Roger Crockett won the finale at Devil's Bowl's Winter Nationals Saturday (ASCS Photo)
Bryan Hulbert – MESQUITE, Texas (October 19, 2019) Picking up his second win of the 2019 season, Roger Crockett held off a fierce late-race challenge from Sam Hafertepe, Jr. to win the 46th annual Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
Running down slower traffic in the closing laps, the pair rolled to the back bumper of Alex Hill with two laps to go. Giving Hafertepe a shot off the bottom of the second turn, the pair were side-by-side into the third turn with Hafertepe’s run to the bottom blocked.
“I just knew I had to make it happen in three and four or I wasn’t going to win the race,” stated Crockett of the late-race challenge.
“The track was super-fast all night and we were just wide open the entire time so getting to lapped cars, it made your car a little unpredictable, especially having to be so aggressive to get around them. You have to do a lot to keep that guy [Sam Hafertepe, Jr.] behind you. He’s phenomenal everywhere we go, so we’re pretty happy to get away with a win.”
Crockett’s second career SawBlade.com A-Feature win at the famed half-mile, having won the Spring Nationals in 2018, the Oklahoma resident took over the lead on Lap 4 after Fred Mattox was forced to retire with a blown u-joint on the Young Tool, Co. No. 26m. Into traffic on Lap 9, Crockett was held up a lap later, allowing Hafertepe to close. With the run stalled by a caution on Lap 12, Crockett kept the No. 15h at bay on the restart.
Ultimately Sam’s second podium of the night, with a win for Paul Cook Racing in IMCA RaceSaver action, the driver of the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h trailed by 0.729 seconds at the line.
“Roger did the right thing. He cleared the lapped car and I didn’t and that’s how it goes sometimes. He’s had a hell of a car lately and has been one of the guys to beat every night, so whatever they’ve got figured out, they’re doing a hell of a job which just makes us have to work a little bit harder,” said Hafertepe of the podium run.
Making his return to the Devil’s Bowl for the first time since 2014, Jack Dover picked up his 23rd career podium finish with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network. With his hands full a few times in dirty air, Dover was still pleased with the performance.
“We had her a little too tight, so that really killed us coming off the corner, but hats off to Sam and Roger. They’re some of the best out there right now in 360cid competition so to come out here and run third against these guys, it’s a huge confidence booster.”
Rolling up from seventh, John Carney II placed fourth for his 13th top-five of the season. Tony Bruce, Jr. made up the top five with Jake Bubak in sixth. Making up four spots, Scott Bogucki crossed seventh with Tucker Doughty eighth and Jordon Mallett ninth. Danny Jennings from 16th came to finish tenth.
A field of 27 drivers on hand split into a trio of SCE Gaskets Heat Races with wins going to Roger Crockett, Fred Mattox, and Dylan Westbrook. The night’s BMRS B-Feature was topped by Dylan Westbrook.
Down to the 2019 Season Finale, the final two nights will be contested on Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1 at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track as Tony Stewart presents the VANKOR Texas Sprint Car Nationals. Tickets are on sale at http://www.texasmotorspeedway.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 Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, Texas)
46th Winter Nationals
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Car Count: 27
Event Count: 31
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Roger Crockett, [3]; 2. 74B-Jake Bubak, [2]; 3. 1S-Joey Schmidt, [1]; 4. 95-Matt Covington, [5]; 5. 52-Blake Hahn, [6]; 6. 1J-Danny Jennings, [8]; 7. 22X-Steven Shebester, [9]; 8. 71-Colby Estes, [7]; 9. 99X-Dalton Stevens, [4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 26M-Fred Mattox, [1]; 2. 14-Jordon Mallett, [2]; 3. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [3]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [4]; 5. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [5]; 6. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [9]; 7. 21P-Robbie Price, [7]; 8. 33C-Casey Carter, [6]; 9. 33-Mike Merrell, [8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, [2]; 2. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [3]; 3. J2-John Carney II, [4]; 4. 28-Scott Bogucki, [5]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [9]; 6. 24D-Danny Sams III, [6]; 7. 12W-Dale Wester, [1]; 8. 77X-Alex Hill, [7]; 9. 44-Chris Martin, [8]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 6 advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [1]; 2. 21P-Robbie Price, [4]; 3. 77X-Alex Hill, [6]; 4. 44-Chris Martin, [10]; 5. 24D-Danny Sams III, [3]; 6. 71-Colby Estes, [5]; 7. 33C-Casey Carter, [8]; 8. 12W-Dale Wester, [7]; 9. 22X-Steven Shebester, [2]; 10. 99X-Dalton Stevens, [11]; 11. 33-Mike Merrell, [9]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 11-Roger Crockett, [1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [6]; 3. 53-Jack Dover, [3]; 4. J2-John Carney II, [7]; 5. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [4]; 6. 74B-Jake Bubak, [5]; 7. 28-Scott Bogucki, [11]; 8. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [9]; 9. 14-Jordon Mallett, [8]; 10. 1J-Danny Jennings, [16]; 11. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [17]; 12. 24D-Danny Sams III, [21]; 13. 44-Chris Martin, [20]; 14. 17W-Harli White, [14]; 15. 21P-Robbie Price, [18]; 16. 52-Blake Hahn, [15]; 17. 71-Colby Estes, [22]; 18. 77X-Alex Hill, [19]; 19. 33C-Casey Carter, [23]; 20. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [13]; 21. 26M-Fred Mattox, [2]; 22. 95-Matt Covington, [10]; 23. 1S-Joey Schmidt, [12]
Lap Leader(s): Fred Mattox 1-3; Roger Crockett 4-30
Hard Charger: Danny Sams +9
High Point Driver: Roger Crockett
Provisional(s): Casey Carter (Provisional)
2019 National Tour Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 4,212; 2. Blake Hahn 4,126; 3. Roger Crockett 3,938; 4. Matt Covington 3,857; 5. John Carney II 3,784; 6. Scott Bogucki 3,762; 7. Harli White 3,511; 8. Robbie Price 3,501; 9. Jordon Mallett 3,445; 10. Tucker Doughty 3,159; 11. Alex Hill 3,059; 12. Seth Bergman 1,606; 13. Dylan Westbrook 1,303; 14. Jamie Ball 1,163; 15. Tony Bruce, Jr. 977;
2019 Race Winners: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 10 (5/17 – I-96 Speedway; 5/18 – I-96 Speedway; 5/25 – Lake Ozark Speedway; 6/5 – Lawton Speedway; 6/8 – Salina Speedway; 7/12 – Gallatin Speedway; 7/19 – Big Sky Speedway; 9/1 – Lake Ozark Speedway; 10/12 – Creek County Speedway; 10/18 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Blake Hahn – 5 (6/20 – Skagit Speedway; 7/20 – Big Sky Speedway; 8/30 – 34 Raceway; 9/19 – Lucas Oil Speedway; 9/21 – Lucas Oil Speedway); Robbie Price – 2 (6/22 – Skagit Speedway; 8/31 – Lake Ozark Speedway); Scott Bogucki – 2 (6/14 – Brown County Speedway; 6/15 – Black Hills Speedway); Thomas Kennedy - 2 (4/25 – Eagle Raceway, 4/26 – U.S. 36 Raceway); James McFadden – 2 (8/2 – Knoxville Raceway; 8/3 – Knoxville Raceway); Roger Crockett – 2 (6/21 – Skagit Speedway; 10/19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway); John Carney II – 1 (5/26 – Lake Ozark Speedway); Travis Rilat – 1 (6/4 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Devon Borden – 1 (6/28 – Grays Harbor Raceway); Matt Covington – 1 (6/29 – Grays Harbor Raceway); Ryan Giles – 1 (8/1 – Knoxville Raceway); Wayne Johnson – 1 (8/6 – Southern Iowa Speedway); Josh Baughman – 1 (9/20 – Lucas Oil Speedway);
Weather-Related Cancellations - 11: Devil’s Bowl Speedway (3/15 and 3/16); Williams Grove Speedway (5/3); Selinsgrove Speedway (5/4); Lakeside Speedway (5/9); I-30 Speedway (5/11); Route 66 Motor Speedway (6/1); Creek County Speedway (6/6); Gallatin Speedway (7/13); Riverside International Speedway (8/24); Creek County Speedway (10/11);
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs (@lucasoilascs)
Instagram: LucasOilASCS
Video Broadcast: http://www.racinboys.com
Live-Scoring (Where Applicable): MRP Live
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA.): http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, S. Aust.): https://www.facebook.com/ScottBogucki89
John Carney II (El Paso, TX): https://www.facebook.com/JohnCarneyRacing
Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK): http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Roger Crockett (Broken Arrow, OK): http://www.rocketdesignsllc.com
Tucker Doughty (Rockwall, TX): https://twitter.com/tuckerdoughty
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX): http://www.sam15.com
Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK): http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Alex Hill (Six Nations, Ontario, Can.): https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR): https://www.facebook.com/jordonmallettmotorsports
Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, Can.): http://www.bdsmotorsportsllc.com
Harli White (Lindsay, OK): http://www.harliwhiteracing.net
ASCS Sponsors:
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV Motorsports Network is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto http://www.mavtv.com for more information.
Sawblade.com is the official SawBlade of the American Sprint Car Series and title sponsor of every National Tour A-Feature as well as Victory Lane. For more information, log onto https://www.sawblade.com and follow along on Social Media at @SawBladecom on Twitter, on Instagram at Sawblade.com_, and Facebook.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented the MAVTV Motorsports Network include Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix. All Heat Races are brought to you by SCE Gaskets. All B-Features are presented by BMRS.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, Geico, SRI, General Tire, MAVTV Motorsports Network, LucasOilRacing.tv, and General Tire.
All events are broadcast online at http://www.racinboys.com.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by SCE Gaskets, K&N Filters, BMRS, SpeedMart, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, MyRacePass.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, and Triple X Race, Co.