Hafertepe Makes It Three In A Row With The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series

Bryan Hulbert – ELDON, Mo. (May 25, 2019) Dominating one week ago in Michigan, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. carried that momentum into Missouri for his third win in as many races with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network coming at Lake Ozark Speedway on Saturday night.

“Hats off to my guys. They did a hell of a job tonight, just like they’ve been doing all year long. That’s three in a row and we’re going to keep on going. Lock-in cars or not, we’re going to try to get it done tomorrow night,” commented Hafertepe, who has taken command of the National Tour point standings by 14 markers.

High point driver out of the Heat Races, the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h drew the fourth starting spot for the 25 lap affair. Chasing John Carney II and Evan Martin on the first lap, the caution flew working lap two as John Schulz, Alex Hill, and Austin Alumbaugh all came to a rest in the second turn. Throwing a deep slide in the restart, Hafertepe took the battle three deep off the fourth turn to grab the lead on the second lap.

Pulling a considerable lead on the field, Hafertepe began finding slower traffic as the race progressed past Lap 10. Running top shelf around the Lake Ozark Speedway, Hafertepe’s lead started going the other way with every passing turn as the Danny Sander Construction No. J2 of John Carney II worked patiently around the hub of the Speedway.

Closing the gap to mere car lengths, Carney tried for the lead on Lap 13, but without enough pull off the fourth turn, showed Hafertepe the line and allowed the No. 15h to transition off the cushion just before the caution lights clicked on for Bryan Grimes. Green for another lap, the yellow flag flew as Matt Covington made contact with Roger Crockett racing for third; spinning the No. 95 down the back straightaway.

Overtaken by Roger Crockett on the restart with a middle groove pass in the first and second turn, Carney slipped to third as the Route 66 Chevrolet of Tulsa No. 11 worked on keeping pace with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Both working varying low lines, with Hafertepe a car width higher on the track, Sam again built a comfortable advantage only to have a caution dash his momentum while working Lap 23.

Red for Matt Covington on the restart, the field took the green for the final time with a three-lap dash seeing Hafertepe win by 2.647 seconds.

Asked about the late race caution and red, Sam explained, “It’s tough to know where to be. I felt really good on the top in three and four and that’s really where I wanted to stay, but I didn’t want open the lane with three to go with those guys causing the cautions and reds at the end. It really gets you guessing.”

Roger Crockett held on for second with the race for third going three-wide off the final turn with John Carney II taking the spot by 0.166 seconds with a high side pass on Miles Paulus, who was the night’s hard charger coming from 17th to fourth, and Evan Martin to complete the top five.

Eldon, Missouri’s Kory Bales advanced nine spots to sixth with Sean McClelland moving from 10th to seventh. Racing as high as fourth in the late stages of the A-Feature, the final restart saw Jonathan Cornell slip back to eighth with Kaley Gharst and Jordon Mallett making up the top ten.

A field of 33 drivers was on hand for Night 1 of the Lake Ozark Speedway Spring 360 Nationals. Four SCE Gaskets Heat Races went to Roger Crockett, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., John Carney II, and Jonathan Cornell. A pair of BMRS B-Features were topped by Miles Paulus and Randy Martin. Owner Point Provisionals were used by Jamie Ball and Robbie Price. A Promoter’s Provisional was given to Steven Russell.

Racing this weekend continues at Lake Ozark Speedway on Sunday, May 26 with races getting underway at 7:30 P.M. (CT). Tickets for Sunday, May 6 are $25 for Reserved Seats, $22 for General Admission, $20 for Senior and Military, and free for kids eight and under. Lake Ozark Speedway is located at 50 Twiggy Ln. in Eldon, Mo. Information on the track and events can be found by calling (573) 418-0565 or online at http://www.lakeozarkspeedway.net.

Fans not able to attend can find the weekend broadcast live at http://www.racinboys.com.

For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2019, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).

360 Sprints – Winged

Non-Winged Sprints