Sam Hafertepe Jr. continued a perfect June run by winning his third straight American Sprint Car Series National Tour race Thursday night at Creek County Speedway. And he did so by swapping his winning ride for the backup car.
He and his team elected to pull out a different chassis after winning Tuesday’s show, solidifying their resurgence of strength as Hafertepe chases his third ASCS Speedweek title – and the chance to tie his Series record of five straight wins with races at Arrowhead Speedway and Tri-State Speedway rounding out the week.
“We were having to do a lot of things that we don’t normally do to get speed out of that car,” Hafertepe said about his previous ride. “This car actually responded to the changes we made, going back to how we used to do things. I’m excited for that going forward because I think we have the potential to make a lot more speed than what we’ve had.”
“He’s been really good, he’s on a streak,” Bergman said. “Tonight he had a really good starting position, and he’s seasoned enough that he can manage a race, and he just never made a mistake.”
A third-place finish for Hank Davis makes him a perfect four-for-four in top fives behind the wheel of the TwoC Racing machine.
“Wayne [Johnson] is just a smart guy, he knows how to get you comfortable,” Davis said. “We’re knocking on the door, and we’re not real far.”
Covington fell back to fourth after a fierce battle with Davis, placing him third in points, 116 behind Bergman entering the second half of Speedweek.
Reigning champion Jason Martin rounded out the top five, which got his bid for a repeat back on track after a DNF at Texarkana.
Hometown hero Blake Hahn had to go through the Last Chance Showdown to secure a spot in the Feature, but drove from 20th to seventh to collect the Hard Charger Award.
UP NEXT: Speedweek continues at Arrowhead Speedway Friday, June 14, with the second of three-straight races in the Sooner State. Tickets can be purchased at the gate.
Can’t make it? DIRTVision will provide live coverage for those unable to make it to the track.
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]; 2. 23-Seth Bergman[3]; 3. 2C-Hank Davis[5]; 4. 95-Matt Covington[1]; 5. 36-Jason Martin[10]; 6. 8-Alex Sewell[7]; 7. 52-Blake Hahn[20]; 8. 22M-Rees Moran[13]; 9. 55B-Jordon Mallett[6]; 10. 45X-Kyler Johnson[11]; 11. 9S-Kyle Clark[16]; 12. 15D-Andrew Deal[14]; 13. 10-Landon Britt[8]; 14. 1-Sean McClelland[17]; 15. 26M-Fred Mattox[21]; 16. 29-Emilio Hoover[9]; 17. 88-Terry Easum[22]; 18. 2J-Zach Blurton[15]; 19. 31-Casey Wills[25]; 20. 91-Michael Day[19]; 21. 6G-Bryan Gossel[24]; 22. 938-Bradley Fezard[23]; 23. 12-Jeffrey Newell[12]; 24. 16G-Austyn Gossel[4]; 25. 13-Elijah Gile[18]