Chris Martin won his first ASCS feature at Gillette Speedway (Matt Ward Photo)
Bryan Hulbert – GILLETTE, Wy. (July 11, 2018) Taking care of his first top-five, podium, and victory with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by Sawblade.com in one shot, Iowa’s Chris Martin led start to finish at Gillette Thunder Speedway on Wednesday night.
Joining Skylar Gee as the second first time winner in as many events this week with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by Sawblade.com, Chris is the 144th winner with the series and 13th different driver to top the National Tour this season.
Holding off early charges from Skylar Gee, followed by several mid and late race advanced from Sam Hafertepe, Jr., the Global Ag No. 44 was able to keep all challengers at bay.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’ve been watching these guys for a long time, even before I started racing Sprint Cars and I knew that Sam and Seth were coming. I knew Johnson was going to be there, and my buddy Blake; he’s been on a roll, so I knew he’d be coming. Then Skylar Gee’s been rolling pretty good lately, so this win is really special. It just feels awesome to be standing here,” stated Chris who celebrated with donuts that would make Jesse Hockett smile.
Changing his line throughout the 25-lap A-Feature on a near perfect racing surface, Chris was able to work through slower traffic with ease.
Lapping into the top-ten before the race’s first caution while working Lap 18, Chris would restart with a pair of slower cars between himself and the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h.
With five laps to run, however, that buffer would not be there as the caution flew again. With a run to the inside of the No. 44, Sam would come up shy with a small bobble off the turn-four berm.
Giving Chris breathing room, he was still far from being out of danger as Hafertepe regrouped with a full head of steam. Down into the final laps, Sam would close in but would not be able to steal away the win as Chris crossed with a 0.614-second advantage.
Hafertepe in second was pursued to the line by Seth Bergman, who made up three positions on Lap 18 to get to the third spot. Coming from 12th, Blake Hahn made it to fourth following a multi-lap battle with Wayne Johnson who crossed fifth.
In the battle with Blake and Wayne, the sixth spot ended up going to Travis Rilat with Johnny Herrera in seventh. Skylar Gee ended up eighth with Scott Bogucki and Matt Covington making up the top-ten.
A new destination for the series, the next outing for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by Sawblade.com will be on Monday, July 16 at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, S.D. for the Brandt Professional Agriculture Shootout.
Admission for the Monday affair is $20 for adults with kids 10 and under admitted free into the grandstands. Racing begins at 7:00 P.M. (CDT) in includes IMCA Modifieds and Super Stocks. More information on the track, including direction, can be found at http://www.browncountyspeedway1.com.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up the nearly 150 races across the ASCS Nation in 2018, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
Gillette Thunder Speedway - Gillette, Wy.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Car Count: 22
Heat Races (All Drivers advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki, [1]; 2. 77X-Alex Hill, [2]; 3. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [5]; 4. 44-Chris Martin, [6]; 5. 5J-Jamie Ball, [7]; 6. 3-Mike Pennel, [8]; 7. 4-Adam Speckman, [4]; 8. (DNF) 56-Shad Petersen, [3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [3]; 2. 1-Travis Rilat, [1]; 3. 23-Seth Bergman, [2]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn, [4]; 5. 17W-Harli White, [6]; 6. 88-Travis Reber, [7]; 7. (DNF) 2-James Setters, [5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Skylar Gee, [3]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [6]; 3. 0-Ned Powers, [2]; 4. 95-Matt Covington, [5]; 5. 10-Anthony Farnsworth, [7]; 6. 9A-Clint Anderson, [4]; 7. (DNF) 8X-Randy Dolberg, [1]
Protect the Harvest A-Feature
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Martin, [1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [6]; 3. 23-Seth Bergman, [9]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn, [12]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]; 6. 1-Travis Rilat, [8]; 7. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [7]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee, [2]; 9. 28-Scott Bogucki, [4]; 10. 95-Matt Covington, [13]; 11. 17W-Harli White, [14]; 12. 77X-Alex Hill, [3]; 13. 2-James Setters, [19]; 14. 3-Mike Pennel, [15]; 15. 9A-Clint Anderson, [18]; 16. 4-Adam Speckman, [20]; 17. 56-Shad Petersen, [22]; 18. 10-Anthony Farnsworth, [16]; 19. (DNF) 88-Travis Reber, [17]; 20. (DNF) 8X-Randy Dolberg, [21]; 21. (DNF) 0-Ned Powers, [10]; 22. (DNF) 5J-Jamie Ball, [11]
Lap Leader(s): Chris Martin 1-25
CP-Carrillo Hard Charger: Blake Hahn +8
FSR High Point Driver: Wayne Johnson
Provisional(s): N/A
2018 ASCS National Driver Points (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2,816; 2. Seth Bergman 2,785; 3. Blake Hahn 2,733; 4. Wayne Johnson 2,606; 5. Matt Covington 2,533; 6. Johnny Herrera 2,505; 7. Skylar Gee 2,413; 8. Scott Bogucki 2,401; 9. Travis Rilat 2,193; 10. Chris Martin 2,162; 11. Jamie Ball 2,151; 12. Harli White 2,137; 13. Alex Hill 1,910; 14. Roger Crockett 1,816; 15. Sammy Swindell 1,410;
2018 ASCS National Tour Wins: Seth Bergman – 4 (4/6 – Texas Motor Speedway; 5/10 – Lakeside Speedway; 6/22 – Skagit Speedway; 6/22 – Skagit Speedway); Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 4 (5/12 – I-30 Speedway; 6/8 – West Texas Raceway; 6/21 – Skagit Speedway; 6/30 – Grays Harbor Raceway); Sammy Swindell - 3 (6/9 – Route 66 Motor Speedway; 6/14 – Creek County Speedway; 6/16 – Salina Speedway); Matt Covington – 2 (4/27 - Paducah International Raceway; 7/6 – Gallatin Speedway); Wayne Johnson - 2 (5/9 – Humboldt Speedway; 6/13 – Lawton Speedway); Roger Crockett - 1 (3/16 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Brady Bacon - 1 (4/7 – Texas Motor Speedway); Greg Hodnett - 1 (5/4 – Williams Grove Speedway) ; Blake Heimbach - 1 (5/5 – Selinsgrove Speedway); Scott Bogucki - 1 (6/12 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Jason Solwold - 1 (6/29 – Grays Harbor Raceway); Skylar Gee - 1 (7/7 – Gallatin Speedway); Chris Martin - 1 (7/11 – Gillette Thunder Speedway);
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
Audio Broadcast: http://www.racinboys.com
Live Scoring (Where Applicable): Race Monitor and MRP Live
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Jamie Ball (Knoxville, IA): http://www.jamieball.com/default.aspx?i=false
Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA.): http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, S. Aust.): https://www.facebook.com/ScottBogucki89
Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK): http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Roger Crockett (Medford, OR): http://www.rocketdesignsllc.com
Skylar Gee (Leduc, Alberta, Can.): https://twitter.com/SkylarGee99
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX): http://www.sam15.com
Alex Hill (Six Nations, Ontario, Can.): https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK): http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, N.M.): http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com
Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK): https://www.facebook.com/WayneJohnsonRacing?fref=ts
Chris Martin (Ankeny, IA): https://twitter.com/cmr_44?lang=en
Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, Can.): http://www.bdsmotorsportsllc.com
Travis Rilat (Forney, TX): 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. Sawblade.com is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto http://www.sawblade.com for more information and follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sawblade.com_
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented Sawblade.com include Hoosier Racing Tire, CP-Carrillo Pistons, EMI, and Brodix. All Heat Races are brought to you by ButlerBuilt Professional Seating Systems. All B-Features are presented by BMRS.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, Geico, Sawblade.com, MAVTV Motorsports Network, LucasOilRacing.tv, and General Tire.
Communications for the American Sprint Car Series is provided by Racing Electronics. All events are broadcast online at http://www.racinboys.com.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by 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 Speedway Motors.