Hafertepe Scores Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series Speedweek Victory At Lawton Speedway

Bryan Hulbert - LAWTON, Okla. (June 5, 2019) A podium finish the night before was bettered by two spots Wednesday at Lawton Speedway as Sam Hafertepe, Jr. picked up his fourth victory of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network in Round 3 of the 2019 ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek.

"Our team right now is clicking better than I've ever had a team click in my entire career," commented Hafertepe. "Having the right people behind me and in the right places, we've been able to win a lot of races so I'm very fortunate to be the monkey driving the car sometimes. This is a hell of a team. We've been building it over the course of five years now and we get better every night."

Racing to the lead from the right of the front row, Hafertepe was able to hold off any challenges the first half of the race with a pair of cautions working Lap 2 and Lap 15. Back to the 14th lap on the restart, that is where the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h was challenged for the lead. Moving off the cushion of the first two turns, Hafertepe surrendered the point to Scott Bogucki down the back straightaway.

Driving 20-foot deeper into turn three to pitch the car across the fourth turn, Hafertepe snagged the top spot with the pair again trading the position through turns one and two. Exchanging another round of slide jobs coming to Lap 16, Sam was able to break the momentum of the Sawblade.com No. 28 to begin pulling away until the red lights blinked on with 21 laps complete for Roger Crockett who slammed into the wall off the second turn. Roger was unharmed but unable to finish.

Asked about the restart and ensuing battle, Hafertepe explained, "I shouldn't have moved off the top. We were able to get him back, but I just second guessed myself and should have just stayed on the cushion on the restart, but at least it made it interesting for the fans"

Keeping the pack at bay on the restart, the race for second picked up as Wayne Johnson flew past Bogucki on the cushion in turns three and four. In pursuit of the No. 15h, Johnson was unable to keep pace with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. taking the victory by just over a half straightaway. Scott Bogucki held on for second with Jordon Mallett posting his first top-five finish of the season in fourth. John Caney II picked up a pair of spots to cross fifth.

The night's leading Hard Charger from 13th, Joe Wood, Jr. crossed sixth with Harli White seventh. Matching Wood's Hard Charger performance of seven positions gained, Matt Covington moved from 15th to eighth with Tony Bruce, Jr. mirroring the performance from 16th to ninth. Jordan Weaver completed the top ten.

A trio of SCE Gaskets Heat Races on Wednesday night was won by Jordan Weaver, John Carney II, and Blake Hahn. No Provisionals were needed.

Round 4 of the 2019 ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek lands the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. on Thursday, June 6. Admission is $20 for adults with kids 10 and under admitted free of charge into the grandstands. Racing gets underway at 7:30 P.M. (CT). More information on Creek County Speedway can be found at http://www.creekcountyspeedway.co.

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 on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).

Race Results:

Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Lawton Speedway (Lawton, Okla.)
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Speedweek Round 3

Car Count: 21

SCE Gaskets Heat Races (All teams advance to the A-Feature)

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 92-Jordan Weaver, [2]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [3]; 3. 5J-Jamie Ball, [4]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett, [5]; 5. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [6]; 6. 90-Lance Norick, [1]; (DNS) 22X-Steven Shebester,

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. J2-John Carney II, [1]; 2. 28-Scott Bogucki, [4]; 3. 21P-Robbie Price, [6]; 4. 14-Jordon Mallett, [7]; 5. 95-Matt Covington, [5]; 6. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [3]; 7. 23X-Grady Chandler, [2]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn, [2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [4]; 3. 77X-Alex Hill, [1]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [3]; 5. 74B-Jake Bubak, [6]; 6. 10K-Kyle Ezell, [7]

A-Feature

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [2]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]; 3. 28-Scott Bogucki, [3]; 4. 14-Jordon Mallett, [6]; 5. J2-John Carney II, [7]; 6. 03-Joe Wood Jr, [13]; 7. 17W-Harli White, [12]; 8. 95-Matt Covington, [15]; 9. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [16]; 10. 92-Jordan Weaver, [1]; 11. 52-Blake Hahn, [4]; 12. 5J-Jamie Ball, [9]; 13. 74B-Jake Bubak, [14]; 14. 21P-Robbie Price, [8]; 15. 23X-Grady Chandler, [20]; 16. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [17]; 17. 77X-Alex Hill, [11]; 18. 90-Lance Norick, [19]; 19. (DNF) 11-Roger Crockett, [10]; 20. (DNF) 10K-Kyle Ezell, [18]; 21. (DNF) 22X-Steven Shebester, [21]

Lap Leader(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1-25
Hard Charger: Joe Wood, Jr. +7
High Point Driver: Jordan Weaver
Provisional(s): N/A

2019 National Tour Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,227; 2. Blake Hahn 1,183; 3. John Carney II 1,163; 4. Matt Covington 1,159; 5. Scott Bogucki 1,149; 6. Roger Crockett 1,137; 7. Harli White 1,075; 8. Jamie Ball 1,063; 9. Jordon Mallett 1,014; 10. Robbie Price 991; 11. Alex Hill 951; 12. Tucker Doughty 892; 13. Dylan Westbrook 545; 14. Wayne Johnson 512; 15. Jake Bubak 474;

2019 Race Winners: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 4 (5/17 - I-96 Speedway; 5/18 - I-96 Speedway; 5/25 - Lake Ozark Speedway; 6/5 - Lawton Speedway); Thomas Kennedy - 2 (4/25 - Eagle Raceway, 4/26 - U.S. 36 Raceway); John Carney II - 1 (5/26 - Lake Ozark Speedway); Travis Rilat - 1 (6/4 - Devil's Bowl Speedway);

Weather Related Cancellations - 7: 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)