Sam and the team in Victory Lane at Lonestar Speedway (Patrick Grant Photography)
(Bill W) May 31, 2016 – Sam Hafetepe Jr. and the Keith Dobbs #15H racked up win number two on the season. Their second victory in the last three outings came last Sunday night at Lonestar Speedway near Kilgore, Texas. The Sunnyvale, Texas driver led every lap for a $3,000 payday in the ASCS-Gulf South showdown. The team heads to Indiana where the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series will tackle Plymouth Speedway for the first time Wednesday night. The series then heads to Hartford Speedway in Michigan on Friday, and then back to Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway Saturday.
It was supposed to be a three race weekend, but Mother Nature is wreaking havoc on the Lone Star State, and washed out dates in Crandall and Mesquite. That left Sunday’s event at Lonestar Speedway. “There were drivers there like Johnny (Herrera), (Channin) Tankersley, Tommy Bryant and (Ray Allen) Kulhanek, but he had motor issues,” says Sam. “There were several good drivers there. You really need to have your elbows up with those guys. You get a decent gauge of where you are with a field like that.”
Sam and the team used the night to test a new car as well. “We actually brought out a brand new car to see how it would handle for the rest of the season,” he says. “Everything we did to it, it responded well. We’re really excited about that.”
That started with the heat race. He would start outside row one. “We were fortunate to start up front, and that made the heat a lot easier,” says Sam. “It took us a lap or two to get the lead, but once we got the lead, we were able to put a straightaway on them.”
The feature redraw also went well for Sam. “We were lucky enough to draw a two to start the feature,” he says. “We pretty much led from the outset. The car was really, really good. I think we lapped up to about fifth place. The car is just really rolling right now.”
Though his family runs Lonestar Speedway, contrary to popular belief, Sam doesn’t have a ton of laps at the banked 3/8-mile oval. “We were able to test there earlier in the year, which helped us for Sunday,” he says. “We really don’t have a bunch of laps at the track. That practice definitely helped us for sure.”
It is strange that Sam heads to foreign territory, but that will be the case this week. “I actually haven’t been to any of these three tracks,” he says. “That’s odd for me. Normally, I’ve been to most places we go. It will be somewhat of a challenge, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”
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Sam would like to thank Highway 79 Collision Center, the Sparks Family, Kiebler & Sons Lawn and Landscaping, Keizer Aluminum Wheels and Champion Oil.
Photo: Sam and the team in Victory Lane at Lonestar Speedway (Patrick Grant Photography)
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