

Following a red flag stoppage after 20 rounds for Donnie Ray Crawford’s flip down the backstretch, Chappell had turned the heat up on Crawley, who had taken the lead away from Washington’s Bergman on the 16th round.

Chasing Crawley around the bottom of one and two and then challenging on the top side of turns three and four, the pair raced side-by-side several times before the slightest of contact entering turn three on the 27th round sent Crawley coasting to a stop at the top of turn four.

“I drove the exact same line I’d driven every lap before that, it’s not like I moved up the track,” Crawley commented after being credited with a 15th place finish rather than collecting his second win of the week.

With Crawley sidelined, Chappell led the final circuits to collect the win in front of Bergman, who held off Missouri’s Brian Brown for runner-up honors.

Piloting Steven Bergman’s Shark-powered Corridor Electric No. 23 Eagle, Bergman had outdueled Crawley for second in the early rounds and then took command when Tony Bruce, Jr., spun out of the lead on the 12th lap.

But, a lap after Shane Stewart spun from contention on the 15th circuit, Crawley battled past Bergman and set sail. “We were good, but Tim found the bottom of the track before we did,” Bergman explained.

Advancing from the 12th starting position, Brown kept his nose clean to collect show honors in his Creek County debut aboard the Super Clean No. 21 Maxim.

After losing a torsion arm while leading his heat race, Brady Bacon raced from the tail of the “B” Main to earn a transfer position and then charged from 23rd to claim fourth in the Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple X.

Originally slated to start eleventh, Paul McMahan started tailback after getting collected in an opening lap melee that sidelined four cars (Gary Taylor, Eric Baldaccini, Kenneth Walker and Forrest Sutherland) and raced back through the field to round out the top five aboard the Wesmar-powered J&D Motorsports No. 3d Maxim.

Tony Bruce, Jr., who paced the opening eleven rounds before looping it off the top of turn two, raced back through the field to salvage a sixth place finish and retain the ASCS Speedweek points lead.

Ninth-row starters Matt Clevenger and Sean McClelland were seventh and eighth, respectively, with fourth heat race tusslers Nick Smith and Dustin Morgan advancing from “B” Main action to complete the top ten in the feature.

Jason Johnson, Claud Estes, Baldaccini and Danny Wood topped heat race action for the 31-car field, with Smith making a move around Morgan to win the 12-lap “B” Main. Defending ASCS Speedweek champ Jason Johnson spun in turn four on the second attempt to start the feature and was forced pitside with a flat front tire, while Wood finished 13th after looping it in turn two while running among the top five in the early stages of the feature.

Crawley and Sapulpa’s Danny Smith both got upside down in a double tumble in the night’s second heat race. Smith was done for the night while Crawley continued on with minimal damage to earn the 13th starting position for the feature.

After battling from sixth to take the lead in the third heat, six-time ASCS Speedweek champion Gary Wright slipped too high in turn two and dumped his mount after tagging the wall. After a “B” Main spin, Wright charged into a transfer position in the final rounds before making an early exit from the feature.

The 17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters resumes with Round Four at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, on Thursday night before moving on to Oklahoma City’s State Fair Speedway on Friday and then concluding on Saturday night at Lawton Speedway.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek
Round Three – Creek County Speedway

Heat Races (Top 18 in Passing Points to “A” Main):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 91-Gary Taylor, 3. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 4. 21-Brian Brown, 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 77-Colt Treharn, 7. 95-Matt Covington, 8. 99-Brady Bacon.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 74e-Claud Estes, 2. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 88-Tim Crawley, 5. 85s-Forrest Sutherland, 6. 22-Koby Barksdale, 7. 87-Brian McClelland, 8. 5$-Danny Smith.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 3. 50z-Zach Chappell, 4. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 5. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 6. 9x-Gary Wright, 7. 52-Frank Sudduth, 8. 87a-Andrew Marshala.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94-Danny Wood, 2. 23-Seth Bergman, 3. 3d-Paul McMahan, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 15s-Nick Smith, 7. 72-Sherman Davis.

“B” Main (Top 6 Advance to “A” Main):

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 93-Dustin Morgan, 3. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 5$-Danny Smith, 8. 87-Brian McClelland, 9. 72-Sherman Davis, 10. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 11. 77-Colt Treharn. DNS: 22-Koby Barksdale, 52-Frank Sudduth.

ASCS Speedweek Round Three “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 23-Seth Bergman, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 3d-Paul McMahan, 6. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 7. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 8. 1-Sean McClelland, 9. 15s-Nick Smith, 10. 93-Dustin Morgan, 11. 95-Matt Covington, 12. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 13. 94-Danny Wood, 14. 1a-Robby Wolfgang, 15. 88-Tim Crawley, 16. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 17. 57-Shane Stewart, 18. 9x-Gary Wright, 19. 74e-Claud Estes, 20. 41-Jason Johnson, 21. 91-Gary Taylor, 22. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 23. 2-Kenneth Walker, 24. 85s-Forrest Sutherland.

Lap Leaders: Tony Bruce, Jr., 1-11, Seth Bergman 12-15, Tim Crawley 16-26, Zach Chappell 27-30.

17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek Points (Top Fifteen – Through Round Three of Six): 1. Tony Bruce, Jr. 430, 2. Tim Crawley 410, 3. Sean McClelland 406, 4. Paul McMahan 402, 5. Brady Bacon 398, 6. Jason Johnson 390, 7. (tie) Shane Stewart and Zach Chappell 386, 9. Matt Clevenger 382, 10. Dustin Morgan 380, 11. Gary Wright 368, 12. Kenneth Walker 362, 13. (tie) Donnie Ray Crawford and Danny Wood 352, 15. Nick Smith 351.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Tony Bruce takes first ASCS win, second leg of “Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek”

Tony Bruce, Jr., captured his first career ASCS Speedweek feature win by cracking victory lane in the second leg of the 17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters at I-30 Speedway on Saturday night.

The Liberal, KS, racer scooted past Kenneth Walker for the lead on the sixth round and led the rest of the way in the hotly contested 30-lapper aboard the Rider-powered Coors Light No. 18 Maxim, ultimately taking the checkered flag just ahead of a rapidly-closing Gary Wright.

“I’m starting to like this place, it’s been good for us lately,” Bruce explained after backing up his $15,000 Short Track Nationals score atop the ¼-mile I-30 Speedway clay oval last October.

While Bruce started the feature from the front row outside, he spent the opening handful of laps chasing pole starter Kenneth Walker. But, soon after a lap four caution for Gavin Punch’s punch of a turn two infield tire, Bruce slid underneath Walker entering turn one to take command.

Working the topside of the track, Bruce led the way as Dustin Morgan and Jason Johnson also made their way past Walker by the time Lewis Jenkins, Jr., looped it in turn four with eight laps in the books.

Bruce worked the cushion flawlessly, with tenth-starter Gary Wright soon joining the fray for second. Wright finally battled past both Morgan and Johnson for second on the 23rd lap only to slip off the top of turn two.

The slip proved to be costly for the six-time Speedweek champion, as it took him another handful of laps to work back around Johnson and Morgan. And with just two laps remaining by the time “The Texan” had reclaimed second, Bruce was very nearly out of reach.

Wright hustled to close the gap, but hooking the turn three cushion one final time as the white flag being presented was just the last bit of breathing room Bruce needed to secure the win.

While Bruce escaped the night with a slim two-point lead in ASCS Speedweek points, Wright posted runner-up honors in Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 9x Maxim.

After surviving a close call in heat race action in which Jeremy Newkirk’s tumbling sprinter nearly removed his wing, Morgan battled amongst the front-runners all the way before taking show honors in the Wesmar-powered Ark Wrecking No. 93 Maxim.

Defending ASCS Speedweek champion Jason Johnson was a close fourth in Lanny Row’s Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

After winning the ASCS Speedweek opener one night earlier, Tim Crawley’s night got off to an inauspicious start when he was squeezed into the frontstretch wall and suffered front end damage as the green flag flew on the night’s third heat race.

The three-time ASCS National champion salvaged the night by racing from the tail of his “B” Main to take the third and final transfer position away from Nick Smith on the final round and then charging from 23rd to round out the top five in the feature event.

“If we could have caught a caution with six or seven laps to go, we might have made thing up front interesting,” Crawley commented afterward.

Kenneth Walker crossed the stripe sixth, with Travis Rilat, Justin Sturch, 17th-starter Sean McClelland and 21st-starter Brady Bacon completing the top ten.

Third-starter Shane Stewart clipped an infield tire exiting turn two on the second lap and spun to a stop in turn three. Catching a timely caution on the ensuing restart, the current Lucas Oil ASCS points leader tagged the tail of the field and climbed back up to 13th by race’s end.

Lewis Jenkins, Jr., Gavin Punch, Kenneth Walker, Gary Wright and Tony Bruce, Jr., topped heat race action for the 40-car field, with Don Young and Paul McMahan winning the twin “B” Mains.

Matt Covington, Jeremy Newkirk and Dusty Fronabarger each flipped in heat race action. Covington returned for “B” Main action, with the others done for the night.

The 17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters resumes with Round Three at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, OK, on Tuesday night, with racing action set to go green at 7:00 p.m.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek
Round Two – I-30 Speedway

Heat Races (Top 18 in Passing Points to “A” Main):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 2. 9-Justin Sturch, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 74e-Claud Estes, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 15s-Nick Smith, 7. 4T-Tommy Snellgrove, 8. 95-Matt Covington.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 81au-Gavin Punch, 2. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 72-Sherman Davis, 6. 58-Wade Oliver, 7. 11F-Foster Landon. DNS: 38-Rick Pringle.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 2-Kenneth Walker, 2. 93-Dustin Morgan, 3. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 4. 1g-Cody Gardner, 5. 75-Don Young, 6. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 7. 77-Colt Treharn, 8. 88-Tim Crawley.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 91-Gary Taylor, 4. 1x-Chad Pitts, 5. 8z-Zach Pringle, 6. 94-Danny Wood, 7. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 8. 13-Dusty Fronabarger.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. 57g-Dude Garrett, 6. 3d-Paul McMahan, 7. 14t-Tyler Brown, 8. 14k-Kyle Bellm.

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

First “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 75-Don Young, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 15s-Nick Smith, 5. 8z-Zach Pringle, 6. 11F-Foster Landon, 7. 77-Colt Treharn, 8. 57g-Dude Garrett, 9. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 10. 58-Wade Oliver, 11. 87a-Andrew Marshala.

Second “B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 14T-Tyler Brown, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 72-Sherman Davis, 6. 23-Seth Bergman, 7. 4T-Tommy Snellgrove, 8. 1x-Chad Pitts. DNS: 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 13-Dusty Fronabarger, 38-Rick Pringle.

ASCS Speedweek Round Two “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 93-Dustin Morgan, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 88-Tim Crawley, 6. 2-Kenneth Walker, 7. 29-Travis Rilat, 8. 9-Justin Sturch, 9. 1-Sean McClelland, 10. 99-Brady Bacon, 11. 3d-Paul McMahan, 12. 94-Danny Wood, 13. 57-Shane Stewart, 14. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 15. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 16. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 17. 91-Gary Taylor, 18. 75-Don Young, 19. 81au-Gavin Punch, 20. 14T-Tyler Brown, 21. 74e-Claud Estes, 22. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 23. 50z-Zach Chappell, 24. 1g-Cody Gardner.

Lap Leaders: Kenneth Walker 1-5, Tony Bruce, Jr. 6-30.

17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek Points (Top Fifteen – Through Round Two of Six): 1. Tony Bruce, Jr. 292, 2. Tim Crawley 290, 3. Jason Johnson 280, 4. Sean McClelland 272, 5. (tie) Shane Stewart and Justin Sturch 270, 7. Travis Rilat 264, 8. Paul McMahan 262, 9. Kenneth Walker 258, 10. Brady Bacon 256, 11. Gary Wright 254, 12. Dustin Morgan 250, 13. Matt Clevenger 246, 14. Gavin Punch 242, 15. (tie) Zach Chappell and Don Young 236.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Tim Crawley wins ASCS Sprint Car “Sizzlin’ Spring Speedweek” opener

Tim Crawley kicked off the 17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters by wiring the field in Friday night’s 30-lap feature at Texarkana 67 Speedway.

Crawley used a slick move through the opening pair of corners to race into the lead from his fourth starting position and then survived several caution periods en route to his 13th career ASCS Speedweek feature triumph and second atop the ¼-mile 67 Speedway clay oval.

“We thought the start could be pretty important, there was a good chance that it could be hard to pass much and in front was the place to be,” the 2004 Speedweek champion and three-time ASCS National champion explained from victory lane.

After a chaotic initial attempt to start the feature was waved off, current Lucas Oil ASCS points leader Shane Stewart and Tony Bruce, Jr., led the feature field to the green flag with Crawley gridded to the outside of Nick Smith in row two.

With Stewart outdragging Bruce into turn one and taking to the topside, Crawley cut across to the bottom exiting turn two to take command.

While Stewart stayed within striking distance much of the way, Crawley worked the bottom portion of the track flawlessly and cruised to victory lane aboard Mike Ward’s McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim, not even allowing some lapped traffic in the latter stages slow his victory charge.

In Crawley’s wake, Stewart had his hands full throughout. After just a handful of laps, tenth-starter Sean McClelland moved in and diced with Stewart for the runner-up position until the race’s final caution flew for Eric Baldaccini’s disabled mount on the front stretch with 15 laps in the books.

Nick Smith battled past McClelland on the restart and then mixed it up with Stewart the rest of the way with Stewart edging Smith by mere feet at the line for second in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered ProBilt Construction No. 57 A.R.T.

Smith claimed the show position in the Wesmar-powered Sooner Network Solutions No. 15s J&J, while Tony Bruce, Jr., reclaimed several positions over the final rounds to snare fourth in the Rider-powered No. 18 Maxim.

McClelland rounded out the top five in the Wesmar-powered Maxwell Oil No. 1 J&J, with defending ASCS Speedweek champion Jason Johnson climbing from 12th to finish sixth. Justin Sturch was seventh, with 16th-starter Paul McMahan, 20th-starter Zach Chappell and 23rd-starter Gavin Punch completing the top ten.

Bruce, Matt Covington, Dustin Morgan and Stewart topped heat race action for the 30-car field, with Eric Baldaccini winning the 12-lap “B” Main.

Six-time ASCS Speedweek champion Gary Wright, racing just 20 miles from his Hooks, TX, home, made an early exit from the feature with rear end woes and was credited with a 21st place finish.

Claud Estes and Gary Taylor both tumbled off the turn three embankment on the opening round of the “B” Main. Both drivers walked away unscathed, although Taylor’s mount was mangled.

Round Two of the 17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters takes place Saturday night at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway, with racing action getting under way at 7:30 p.m.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek
Round One – Texarkana 67 Speedway

Heat Races (Top 18 in Passing Points to “A” Main):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 15s-Nick Smith, 4. 2-Kenneth Walker, 5. 81au-Gavin Punch, 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 8. 87a-Andrew Marshala.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 75-Don Young, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 2x-Randy McKinney.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 93-Dustin Morgan, 2. 94-Danny Wood, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 9x-Gary Wright, 5. 77-Colt Treharn, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 14k-Kyle Bellm.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 8z-Zach Pringle, 3. 9-Justin Sturch, 4. 3d-Paul McMahan, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 7. 91-Gary Taylor.

“B” Main (Top 6 Advance to “A” Main):

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 4. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 5. 81au-Gavin Punch, 6. 75-Don Young, 7. 77-Colt Treharn, 8. 2x-Randy McKinney, 9. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 10. 74e-Claud Estes, 11. 91-Gary Taylor, 12. 87a-Andrew Marshala.

ASCS Speedweek Round One “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 15s-Nick Smith, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 1-Sean McClelland, 6. 41-Jason Johnson, 7. 9-Justin Sturch, 8. 3d-Paul McMahan, 9. 50z-Zach Chappell, 10. 81au-Gavin Punch, 11. 29-Travis Rilat, 12. 99-Brady Bacon, 13. 31m-Matt Clevenger, 14. 75-Don Young, 15. 2-Kenneth Walker, 16. 23-Seth Bergman, 17. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 18. 95-Matt Covington, 19. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 20. 8z-Zach Pringle, 21. 9x-Gary Wright, 22. 93-Dustin Morgan, 23. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 24. 94-Danny Wood.

Lap Leaders: Tim Crawley 1-30.

17th Annual F&J Construction ASCS Speedweek Points (Top Ten – Through Round One of Six): 1. Tim Crawley 150, 2. Shane Stewart 146, 3. Nick Smith 144, 4. Tony Bruce, Jr., 142, 5. Sean McClelland 140, 6. Jason Johnson 138, 7. Justin Sturch 136, 8. Paul McMahan 134, 9. Zach Chappell 132, 10. Gavin Punch 130.

by Lonnie Wheatley

ASCS Sprint Car “Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek” right around the corner

For the past 16 years, some of the most memorable moments in American Sprint Car Series history, both on and off the track, have taken place during the series’ annual Speedweek.

That tradition continues when the 17th Annual ASCS Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters fires off next Friday night, June 5, with the first of six events at six different tracks throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

For the second year in a row, ASCS Speedweek fires off atop the tight confines of Texarkana 67 Speedway on the Arkansas side of the state line. The following night, Saturday June 6, it’s up Interstate 30 to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway for Round Two of ASCS Speedweek.

After two nights off, a third consecutive ¼-mile bullring is on tap with Creek County Speedway near Tulsa, OK, hosting Round Three on Tuesday night, June 9.

One more idle day precedes the final three-race stanza of the 17th Annual ASCS Speedweek, with Devil’s Bowl Speedway (June 11) in Mesquite, TX, Oklahoma City’s State Fair Speedway (June 12) and Lawton (OK) Speedway (June 13) hosting the final half of Speedweek.

While this year’s Speedweek events will not award points towards the Lucas Oil ASCS National championship, a $10,000 points fund has been established for the week. The week’s magnificent seven, the top seven point earners, will each walk away with some extra money at week’s end with the champion taking the lion’s share of $2,000. The balance of the ASCS Speedweek points fund is $1,600 (2nd), $1,500 (3rd), $1,400 (4th), $1,300 (5th), $1,200 (6th) and $1,000 (7th).

Eunice, Louisiana’s Jason Johnson enters as the reigning ASCS Speedweek champion after taking his second such title in three seasons with two Speedweek feature wins last year. Johnson climbed to third on the all-time ASCS Speedweek feature win list behind Gary Wright (29 wins) and Tim Crawley (12) with nine career wins.

While Johnson took two wins last year, he was matched by Gary Wright and Gary Taylor. The victories marked Taylor’s first pair of National triumphs while six-time ASCS Speedweek champion Wright has now snared at least one Speedweek win in 13 of the last 15 years, shut out in only 1996 and 2004.

All three of last year’s Speedweek feature winners are expected to vie for this year’s Speedweek title along with a host of top challengers including 2003 Speedweek champion Shane Stewart, 2004 Speedweek champion Tim Crawley, Danny Wood, Travis Rilat, Nick Smith, Jack Dover, Eric Baldaccini, Sean McClelland, Kenneth Walker, Seth Bergman, Matt Covington, Brady Bacon, Kathryne Minter and many more.

Each ASCS Speedweek event pays $3,000 to win and $300 to start.

17th Annual ASCS Speedweek Schedule:

Friday, June 5 – Texarkana 67 Speedway (Texarkana, AR) 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 6 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 9 – Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, OK) 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 11 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) 8:00 p.m.
Friday, June 12- State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK) 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 13 – Lawton Speedway (Lawton, OK) 8:00 p.m.

ASCS Speedweek has been in place since 1993 with seven different drivers earning Speedweek titles and 31 different drivers posting at least one win in the 104 Speedweek features contested thus far.

Additional information regarding the 17th Annual ASCS Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek is available at http://www.ascsracing.com/speedweek.asp.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Gary Wright wins Friday’s ASCS Gulf South Opener at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

It didn’t take long for Gary Wright to find the winning combination in his new ride, as he made a lap 23 pass of race long leader Tony Bruce, Jr., to top Friday night’s season-opening 25-lap American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region feature event at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

In just his third night aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Richwood Construction No. 9x Maxim, “The Texan” worked the top side of the ¼-mile gumbo clay oval to deny Liberal, KS, shoe Bruce the $3,000 winner’s share in the Prelude to the Gulf Coast Nationals.

“That was a good race,” Wright commented as he climbed from his winning mount, understating the sentiments of the standing room only crowd.

After winning his heat race from the pole position, Wright started the main event from the second row and was up to third behind Bruce and Travis Rilat after just two laps. Wright eventually took second from Rilat on the 18th lap before making the winning move.

Bruce started the race to Wright’s inside, but, after the initial start was waved off for Sean McClelland’s turn two spin, needed only a half lap to dispose of front row starters Brandon Berryman and Rilat for the lead. Bruce and Rilat took off in short order, reaching lapped traffic after just seven laps as Wright closed in to make it a three car duel for the point.

After dicing in frantic fashion for several laps in heavy traffic, Rilat raced into the lead on the 14th lap only to have the move negated when Channin Tankersley jumped the turn four cushion and spun to a stop.

Tankersley’s night got worse two laps later when he got upside down on the frontstretch after banging wheels with Aaron Reutzel. Done for the night, Tankersley walked away unscathed.

Under the ensuing caution, Rilat’s victory hopes deflated along with his left rear tire. While the nearly flat tire built pressure back up to some extent when green flag conditions resumed, the resulting lack of forward bite left Rilat defenseless to Wright’s oncoming charge.

Wright blasted past Rilat for second on the 18th lap and began reeling in Bruce, who was working the low side of the track in his Rider-powered No. 18 Maxim.

With the leaders reaching the tail of the field in the final circuits, Wright briefly surged ahead of Bruce on the 22nd lap in the struggle for the win. Bruce fought back to retain command briefly, but the next time around it was Wright snaring the lead for keeps.

“He’s still the man to beat, no question about it,” Bruce commented of Wright, who will vie for a fifth Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series championship in 2009.

Bruce settled for runner-up honors, with Rilat holding on for the show position in the Shark-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple X.

Defending ASCS National champion Jason Johnson gained a pair of positions to bring Marvin Pearson’s Wesmar-powered No. 11 Eagle home fourth, giving Lucas Oil ASCS championship contenders a sweep of the top four positions.

Making his first start aboard the MSG Motorsports No. 30, Scottie McDonald was the top finisher among the ASCS Gulf South championship contenders by rounding out the top five.

Kevin Ramey crossed the stripe sixth, while Tommy Bryant earned Hard Charger honors by racing from 18th to seventh. Two-time and defending ASCS Gulf South champion Brandon Berryman slipped to eighth at the finish, with ASCS Lone Star hopeful John Ricketts and Gulf South shoe Kent Lewis, Jr., completing the top ten.

Kathryne Minter crossed the stripe ninth but was docked two positions for jumping the race’s final restart, resulting in an eleventh-place finish in the final rundown.

Rilat, Bruce, Ramey, McDonald and Wright topped heat race action for the 36-car field, with Reutzel and Brandon Corn winning the twin 12-lap “B” Mains.

The weekend’s action continues with Saturday night’s Second Annual Gulf Coast Nationals at 105 Speedway in Cleveland, TX, with another $3,000 winner’s cut up for grabs.

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

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 13-Kathryne Minter, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 35-Greg Rilat, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 69-Larry Howery, 8. 2L-Logan Forler.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 76-John Ricketts, 3. 74-Brandon Corn, 4. 80-James McNeil, 5. 87x-Billy Melton, 6. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 7. 17c-Greg Coleman.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 12-Trey Schmidt, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 5. d20-David Noker, 6. 5m-Glenn Martin, 7. 30x-Bean Elliott.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 30-Scottie McDonald, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 4. 1-Sean McClelland, 5. 19-Klint Angelette, 6. 1x-Robby Wolfgang, 7. 12s-Steve Hubbard.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 11-Jason Johnson, 3. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek. DNS: 10-Larry Hartwell.

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 3. 3-Gary Watson, 4. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 35-Greg Rilat, 7. 80-James McNeil, 8. 2L-Logan Forler, 9. 12s-Steve Hubbard, 10. d20-David Noker. DNS: 30x-Bean Elliott.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 74-Brandon Corn, 2. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 87x-Billy Melton, 5. 19-Klint Angelette, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 17c-Greg Coleman, 8. 1x-Robby Wolfgang, 9. 15T-Travis Elliott. DNS: 5m-Glenn Martin, 10-Larry Hartwell.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 11-Jason Johnson, 5. 30-Scottie McDonald, 6. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 7. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 8. 31-Brandon Berryman, 9. 76-John Ricketts, 10. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 11. 13-Kathryne Minter, 12. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13. 74-Brandon Corn, 14. 3-Gary Watson, 15. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 16. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 17. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 18. 71-Channin Tankersley, 19. 1-Sean McClelland, 20. 12-Trey Schmidt.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 150, 2. Tony Bruce, Jr. 146, 3. Travis Rilat 144, 4. Jason Johnson 142, 5. Scottie McDonald 140, 6. Kevin Ramey 138, 7. Tommy Bryant 136, 8. Brandon Berryman 134, 9. John Ricketts 132, 10. Kent Lewis, Jr. 130.

by Lonnie Wheatley

« Previous Page

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