Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (May 3, 2009) – When Mother Nature finally forced the decision to postpone Friday's Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters event at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL, about 50 or so race teams scattered from the St. Louis area in all variety of directions.
While some teams returned to their home base, others opted to get in at least one more night of competition before the Saturday night, May 9, Lucas Oil ASCS event at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway.
That decision paid off for a trio of the series' Brodix Rookie of the Year contenders, as Matt Covington, Jack Dover and Ricky Logan posted Saturday night feature wins in Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin, respectively.
While Dover added his twelfth career Eagle Raceway triumph near his Springfield, NE, home and Logan logged his sixth career IRA victory at Beaver Dam's Charter Raceway park, Covington's score was perhaps most notable.
After all, it was the 19-year-old Glenpool, OK, racer's first career Sprint Car feature win. An impressive win it was as well, as it came over a stacked 57-car field atop the storied ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval commonly revered as the Sprint Car capital of the world.
A fourth place finisher in last year's American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region points, the three-time ¼-Midget National champion won his heat race and then gunned into the lead at the outset of the feature from his second row starting position, never looking back en route to an impressive victory aboard the Wesmar-powered T&L Foundry/C.G. Martin Co. No. 95 Maxim.
It was just Covington's third trip to Knoxville, where he took on the ASCS forces during a June event last year and then competed in the 2008 edition of the ASCS Knoxville Nationals.
Another pair of Lucas Oil ASCS rookie contenders, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon and Ohio's Darren Long, were among Saturday night's feature field at Knoxville. Bacon climbed to eleventh after winning the "B" Main while Long flipped two rounds into the 15-lapper.
While Covington opened eyes in Iowa, a couple of hundred miles to the west it was fellow 19-year-old Jack Dover further verifying the strength of the Lucas Oil ASCS Rookie roster by oudueling Eagle aces Mike Chadd and Mike Boston. It was Dover's second overall feature win of the young season aboard the Eckley-powered Home Pride Co./3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle after collecting 15 triumphs last year.
Meanwhile, three hundred plus miles to the northeast of Knoxville, Little Rock native Ricky Logan jumped into Joe Probst's entry for the first time and parlayed it into the Wisconsin feature win.
Logan returns to his home track, I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, AR, this coming Saturday night along with Covington, Dover and a full host of Lucas Oil ASCS championship contenders led by the likes of current point leader Shane Stewart, defending series champion Jason Johnson and four-time champion Gary Wright.
Saturday's racing action at I-30 Speedway gets under way at 7:30 p.m.
Following Saturday's card, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters moves on to Kansas' Jetmore Motorplex for the $10,000-to-win Steve King Memorial on May 23-24.
The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for approximately 33 nights of racing action at 16 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country's top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.
The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
While some teams returned to their home base, others opted to get in at least one more night of competition before the Saturday night, May 9, Lucas Oil ASCS event at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway.
That decision paid off for a trio of the series' Brodix Rookie of the Year contenders, as Matt Covington, Jack Dover and Ricky Logan posted Saturday night feature wins in Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin, respectively.
While Dover added his twelfth career Eagle Raceway triumph near his Springfield, NE, home and Logan logged his sixth career IRA victory at Beaver Dam's Charter Raceway park, Covington's score was perhaps most notable.
After all, it was the 19-year-old Glenpool, OK, racer's first career Sprint Car feature win. An impressive win it was as well, as it came over a stacked 57-car field atop the storied ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval commonly revered as the Sprint Car capital of the world.
A fourth place finisher in last year's American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region points, the three-time ¼-Midget National champion won his heat race and then gunned into the lead at the outset of the feature from his second row starting position, never looking back en route to an impressive victory aboard the Wesmar-powered T&L Foundry/C.G. Martin Co. No. 95 Maxim.
It was just Covington's third trip to Knoxville, where he took on the ASCS forces during a June event last year and then competed in the 2008 edition of the ASCS Knoxville Nationals.
Another pair of Lucas Oil ASCS rookie contenders, Oklahoma's Brady Bacon and Ohio's Darren Long, were among Saturday night's feature field at Knoxville. Bacon climbed to eleventh after winning the "B" Main while Long flipped two rounds into the 15-lapper.
While Covington opened eyes in Iowa, a couple of hundred miles to the west it was fellow 19-year-old Jack Dover further verifying the strength of the Lucas Oil ASCS Rookie roster by oudueling Eagle aces Mike Chadd and Mike Boston. It was Dover's second overall feature win of the young season aboard the Eckley-powered Home Pride Co./3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle after collecting 15 triumphs last year.
Meanwhile, three hundred plus miles to the northeast of Knoxville, Little Rock native Ricky Logan jumped into Joe Probst's entry for the first time and parlayed it into the Wisconsin feature win.
Logan returns to his home track, I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, AR, this coming Saturday night along with Covington, Dover and a full host of Lucas Oil ASCS championship contenders led by the likes of current point leader Shane Stewart, defending series champion Jason Johnson and four-time champion Gary Wright.
Saturday's racing action at I-30 Speedway gets under way at 7:30 p.m.
Following Saturday's card, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters moves on to Kansas' Jetmore Motorplex for the $10,000-to-win Steve King Memorial on May 23-24.
The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for approximately 33 nights of racing action at 16 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country's top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.
The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
