Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Knocks Down Seventh Win Of The 2019 Season Before All Star Weekend

 

Bryan Hulbert -BILLINGS, Mont. (July 24, 2019) Taking on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at Big Sky Speedway for two nights this past weekend, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. picked off a pair of podium finishes, including his seventh victory of the season to open the Battle at Big Sky.

Winning the second Heat Race from the runner-up starting spot, Sam charged from seventh to capture the lead on Lap 10 Friday night. Stalked in the closing laps but not challenged on the slick three-eighths-mile oval, Sam played defense through traffic to ensure no one could get a run.

"We just had to go where they weren't, and that's what got us to the lead. Once we got there, I felt good, but I didn't want to force anything in traffic. The last thing you want to do on a track that slick is be overly aggressive, so I just worked at keeping my tires underneath me and finish the race. Late in that race, they were plugging the top and the bottom, so I knew if I couldn't get by them, they weren't getting my me either, so I just played the block,"

Rolling in Saturday night, Sam's Heat Race run from seventh to fourth put him just shy of the redraw. Coming up from ninth, slower traffic again played to the advantage of the Hills Racing Team No. 15h. Crawling all over Blake Hahn for the lead, a late-race red flag made Sam have to run down the No. 52 once more.

"We didn't need the red. We were quite a bit better in traffic and could move around if we did need to get off the top, but with the red getting Blake back into clean air, these days it's tough to beat anybody like that. Especially when the track is right around the top, but once we got back into traffic, we were able to reel him back in."

From nearly a straightaway to mere car lengths with the field running to the final two laps, Sam made his move for the lead on the white flag lap. Drifting off the bottom of the second turn as the pair raced to the backstretch, Sam railed the top of the final turns, only to come up 0.090 seconds shy at the line.

"I just made a bad move in one and two. I was trying to hit the bottom instead of sliding across and just missed it, so I had to commit to the slide. That is really what probably lost us the race. I feel like had I gone in and hit the line I wanted to run, I would have come out pretty far ahead going into turn three, but we didn't, and Blake got a good run off of two. I had to try and put together a good run into three and four, and just came up a little bit short."

During their stay in Montana, the Hoiness family was very generous with the use of their shop for the Hills Racing Team. Sam and his crew thank David and his Wife for their gracious hospitality.

Looking forward to this coming weekend, Hafertepe will drop the 410cid between the rails and take on the Ollie's Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 for three nights at the Jackson Motorplex (Jackson, Minn.) on Friday, July 26, Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa) on Saturday, July 27, and 34-Raceway (West Burlington, Iowa) on Sunday, July 28.

"We're going to use this weekend to our advantage to get three nights with the 410, especially with one of the nights begin at Knoxville. I feel like this will help us get ready for the 360 Nationals as well with just getting the laps in."

Along with getting laps, Sam will also be getting acclimated to the "H" style of Hoosier tire that is mandatory during the Knoxville Nationals.

"In ASCS, we run RD12 all the time, and just putting the "H" Tire on the Left Rear whether it's a 410 or a 360, it makes a difference. It changes the car quite a bit going to the H12, so having a week to use that tire and get familiar will help us tremendously."

For continued updates on Sam Hafertepe, Jr. log onto http://www.sam15.com and make sure to find him on Twitter (@samhafertepejr). For news on Hill's Racing Team, log onto https://www.facebook.com/hillsracing/ and on Twitter (@HillsRacingTeam).

2019 Season to Date:

Events: 28; Wins -7 ; Top 5 - 16; Top 10 - 21; Top 20 - 22;

Coming Up:

July 26 - Jackson Motorplex (Jackson, Minn.) w/All Stars
July 27 - Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa) w/All Stars
July 28 - 34 Raceway (West Burlington, Iowa) w/All Stars

Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011628097506
Website: http://www.sam15.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/samhafertepejr

The Sponsors:

Hill's Racing Team, Townline Variety, Heidbreder Foundation Service, Kiebler & Sons Lawn and Landscaping, Fisher Racing Engines, Super Shox, J&J Chassis, Smiley's Racing Products, Hoosier Tire, Huggins Cams, Champion Oil, The Sparks Family, Lonestar Speedway, Keizer Wheels, XYZ Machining, Simpson Racing Products, CP-Carrillo, KSE Power Steering, FK Rod Ends, BMRS, Allstar Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Vortex Wings, DMI, Wilwood Brakes, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Hwy. 79 Collision.


For Immediate Release
Contact: Ben Shelton (msrmafia@gmail.com)
July 24, 2019

Jake Knowles Scores First-Career Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Victory
Takes Over Series’ Point Lead with Three Events Remaining

Rome, Georgia (07/24/19) – Jake Knowles topped a spirited battle with Kenny Collins on Tuesday night at Tri-County Race Track to claim his first-career Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series victory. The triumph was worth $3,500 for the driver of the Knowles Race Parts & Bodies #66 Josh Roberts Trucking/ Coosa Heating & Cooling/ Longhorn Chassis Super Late Model.

“I appreciate Kenny [Collins] racing me clean there,” Knowles said. “We became pretty good buddies here the last year or so messing around, texting back and forth. We parked beside each other tonight, [started] on the front row [together]. It’s a pretty awesome little track. This really isn’t my cup of tea, throwing it sideways and all that. I normally try to drive ‘er straight, but we adapted to it and ended up pretty good.

“We started this deal, just taking it on a race-by-race basis, and not sure if we’d run the whole tour. To have the point lead with three races is pretty awesome. Hopefully we can maintain our consistency and win the championship.”

Jake Knowles continued his inaugural pursuit of the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals championship on Tuesday evening at Tri-County Racetrack (Brasstown, North Carolina) as the eighth round of the tour came to life.

In a field of 22 cars, Knowles registered the fastest lap in his time trial group, which locked him into the outside-front-row, starting position for the A-Main. Holding off a late-race challenge from Kenny Collins, Jake streaked to his third overall win of the season and his first-career Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals victory. Collins, Michael Chilton, Casey Roberts, and Tanner English completed the Top-5 finishers.

Jakes pocketed a $3,500 payday for the triumph. In addition, with his victory, he’s taken over the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals point standings.


For the latest series standings as well as complete results, please visit www.SouthernNationalsSeries.com .

For more information on available marketing opportunities with Jake Knowles Racing, please contact the team at CruiseWithTheChampions@hotmail.com .

Just three events remain on the 2019 Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals Series schedule and are as follows:

July 25: Crossville Speedway (Crossville, Tennessee) - $3,500-To-Win
July 26: 411 Motor Speedway (Seymour, Tennessee) - $10,000-To-Win
July 27: Tazewell Speedway (Tazewell, Tennessee) - $10,053-To-Win

Jake Knowles would like to thank his marketing partners, which include Knowles Race Parts & Bodies, Josh Roberts Trucking, Buster Goss Body Shop, Rheem, Martins Wrecker Service, Curbow Logging, Coosa Heating & Cooling, JW Motorsports, Bohannon Glass, Cruise with the Champions, Shorty’s Shock Service, Hoosier Racing Tire by Pup, Knowles Trucking, Wiles Racing Driveshafts, Joe’s Transmission, Carolina Racing Supply, Big A’s Custom Graphics, AG Calf Ranch, VP Racing, Mitchell Jenkins Photography, Stealth Racing Carburetors, VP Racing Lubricants, and MSRMafia.com Marketing Services.

For more information on Jake Knowles please visit www.JakeKnowles66.net .