Hafertepe Tops Battle At Big Sky Opener With Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series

Bryan Hulbert - BILLINGS, Mont. (July 19, 2019) For the seventh time this season, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. rolled the Heidbreder Foundation/Hills Racing Team No. 15h into Sawblade.com Victory Lane with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network; topping Friday's edition of the Battle at Big Sky Speedway presented by Track Enterprises.

"I knew we had a good car. Just got in the right spot and drove by all those guys to get the lead," commented Hafertepe the win.

Rolling off seventh for the 25 Lap affair, the first start was short-lived as pole-sitter, Travis Reber, spun in the second turn, collecting Bryan Brown and Cody Masse in the process. None of the three drivers were able to continue.

Moving Hafertepe to sixth on the restart, the No. 15h was up to third by Lap 2 as Harli White took command over Blake Hahn. Moving to third the following lap, the leaders began inching towards traffic with Hafertepe trailing by nearly a second before finally getting the run on the No. 17w. Searching around the three-eighths-mile oval, Sam pulled side by side with Harli on the ninth laps, with White able to hold the point. Working Lap 10 however, the lead swapped hand as Hafertepe shot to the top of the leaderboard.

Tiptoeing through traffic, Sam was able to gap the field as White raced with Scott Bogucki. Swapping the positions numerous times over the next couple laps, the Sawblade.com No. 28 secured the spot on Lap 18 with Blake Hahn following two laps later.

Having worked to a half straightaway advantage, Hafertepe's lead was chopped to mere car lengths as the No. 15h was held at bay by slower traffic battling for position. Rolling to the right of Mindy McCune several times, the No. 11m, Hafertepe kept the 15th place driver as a pick until the final two laps. With Bogucki and Hahn nearly on Hafertepe's back bumper, neither were able to make any moves before the checkered flag dropped.

On the race through lapped traffic, Sam stated, "When we got to traffic, I knew we were better, but I didn't want to press it. I just played the block on the outside with guys on the bottom. On a deal like that, no one is going to get beside you. We just had to play our cards right and be at the right place at the right time to get it done,"

A much-needed rebound for Bogucki after getting upside down one week ago, the No. 28 was challenged several times by Blake Hahn in the closing laps with Hahn settling for third. Harli White slipped to fourth for her sixth top-five run of the season with Roger Crockett, who topped the night's BMRS B-Feature, ripping his way through the field from 17th to complete the top five.

Matt Covington held sixth with Tucker Doughty seventh. Jordon Mallett picked up four spots to grab eighth with Alex Hill and Trever Kirkland rounding out the top ten.

A field of 29 drivers was on hand for Night 1 of the Battle at Big Sky Speedway. Four SCE Gaskets Heat Races were won by Travis Reber, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Matt Covington, and Scott Bogucki. The BMRS B-Feature went to Roger Crockett. One provisional was used by Damon McCune base on ASCS Frontier Regional performance.

The Battle at Big Sky Speedway presented by Track Enterprises continues on Saturday, July 20. Gates open at 5:00 P.M. with Racing at 7:25 P.M. (MT). Admission is $25 with kids 12 and under admitted free of change into the Grandstands. Big Sky Speedway is located at mile marker 16 on Hwy 87 North to Roundup, Mont. More information and directions can be found at https://www.bigskyspeedway.com or by calling (406) 998-9636.

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
ASCS Frontier Region
Big Sky Speedway (Billings, Mont.)
Battle at Big Sky
Friday, July 19, 2019

Car Count: 29

SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Travis Reber, [4]; 2. 9K-Kory Wermling, [1]; 3. 37-Trever Kirkland, [3]; 4. 21P-Robbie Price, [5]; 5. 14-Jordon Mallett, [8]; 6. 77-Damon McCune, [2]; 7. 0-Ned Powers, [7]; 8. 00B-Michael Bingham, [6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [2]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn, [6]; 3. J2-John Carney II, [1]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett, [3]; 5. 2JR-Kelly Miller, [5]; 6. 0J-Jeremy McCune, [4]; 7. 35M-Cody Masse, [7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, [1]; 2. 77X-Alex Hill, [5]; 3. 3-Jordan Milne, [2]; 4. 11M-Mindy McCune, [6]; 5. 2-Shad Petersen, [4]; 6. 38B-Bryan Brown, [7]; 7. 2M-Mike Manwill, [3]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Scott Bogucki, [1]; 2. 17W-Harli White, [7]; 3. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [5]; 4. 33-Robert DeHaan, [6]; 5. 1M-Willie Hernandez Jr, [2]; 6. 19-Jalen Powers, [3]; 7. 12H-Tony Bruce Jr, [4]

BMRS B-Feature (Top 6 advance to the A-Feature)

B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 11-Roger Crockett, [1]; 2. 2JR-Kelly Miller, [2]; 3. 0J-Jeremy McCune, [6]; 4. 38B-Bryan Brown, [4]; 5. 0-Ned Powers, [9]; 6. 35M-Cody Masse, [10]; 7. 77-Damon McCune, [8]; 8. 1M-Willie Hernandez Jr, [5]; 9. 2-Shad Petersen, [3]; 10. 2M-Mike Manwill, [11]; 11. (DNF) 19-Jalen Powers, [7]; 12. (DNF) 00B-Michael Bingham, [12]; (DNS) 12H-Tony Bruce Jr,

Sawblade.com A-Feature

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [7]; 2. 28-Scott Bogucki, [8]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, [2]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [3]; 5. 11-Roger Crockett, [17]; 6. 95-Matt Covington, [6]; 7. 2X-Tucker Doughty, [5]; 8. 14-Jordon Mallett, [12]; 9. 77X-Alex Hill, [4]; 10. 37-Trever Kirkland, [13]; 11. J2-John Carney II, [16]; 12. 2JR-Kelly Miller, [18]; 13. 21P-Robbie Price, [15]; 14. 9K-Kory Wermling, [9]; 15. 11M-Mindy McCune, [10]; 16. 0J-Jeremy McCune, [19]; 17. 0-Ned Powers, [21]; 18. 33-Robert DeHaan, [11]; 19. 3-Jordan Milne, [14]; 20. (DNF) 77-Damon McCune, [23]; 21. (DNF) 88-Travis Reber, [1]; 22. (DNF) 38B-Bryan Brown, [20]; 23. (DNF) 35M-Cody Masse, [22]

Lap Leader(s): Harli White 1-9; Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 10-25 
Hard Charger: Roger Crockett +12
High Point Driver: Harli White 
Provisional(s): Damon McCune (Regional)

2019 National Tour Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2,568; 2. Blake Hahn 2,469; 3. John Carney II 2,462; 4. Matt Covington 2,454; 5. Scott Bogucki 2,442; 6. Roger Crockett 2,322; 7. Robbie Price 2,191; 8. Harli White 2,152; 9. Jordon Mallett 2,067; 10. Alex Hill 1,919; 11. Tucker Doughty 1,9;7 12. Jamie Ball 1,063; 13. Seth Bergman 826; 14. Travis Reber 634; 15. Jason Solwold 633;

2019 Race Winners: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 7 (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); 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); John Carney II - 1 (5/26 - Lake Ozark Speedway); Travis Rilat - 1 (6/4 - Devil's Bowl Speedway); Blake Hahn - 1 (6/20 - Skagit Speedway); Roger Crockett - 1 (6/21 - Skagit Speedway); Robbie Price - 1 (6/22 - Skagit Speedway); Devon Borden - 1 (6/28 - Grays Harbor Raceway); Matt Covington - 1 (6/29 - Grays Harbor Raceway);

Weather Related Cancellations - 9: 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)

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): 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
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
Chris Martin (Ankeny, IA): https://twitter.com/cmr_44?lang=en 
Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, Can.): http://www.bdsmotorsportsllc.com 
Harli White (Lindsay, OK): http://www.harliwhiteracing.net