Sam Hafertepe Jr. won the ASCS stop in Muskogee Sunday (Richard Bales Photo)
Bryan Hulbert – MUSKOGEE, Okla. (May 29, 2022) Returning to Thunderbird Speedway for the first time in 22-years, the name going into the record books is Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Leading start to finish in Sunday's 25-lap feature, the win is Sam's first of the season and 59th overall with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
"I was kicking myself after last night, and I told myself going into tonight that I wasn't going to lose this one," stated Sam, who saw his run Saturday cut short after tangling with an infield tire.
"The early stages, we were really good. I could tell we were picking off cars way quicker than a lot of other guys could. I hated to see the caution there at the end with three to go because that puts everyone back on your bumper, but I knew if I could get a good start and get back up top, we'd be good."
Pulling to nearly three seconds at times through traffic, the No. 15h was chased from the start by Wayne Johnson. Pulling the advantage down to nearly a second at times, Wayne took a couple of shots at the lead on restarts but would, unfortunately, see his night end early when his car rolled to a stop on Lap 23.
Putting the Hills Racing/TrueNorth.bet No. 15h on the cushion through the closing laps, Hafertepe pulled the field by over two seconds to become the season's sixth different winner. As Sam pulled away, the race for second came down to the final lap between Jason Martin and Dylan Westbrook. Fending off the No. 47x, Martin posted his first podium finish of the season. Dylan Westbrook crossed third.
Chased by Blake Hahn until Lap 22, the night turned south when a shower of sparks poured out from behind the No. 52. Twelfth starting, Garet Williamson would take advantage for the fourth-place finish while Brandon Anderson completed the top five.
Tim Crawley crossed sixth, with Chance Morton moving from 11th to seventh. Sean McClelland made it to eighth, followed by Landon Crawley in ninth for his first top-ten finish with the National Tour. Whit Gastineau from 17th made up the top ten.
The Sunday showdown saw 24 drivers on hand. The overall quick qualifier was Wayne Johnson at 18.091-seconds to establish the track record. SCE Gaskets Heat Races numbered three, with wins going to Wayne Johnson, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., and Blake Hahn. Every driver in attendance advanced to the A-Feature.
The next event for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is Friday, June 17 at Texarkana 67 Speedway in Texarkana, Ark., and Saturday, June 18 at Boothill Speedway in Greenwood, La.
The 2022 season will mark the 31st year of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours that encompass both wing and non-wing competition.
For fans not able to attend, the series can be seen live on two platforms, with RaceOnTexas.com on FloRacing.com featuring National Tour events in tandem. Both are subscription-based sites. FloRacing.com is $20 per month, billed annually at $150 per year. RaceOnTexas.com All Access is $39.99 per month.
For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
ASCS Sooner Region
Thunderbird Speedway (Muskogee, Okla.)
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Car Count: 24
The Driver's Project Group Qualifying
The Drivers Project Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 18.091[1]; 2. 36-Jason Martin, 18.278[4]; 3. 24-Garet Williamson, 18.309[6]; 4. 87-Sean McClelland, 18.482[8]; 5. 45X-Kyler Johnson, 18.489[5]; 6. 10-Landon Britt, 18.817[7]; 7. 22M-Rees Moran, 19.347[3]; 8. 91-Justin Fine, 20.225[2]
The Drivers Project Qualifying 2 (3 Laps): 1. 1X-Tim Crawley, 18.266[5]; 2. 55B-Brandon Anderson, 18.351[8]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 18.450[1]; 4. 2-Whit Gastineau, 18.460[2]; 5. 95-Matt Covington, 18.778[6]; 6. 50Z-Zach Chappell, 19.008[3]; 7. 8M-Kade Morton, 19.045[4]; 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett, 19.400[7]
The Drivers Project Qualifying 3 (3 Laps): 1. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, 18.722[6]; 2. 187-Landon Crawley, 18.919[3]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, 18.926[7]; 4. 7M-Chance Morton, 19.070[8]; 5. 90-Lance Norick, 19.269[5]; 6. 26M-Fred Mattox, 19.302[2]; 7. 10P-Dylan Postier, 19.646[4]; 8. 2D-Dylan Opdahl, 20.139[1]
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 16 in combined Qualifying and Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)
SCE Gaskets Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2C-Wayne Johnson[4]; 2. 36-Jason Martin[3]; 3. 87-Sean McClelland[1]; 4. 24-Garet Williamson[2]; 5. 10-Landon Britt[6]; 6. 22M-Rees Moran[7]; 7. 45X-Kyler Johnson[5]; 8. 91-Justin Fine[8]
SCE Gaskets Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]; 2. 95-Matt Covington[5]; 3. 1X-Tim Crawley[4]; 4. 55B-Brandon Anderson[3]; 5. 2-Whit Gastineau[1]; 6. 17B-Ryan Bickett[8]; 7. 50Z-Zach Chappell[6]; 8. 8M-Kade Morton[7]
SCE Gaskets Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn[2]; 2. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[4]; 3. 7M-Chance Morton[1]; 4. 187-Landon Crawley[3]; 5. 26M-Fred Mattox[6]; 6. 90-Lance Norick[5]; 7. 2D-Dylan Opdahl[8]; 8. 10P-Dylan Postier[7]
A-Feature
FloRacing A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]; 2. 36-Jason Martin[6]; 3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[3]; 4. 24-Garet Williamson[12]; 5. 55B-Brandon Anderson[8]; 6. 1X-Tim Crawley[7]; 7. 7M-Chance Morton[11]; 8. 87-Sean McClelland[10]; 9. 187-Landon Crawley[9]; 10. 2-Whit Gastineau[17]; 11. 45X-Kyler Johnson[21]; 12. 26M-Fred Mattox[14]; 13. 17B-Ryan Bickett[15]; 14. 10P-Dylan Postier[24]; 15. 2C-Wayne Johnson[4]; 16. 52-Blake Hahn[1]; 17. 95-Matt Covington[5]; 18. 50Z-Zach Chappell[20]; 19. 8M-Kade Morton[23]; 20. 90-Lance Norick[18]; 21. 22M-Rees Moran[16]; 22. 2D-Dylan Opdahl[19]; 23. 10-Landon Britt[13]; 24. 91-Justin Fine[22]
Lap Leader(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1-25
Hard Charger: Kyler Johnson +10
Quick Time: Wayne Johnson, 18.091 (NTR)
High Point Driver: Wayne Johnson
Provisional(s): N/A
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
Broadcast: RaceOnTexas.com on FloRacing.com
Live-Scoring [Where Applicable]: MRP Live
2022 Race Winners: Wayne Johnson – 1 (3/18 – Devil's Bowl Speedway); Seth Bergman – 1 (3/19 – Devil's Bowl Speedway); Derek Hagar – 1 (3/25 – I-30 Speedway); Aaron Reutzel – 1 (3/26 – I-30 Speedway); Dylan Westbrook – 1 (5/28 – Lake Ozark Speedway); Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 1 (5/29 – Thunderbird Speedway);
2022 Driver Points (Top 15): 1. Wayne Johnson 762; 2. Dylan Westbrook 729; 3. Blake Hahn 719; 4. Jason Martin 703; 5. Garet Williamson 682; 6. Matt Covington 615; 7. Brandon Anderson 615; 8. Tim Crawley 603; 9. Ryan Timms 566; 10. Landon Britt 546; 11. Landon Crawley 539; 12. Kyler Johnson 524; 13. Sam Hafertepe, Jr, 516; 14. Ryan Bickett 503; 15. Seth Bergman 478;
ASCS National Tour Drivers:
1x - Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)**
2 - Chase Porter (St. Joseph, MO) (R)
2c - Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)**
2d-Dylan Opdahl (Madison, SD) (R)
10 - Landon Britt (Atoka, TN) (R)
10p - Dylan Postier (Stillwater, OK) (R)
17b - Ryan Bickett (Romona, SD)
23 - Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA)
24 - Garet Williamson (Columbia, MO)
36 - Jason Martin (Liberal, KS) (R)
45x - Kyler Johnson (Quinter, KS) (R)
47x - Dylan Westbrook (Scotland, ONT. Can)
52 - Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)**
55b - Brandon Anderson (Glenpool, OK) (R)
95 - Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
187 - Landon Crawley (Benton, AR) (R)
(R) Signifies Brodix National Rookie
** Signifies past ASCS National Champion.
Sponsors:
The American Sprint Car Series is brought to you by Lucas Oil Products (https://lucasoil.com) and presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network (https://www.mavtv.com). Heat Races are presented by SCE Gaskets (https://www.scegaskets.com), B-Features are sponsored by BMRS (https://www.bmrs.net).
All Champions of the American Sprint Car Series, from National to Regional Tours, will receive a new Superior Steering Wheel (https://superiorsteeringwheel.com).