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

Danny Lasoski added his name to the prestigious list of Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals champions by racing to victory lane in Saturday night’s 38th Annual edition of the event atop the ½-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

“The Dude” slipped past Sam Hafertepe, Jr., just past the midway point en route to snaring the $10,000 winner’s share in the 30-lapper as he collected his first Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National win of the year and just second of his career.

After taking command exiting turn four on the 16th round, the Show-Me Stater led rest of the way to take the win aboard Mark Burch’s Engler Machine No. 1m Wolfweld with a 1.155 second advantage over Hafertepe, Jr.

“I was in this position in the Spring with my own car, I was leading the race and rubber got down and Hafertepe got by me,” Lasoski explained. “I just tried to pace myself and stay with him. If he slipped up a little bit, we just wanted to be there to capitalize and that’s all it was.”

Which is precisely how the 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals finale played out, as Spring Nationals winner Hafertepe, Jr., gunned into the lead from the front row outside and paced the initial 15 circuits in front of Lasoski until one slight bobble in turn four opened the door for Lasoski to race into the lead.

But, before Lasoski took command, eighth-starter Jason Johnson made his way past Friday night winner Wayne Johnson for third by the sixth round and made it a three-car race for the lead for several laps before a lapped car fell into place between Lasoski and J. Johnson.

Once Lasoski got into the lead, he slipped away and appeared to be on his way to the checkered flag without challenge until a caution flew with just four laps to go when Koby Barksdale spun to a stop in turn four.

With Hafertepe, Jr., and J. Johnson in tow on the restart, Lasoski proved too much to handle and cruised to the stripe unabated with Hafertepe, Jr., taking runner-up honors in the Fisher-powered Lone Star Speedway No. 15h for the second night in a row.

Johnson claimed the show position in the Don Ott-powered Haynes/Mesilla Valley Transport No. 41 Maxim, with Brady Bacon making a move past Wayne Johnson in the final ten circuits to snare fourth in the Wesmar-powered Fatheadz Eyewear No. 99 Triple X.

Wayne Johnson held fifth until the final lap when he popped a right rear tire, ultimately limping across the stripe in 14th.

Current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader Shane Stewart took advantage by rounding out the top five in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita No. 57 A.R.T., with Brian Brown, 2010 Winter Nationals champion Jack Dover, Terry McCarl, Gary Wright and Robert Sellers completing the top ten.

The early rounds of the race were interrupted by two cautions. The first appeared after one lap when Jeff Swindell limped to a stop off of turn three after a near-crash on the frontstretch. The next one flew after four circuits when Tony Bruce, Jr., spun to a stop in turn two. The next 22 circuits ran off in non-stop fashion until Barksdale stopped in turn four.

Brown, Stewart, Dover, Sellers, Lasoski and McCarl topped Saturday night’s heat race action, with Seth Bergman, Danny Wood and Travis Rilat winning the “B” Mains. A total of 56 different drivers competed in the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters portion of the 38th Annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals.

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

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

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 1j-Danny Jennings, 3. 30-Brandon Corn, 4. 48-Jake Martens, 5. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 6. 224-John Carney II, 7. 49-Mike Peters, 8. 10-George White. DNS: 3-Raven Culp.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 40-Clint Garner, 6. 11c-Matt Covington, 7. 54e-Claud Estes, 8. 88-Tim Crawley, 9. 15T-Travis Elliott.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 81-Danny Wood, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 5. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 6. 05-Brad Loyet, 7. 28-Jeff Swindell, 8. 110-Cameron Hagin.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 36-Robert Sellers, 2. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 0-Zach Chappell, 4. 23-Seth Bergman, 5. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 11g-Mike Goodman, 8. E85-Sean McClelland.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 1m-Danny Lasoski, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 7s-Shane Sellers, 6. 81au-Gavin Punch, 7. 6-Justin Spoerl. DNS: 22a-Dan Adkins.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 97-Terry McCarl, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 5h-Mason Moore, 5. 94-Derek Hagar, 6. 54-Evan Pardo, 7. 12-Dale Wester. DNS: 2-Dustin Morgan.

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

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 48-Jake Martens, 6. 5h-Mason Moore, 7. 54e-Claud Estes, 8. 110-Cameron Hagin, 9. 0-Zach Chappell, 10. 81au-Gavin Punch, 11. 28-Jeff Swindell. DNS: 40-Clint Garner, 22a-Dan Adkins.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 81-Danny Wood, 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 5. 88-Mike Ward, 6. 224-John Carney II, 7. 71-Channin Tankersley, 8. 49-Mike Peters, 9. 54-Evan Pardo, 10. 6-Justin Spoerl, 11. 30-Brandon Corn. DNS: 15T-Travis Elliott, 2-Dustin Morgan.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 11c-Matt Covington, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 11g-Mike Goodman, 5. 05-Brad Loyet, 6. 94-Derek Hagar, 7. E85-Sean McClelland, 8. 7s-Shane Sellers, 9. 12-Dale Wester, 10. 10-George White, 11. 3-Raven Culp, 12. 14-Michael Lang.

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

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1m-Danny Lasoski, 2. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 21-Brian Brown, 7. 53-Jack Dover, 8. 97-Terry McCarl, 9. 9-Gary Wright, 10. 36-Robert Sellers, 11. 88-Tim Crawley, 12. 81-Danny Wood, 13. 29-Travis Rilat, 14. 77x-Wayne Johnson, 15. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 16. 1j-Danny Jennings, 17. 23-Seth Bergman, 18. 5-Koby Barksdale, 19. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 20. 11c-Matt Covington, 21. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 22. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 23. 45-Martin Edwards, 24. 28-Jeff Swindell.

Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1-15, Danny Lasoski 16-30.

Note: Jeff Swindell and Tim Crawley both utilized their mid-season bonus full-point provisional to start the main event. Swindell has two partial-point provisionals remaining while Crawley has one partial-point provisional remaining.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Driver Points (Top 15): 1. Shane Stewart 2,711, 2. Johnny Herrera 2,574 3. Jeff Swindell 2,528, 4. Brady Bacon 2,461, 5. Tim Crawley 2,413, 6. Gary Wright 2,373, 7. Jason Johnson 2,294, 8. Seth Bergman 2,217, 9. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,203, 10. Aaron Reutzel 2,142, 11. Zach Chappell 1,926, 12. Wayne Johnson 1,678, 13. (tie) Dustin Morgan and Jack Dover 1,371, 15. Danny Wood 1,175.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 2,846, 2. Paul Silva #57 – 2,711, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 2,574, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 2,528, 5. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 2,461, 6. Mike Ward #88 – 2,413, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 2,217, 8. Bruce Racing #18 – 2,203, 9. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 2,142, 10. Randy Washburn #0 – 1,926, 11. Gary Wright #9 – 1,777, 12. M&M Motorsports #2 – 1,371, 13. Bryan Sundby #38 – 1,196, 14. Danny Wood #81 – 1,175, 15. Jack Dover #53 – 1,099

Story by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo by Tim Aylwin

Covington claims Heart O’ Texas ASCS Regional Showdown win

Matt Covington scored one for The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star ranks by topping Friday night’s 25-lap main event pitting the Lone Star Region versus the Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region at Heart O’ Texas Speedway.

The current ASCS Lone Star points leader assumed the point on the 12th round and went on to post his second Regional triumph of the year aboard Dennis Marshala’s Wesmar-powered Oilfield Equipment & Manufacturing No. 11c Triple X.

Thirty-five drivers, from four states, signed in the do battle on the high-banked ,¼ mile, dirt track just north of Waco in front of a near capacity crowd.

All the heavy hitters were in attendance as the top ten points chasers from each region signed in, with Matt Covington (Lone Star) and George White (Gulf South) leading their contingents. The feature line up was nearly a 50/50 split with 13 Lone Star Region drivers and 11 Gulf South racers filling the 24-car field after the heats and B-mains. The number could have reversed had Greg Rilat and Michael McNeil not tangled in their B-main while running in the top two positions.

Heat race action saw Bean Elliott, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Covington and Chris Sweeney take wins, with B-mains going to Chad Wilson and Claud Estes. Dustin Welch and Martin Edwards took tumbles in their heats, both were alright. Edwards recovered to transfer from his B-main, but Welch was done for the night.

Lone Star Region points leader Matt Covington used a picture perfect slide job on early leader Brandon Berryman to get the point in the 25-lap ASCS Sprint Car main event. Covington worked his way up from his second row starting spot and put the slider on Berryman during a lap 6 restart. From there Covington built a comfortable over Berryman and Travis Rilat who tried, unsuccessfully, to close up in traffic.

Getting the 24-car ASCS Sprint Car feature underway was harder than herding cats as it took four attempts to get the race under green. The first try saw Tommy Bryant slide off turn 4. Try number two had Evan Pardo spin in turn 4, while Chad Wilson tipped over in turn 3. Debris slowed the third attempt.

Finally a clean lap with Brandon Berryman beating Chris Sweeney into turn 1. Sweeney tried low off turn 4, but it was former Gulf South champ, Berryman holding the point. Sweeney fell in line second pursued by another GS champ, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Covington and Mike Goodman. Travis Rilat made an early charge getting by Eric Baldacinni for sixth on lap 3.

Sweeney got sideways, with Kulhanek checking up allowing Covington to get by for second. Berryman was out to a good lead when John Ricketts spun in turn 1 for a lap 6 caution erasing Berryman’s advantage. When the green flew again Covington dove under Berryman in turn 1, slid up in turn 2 executing a classic slide job for the lead on lap 7.

Berryman, Goodman and Sweeney went three wide for second, with Berryman holding the position and Goodman up to third. Goodman then picked off Berryman for second on lap 8 only to have yellow wave for a spin by Kulhanek in turn 4. On the restart Goodman had to repass Berryman for second, while Rilat and Baldacinni battled for fifth.

Berryman retook second from Goodman, who began to slow, with Rilat getting past Sweeney for fourth which became third after Goodman rolled to stop in turn 2 for a yellow. Covington got a big jump as the race went back to green and Baldacinni trying to charge on top. Coming to halfway it was Covington stretching his lead over Berryman, Rilat, Sweeney with Baldacinni and Channin Tankersley side by side for fifth.

Michael Lang spun off turn 4 collecting Brandon Corn with Cody Whitworth lightly tagging Corn trying to stop. Covington got away clean on the restart while Rilat pressured Berryman for second and Baldacinni took fourth Sweeney. With five to go Covington ran up on traffic, with Berryman and Rilat trying to reel him in. Covington, in the Oilfield Equipment & Manufacturing, CG Martin Company, Keizer Wheels, T&L Foundry, Butler Built, Winters, DMI, Pro Shocks, Brodix, Factor 1, Wesmar Race Engines, Triple X Chassis, cleared traffic and held his margin at the checkers.

ASCS Sprint Cars

1. 11c Matt Covington
2. 31 Brandon Berryman
3. 29 Travis Elliott
4. 4 Eric Baldacinni
5. 71 Channin Tankersley
6. 93 Chris Sweeney
7. 10 George White
8. 25 Brian McClelland
9. 28 Tommy Bryant
19. 74E Claud Estes
11. 45 Martin Edwards
12. 54 Evan Pardo
13. 19 Klint Angelette
14. 51 Beau Smith
16. 76 John Ricketts
17. 14b Robert Byrom
18. 50 Cody Whitworth
19. 14 Michael Lang
20. 30x Bean Elliott
21. 30 Brandon Corn
22.11g Mike Goodman
23. 15t Travis Elliott
24. 21t Ray Allen Kulhanek
25. 20 Chad Wilson

ASCS B-main 1 (12 laps, top 3 to A-main)

20 Chad Wilson, 25 Brian McClelland, 15t Travis Elliott, 36 John Pate, 74x Joshua Hodges, 69 Larry Howery, 24 Brandi Hass, 11 Justin Melton, 52 Roger Oakes

ASCS B-main 2 (12 laps, top 3 to A-main)

74E Claud Estes, 30 Brandon Corn, 45 Martin Edwards, 12 Dale Wester, 17 Bruce Griffith jr., 25m Michael McNeil, 35 Greg Rilat, 7w Dustin Welch—DNS

ASCS Heats(top 18 in passing points to A-main)

Heat 1
30x Bean Elliott, 76 John Ricketts, 14b Robert Byrom, 10 George White, 15t Travis Elliott, 25 Brian McClelland, 35 Greg Rilat, 24 Brandi Hass, 52 Roger Oakes–DNS

Heat 2
21t Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4 Eric Baldacinni, 11g Mike Goodman, 50 Cody Whitworth, 51 Beau Smith, 69 Larry Howery, 11 Justin Melton, 45 Martin Edwards, 7w Dustin Welch

Heat 3
11c Matt Covington, 54 Evan Pardo, 29 Travis Rilat, 71 Channin Tankersley, 14 Michael Lang, 30 Brandon Corn, 36 John Pate, 20 Chad Wilson, 74x Joshua Hodges

Heat 4
93 Chris Sweeney, 28 Tommy Bryant, 31 Brandon Berryman, 19 Klint Angelette, 25m Michael McNeil, 74E Claud Estes, 12 Dale Wester, 17 Bruce Griffith jr

Also in action were the IMCA Modifieds, Southern Sportmods and Hobby Stocks, all running features only. Street Stock, Pure Stocks, Cruisers, Twisters and Jr. Mini Stocks filled the remainder of the nights racing card.

White Wires IMCA Modified Main

Starting straight up by points in all the IMCA Classes, the IMCA Modified feature shaped up to be a shootout between track and national points rivals Keith White and Chase Jupe. An early incident involving Jupe kept that from ever happening leaving the multi-time IMCA Southern Sportmod National Champion, virtually alone up front throughout the 20-lap race.

As the green waved on the 18-car field White was first into turn 1. Jupe got sideways off turn 2 stacking up the inside line with several cars making contact in the melee. Doyle Massa brought out a lap 1 caution with a spin in turn 3. The yellow gave several drivers, including Jupe, the chance to pit and assess damage. Jupe tried to return, but finally pulled off before the restart.

White got away clean on the restart while Pat McGuire and last weeks winner, Ben Ketteman stayed side by side for second until McGuire finally secured the spot. As the top seven sorted out single file, Justin Radcliff, Justin Redmon and Ricky Kizer were three wide for eighth. Radcliff and Redmon then caught Dwayne Grantham trying three abreast for seventh on lap 6.

Radcliff’s run to the front ended on lap 8 with a flat right front and trip into the wall in turn 2. Back under green coming to the crossed flags it was White, McGuire, Ketteman, Keith Green and Steve MacIsaac in the top five. Grantham expired a motor with Joe Spillman slapping the wall behind him. Grantham rolled to the infield and Spillman soldiered on without caution.

Ketteman and McGuire then began a battle for second as they swapped the spot Redmon slipped past MacIsaac for fifth. Making a charge from the back, Andrew Simmerman was next to put MacIsaac back a spot. As the white flag waved, White had a ¾ straightaway lead and easily cruised on to the win the Traceys Auto Sales, Braka Operating, BSB Manufacturing, Belton Metals, Tubbs Paint & Body, Kempner Iron & Steel, TCI, Temple Iron & Metal, Extreme Graphics, racinwithneal.com, Stephenville Starter, CenTex Motorsports powered Hughes Chassis.

IMCA Modifieds

1 Keith White, 37 Ben Ketteman, 9 Pat McGuire, 5 Keith Green, 21 Justin Redmon, 15x Andrew Simmerman, 45t Eric Tomlinson, 14 Joe O’Bryan, 38 Billy Bachmeyer jr 22k Ricky Kizer, 21x Jimmie Helona, 43 Steve MacIsaac, 44s Joe Spillman, 27 Dewayne Grantham, 11j Justin Radcliff, 2x Brandon Stewart, 303 Chase Jupe, 31 Doyle Massa

Green vs. Green for Gold in Sportmod Scramble

It was a family feud of sorts as the Green brothers, Kevin and TJ, battled it for the IMCA Southern Sportmod win. K. Green ed the first half of the 20-lapper, but lapped traffic gave TJ an opening to take over and lead the last half of the event in the Greens Automatic Transmissions, Hewitt Gun Shop, Lambs Muffler, Hewitt Pawn Shop, Du-All Contracting, Stewart Stainless, Simpson Race Products, Outlaw Race Engines, TRE Chassis.

The sibling rivalry began early with the Green boys leading the 16-car field to the green flag. K. Green outran TJ Green into turn 1 for the lead. TJ Green, Chris Cogburn, Ronnie Bell jr. and Randy Doyle fell in line behind the leader. Shelly Sakhnini brought out an early caution with a spin on lap 1. Once back to green again Sid Kiphen squirted through the middle of a three wide fight between he, Doyle and Bell.

Kiphen spun on lap 2 and fell to the back, while Doyle got the black flag, ending his night. As the lead group came up on lapped traffic, Kenny Merritt spun in front of them. TJ Green was able get by K. Green for the lead, while Cogburn spun to the infield. The new top five at halfway was TJ Green, K. Green, Bell, Brandon Guerin and Cody Daniels.

The two Green boys continue to dice through traffic, while Guerin and Bell were forced three wide around a slower car. Guerin and Bell were still wheel to wheel, as K. Green stayed on TJ Greens bumper. As the checkers waved TJ Green held off K. Green for the victory, with Guerin sneaking by Bell at the line for third.

IMCA Southern Sportmods

55 TJ Green, 5 Kevin Green, sly1 Brandon Guerin, 95 Ronnie Bell, 76s Cody Daniels, 101 Johnny Sheets, 11 Mark McDaniel, 118 Russell White, 75 Edward Schmidt, v18 Kenny Merritt, 23s Shelly Sakhnini, 5c Chris Cogburn, 702 Brian Walker, 58 Sid Kiphen, 134 Ronnie Warren, 65 Randy Doyle—BF

Gaunet Goes Green to Checkers for Hobby Honors

Michael Gaunet wired the IMCA Hobby Stock feature with a flag to flag win in the 20-lap event. Gaunet built a lead while Jeremy Oliver, Andy Roller and Garrett Rawls who slugged it for second. In the waning laps Gaunet, in the Greens Automatic Transmissions, Lambs Muffler, South West Maintenance, Renschlers Automotive car, held off a challenge by Oliver for the victory.

Gaunet was out front first as the 18-car IMCA Hobby Stock field took the green. Behind him, Oliver, Roller and Rawls were three wide for second, with Oliver getting the spot. Shannon Dulock moved in the go three abreast with Roller and Rawls on lap 2. Oliver was pressuring Gaunet for the lead, with Roller and Dulock swapping third.

The battle up front ran into traffic with Oliver getting slowed by a lapped car, giving Gaunet breathing room until caution waved for debris on lap 9. On the restart Oliver got along side Gaunet, who held the point. Roller and Dulock continue to trade third until Dulock slapped the wall ending his night. Gaunet hung on to the top spot in the final laps for the win, while Jeremy Wininger got by Rawls coming to the checkers.

IMCA Hobby Stocks

25 Michael Gaunet, 82 Jeremy Oliver, 63 Andy Roller, 41 Jeremy Wininger, 82g Garrett Rawls, 38 Allen Montgomery, 28 Richard Pickens, 7 Jaron Shahan, 53 Robert Scrivner, 77 Bill Siegman jr., 14 Zack Riley, 47 Shannon Dulock, 21j Jordan Kornegay, 74 Chris Grusendorf, 23 Michael Hilliard, 18 Jeremy Hendrix, 13r Brandon Nichols, 3D Dylan Smith, 45 Ray Kemp jr.

The 15-lap Street Stock feature saw a great three car scramble up front between the Andrews, Greg and Doug, and Bobby Mercer. G. Andrews got the point early chased by Mercer, Ed Thompson, Lewis Blackwood and D. Andrews. D. Andrews quickly worked his way to third, while Mercer was challenging G Andrews for the lead.

David Khoury brought out a yellow on lap 8 when he broke and stopped in turn 4. On the restart D. Andrews snuck past both Mercer and G. Andrews who were battling between each other. Mercer and G. Andrews swapped second nearly lap for lap as they tried to keep pace with D. Andrews. At the checkers it was D. Andrews holding off G. Andrews for the win.

Street Stocks

1 Doug Andrews, 8 Greg Andrews, 4 Bobby Mercer jr, 3a Matt Hood, 181 Ed Thompson, 84x Adam Schwarz , 73 Jason Gauntt, 74 Lewis Blackwood, 71 Tommy Kirkpatrick, 32 Bill Eller, 173 David Khoury

Street Stock heat winners; 8 Greg Andrews, 173 David Khoury

In the 15-lap Pure Stock feature Melvin Kemp jumped out front first trailed by Cody Shaw, Ryan Hopkins, Jeff Sheppard and Weston Glaser. Glaser, Hopkins and Sheppard were three wide for third with Glaser getting the spot. Tommy Honey, in a borrowed ride from Jack Jenkins, grabbed a top five spot getting by Kevin Smith. Honey and Sheppard made contact scrapping from fourth with Sheppard going around, and Honey receiving the black flag. Up front it was all Kemp as he motored away to the victory.

Pure Stocks

54 Melvin Kemp, 9 Cody Shaw, 15 Weston Glaser, 57 Kevin Smith, 4 Ryan Hopkins, 17 Jeff Sheppard, 8 Tim Homeyer, 117 Devin Adler , j33 Jamie Haynes, 27 Thomas Schmidt, 13 Cameron Smith, 24 Chris Wills, 22(18) Tommy Honey—BF, 22 Jack Jenkins —DNS

Pure Stock heat winners; 4 Ryan Hopkins, 9 Cody Shaw

Anthony Simcik grabbed the early lead in the 15-lap Cruiser feature trailed by David Andrews, Russell Bullock and Jr. Jean. Andrews and Bullock were fighting for second when Simcik got loose off turn 2 giving Andrews a look inside. Simcik again had trouble, this time in turn 4, going around and giving up the lead to Andrews on lap 9. Bullock gave Andrews a run at the end but it was Andrews holding on for the win.

Cruisers

8 David Andrews, 1 Russell Bullock, 24 Dwain Wills, 11 Marshall Saucedo, 44d William Dean, 9 Andrew Richards, 47 Jr. Jean, 53 Jason Honey, 23 Les Maxwell, 8w Steve Wade, 28 Billy Williams, 44 Anthony Simcik, 5n Amy Nichols

James Cochran jumped out front at the start of the 12-lap Twister feature, with Tommy Hultz working to second and Don Krahn third, with a four wide battle for fourth. Cochran and Hultz pulled away as Krahn retired early leaving John Fikes third. Hultz challenged the young Cochran who held steady. Fikes car gave up on the last lap from his top three spot. At the checkers it was the 13-year ol Cochran taking his first ever feature win.

Twisters
1. James Cochran II (Harker Heights, TX)
2. Tommy Hultz (Kempner, TX)
3. George Clarkson (Kempner, TX)
4. Clayton Clarkson (Kempner, TX)
5. Johnny Japort (China Spring, TX)
6 Katy Baur (Crawford, TX)
7. Dena Wachsmann (West, TX)
8. Ronnie Bell, Jr. (Waco, TX)
9. John Fikes (Waco, TX)
10. Don Krahn (Round Rock, TX)

Driver of the week, Jarrett Roberts picked up win number nine in the Jr. Mini Stock feature in dominating fashion. Kayleigh Kornegay and Jarrett Charnock made contact early sending Charnock around and Kornegay to the pits. This left Roberts alone out front. Alex DePalma and Taylor Florio gave chase, but had nothing for Roberts as the field separated out leaving Roberts cruising to the victory.

Jr. Mini Stock
1. Jarrett Roberts (Temple, TX)
2. Alexis DePalma (Woodway, TX)
3. Taylor Florio (Copperas Cove, TX)
4. Jarrett Charnock (Belton, TX)
5. Robby Black (Mart, TX)
6. Kayleigh Kornegay (China Spring, TX)

Story by J M Hallas (portions contributed by ASCS PR)
Front page photo by Karen Davis

Joe Wood, Jr, whips ASCS Foes in Devil’s Bowl Summer Nationals

Joe Wood, Jr., padded his American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region points lead by topping Saturday’s main event at the Devil’s Bowl Summer Nationals that pitted the ASCS Sooner forces versus The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region contenders.

The ASCS Sooner champion in 2009, Wood, Jr., assumed the point on lap 18 and went on to post his first win of the year and fifth of his career aboard the familiar No. 03 machine.

While Wood, Jr., started Saturday’s Summer Nationals finale inside the second row, it was front row outside starter Kevin Ramey gunning into the lead at the outset and pacing the initial 17 circuits until spinning exiting turn four with a broken left front shock tower.

Wood, Jr., still had to earn the win though, as ninth-starter Brady Bacon pulled alongside to challenge for the top spot in the final corner, only to have Wood, Jr., beat the Broken Arrow, OK, racer to the line for the $2,000 triumph.

Bacon settled for runner-up honors for the second night in a row, with New Mexico’s Joshua Hodges claiming the show position. Dustin Morgan climbed ten spots from 14th to fourth, with Andy Shouse rounding out the top five.

Defending ASCS Lone Star champion Eric Baldaccini was sixth, with Dale Wester, Brandon Corn, 19th-starter Justin Melton and Friday night winner Tony Bruce, Jr., completing the top ten.

Wood, Jr., Hodges and Wester won Saturday night’s heat races, with Melton winning the “B” Main.

The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region versus American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Results from Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 11c-Matt Covington, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 2L-Logan Payne, 7. 74e-Claud Estes, 8. 45-Martin Edwards, 9. 77-Colt Treharn.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 2. 7-Michelle Decker, 3. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 30-Brandon Corn, 5. 2-Dustin Morgan, 6. 54-Evan Pardo, 7. 110-Cameron Hagin, 8. 11-Justin Melton, 9. 76-John Ricketts.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 12-Dale Wester, 2. 61-Danny Jennings, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 5-Kyle McCutcheon, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 14b-Robert Byrom, 7. 45x-J.P. Bailey, 8. 35-Rick Wright, Jr.

“B” Feature (10 Laps): 1. 11-Justin Melton, 2. 77-Colt Treharn, 3. 74e-Claud Estes, 4. 45-Martin Edwards, 5. 110-Cameron Hagin, 6. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 7. 45x-J.P. Bailey, 8. 76-John Ricketts.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 2-Dustin Morgan, 5. 27-Andy Shouse, 6. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 12-Dale Wester, 8. 30-Brandon Corn, 9. 11-Justin Melton, 10. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 11. 74e-Claud Estes, 12. 54-Evan Pardo, 13. 45-Martin Edwards, 14. 5-Kyle McCutcheon, 15. 11c-Matt Covington, 16. 110-Cameron Hagin, 17. 35-Rick Wright, Jr., 18. 2L-Logan Payne, 19. 61-Danny Jennings, 20. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 21. 14-Michael Lang, 22. 7-Michelle Decker, 23. 77-Colt Treharn, 24. 14b-Robert Byrom.

The Oil Medics ASCS Lone Star Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Matt Covington 1,011, 2. Eric Baldaccini 971, 3. Claud Estes 962, 4. Justin Melton 925, 5. Martin Edwards 919, 6. Michael Lang 917, 7. Evan Pardo 877, 8. John Ricketts 808, 9. Robert Byrom 806, 10. Dale Wester 638.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Joe Wood, Jr. 915, 2. Michelle Decker 840, 3. Andy Shouse 839, 4. Matt Covington 833, 5. Claud Estes 614, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. 566, 7. Brady Bacon 556, 8. Cameron Hagin 550, 9. Rick Wright, Jr. 545, 10. Koby Barksdale 541.

Channin Tankersley takes ASCS Gulf South Sprint Car win at Golden Triangle

Channin Tankersley picked off his second Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South main event win of the season by racing to victory lane in Friday night’s 25-lap feature at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

Tankersley took the lead away from current series points leader Paul White on the eleventh round and went on to post his second GTRP win of the year aboard the Harris-powered CVS/Griffith Truck & Equipment No. 71 Maxim after posting an early Beaumont win just over a month ago.

After starting fifth, Tankersley worked his way into second by the tenth round and then quickly disposed of White en route to his sixth career ASCS Gulf South score.

Tankersley was chased to the line by White, with defending champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, Travis Elliott and Scottie McDonald rounding out the top five. Aaron Reutzel was sixth, with Wes Miller, Beau Smith, Tommy Bryant and Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

Tankersley, Bryant and Kulhanek topped heat race action, with Michael McNeil winning the “B” Main.

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

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 3-Gary Watson, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 35-Greg Rilat, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 7. 82-Mark Harris, 8. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 28-Tommy Bryant, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 2-Wes Miller, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 52-Roger Oakes, 8. 24-Brandie Jass.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 88-Scottie McDonald, 3. 51s-Beau Smith, 4. 10-George White, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 25m-Michael McNeil, 7. 5c-Chris Coker, 8. B51-Johnny Brown.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 25m-Michael McNeil, 2. 5c-Chris Coker, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 5. B51-Johnny Brown, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 52-Roger Oakes. DNS: 69-Larry Howery, 82-Mark Harris, 51-Jimmy Brooks, 24-Brandie Jass.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 10-George White, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 2-Wes Miller, 8. 51s-Beau Smith, 9. 28-Tommy Bryant, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 3-Gary Watson, 12. 25m-Michhael McNeil, 13. 31-Brandon Berryman, 14. 35-Greg Rilat, 15. 5c-Chris Coker, 16. 19-Klint Angelette, 17. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 18. B51-Johnny Brown, 19. 9-Gary Wright, 20. 12b-Logan Bledsoe.

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. George White 1,452, 2. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,388, 3. Tommy Bryant 1,378, 4. Brandon Berryman 1,299, 5. Chris Sweeney 1,296, 6. Channin Tankersley 1,264, 7. Travis Elliott 1,203, 8. Aaron Reutzel 1,202, 9. Greg Rilat 1,190, 10. Gary Watson 1,138.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Gulf South photo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Gulf South photos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS PR
ASCS Gulf South photo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley

Aaron Reutzel rules ASCS Gulf South at Heart O’ Texas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Story by Lonnie Wheatley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Locked in from Friday Night’s Preliminary Feature:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Lonnie Wheatley
Tim Aylwin photos

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