(Image Credit: Lonnie Wheatley)
SAPULPA, Okla. (June 16, 2016) Only losing the lead for the first three-quarter lap of Thursday’s A-Feature with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, Indiana’s Bryan Clauson became the 132nd winner with the National Tour of the American Sprint Car Series with a near dominating performance at the Creek County Speedway.
Clauson’s eighth career Lucas Oil ASCS A-Feature start, Creek County Speedway counts as his 80th night of racing in his 2016 “Circular Insanity Tour” and 22nd overall win on the year; surpassing his win total for the entire 2015 season.
“I just can’t say enough about the guys standing over there behind me that work on this Cancer Treatment Centers of America/Elk Grove Ford car. It was stout from the time we unloaded it tonight. I’m just really proud of all the guys. We were running up front last night and had a little bit of bad luck and it was awfully hot today so they busted their butts with two cars to get ready and both cars were pretty strong so it just goes to show how far we’ve come as a team,” said a sweat soaked Bryan Clauson in Victory Lane.
Trailing Kyle Bellm through the first two turns, Clauson, who started on the pole, pulled the slide job off the fourth turn to reclaim the top spot.
Able to pull to over three seconds on the No. 14k, slower traffic came into the picture as the field worked the tenth round. Allowing Bellm to close the gap, the RAMS No. 14k was joined by the Hwy. 79 Collision No. 15h of Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
Caution on Lap 13, Hafertepe shot to second the following lap, only to have another caution negate the move.
Keeping pace with Clauson the first lap back under green, it wasn’t long before the No. 117 machine began pulling away to a 2.690 second advantage at the checkered flag over Kyle Bellm, who picked up his best finish of the season with the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
“We’ve had a rough go of it so far so this is just what our team needed. I wish we’d had a little something for Clauson but he was the class of the field all night long, so congrats to those guys. That was an excellent job but we’ll take second here. We’re proud of it,” commented Bellm.
Hafertepe’s eight podium finish in 11 races, the third place run is his sixth consecutive on the season, and first at the Creek County Speedway in National Tour competition.
“Everybody knows this is not a good track for me. I’m sure all these fans have seen me flip here a hundred times. We’ve always struggled here in the past and to at least come out here and finish a night, much less run third. If you’d told me we were going to run third during Speedweek, I’d laughed at you,” Said Sam who praised his crew as well as car owner, Keith Dobbs, for the work that’s gone into the No. 15h as the team now leads National Tour standings by 17 points.
After taking a provisional at Lawton Speedway on Wednesday, Wayne Johnson crossed the stripe fourth with Johnny Herrera working his way to a fifth place finish.
New York’s Jason Barney moved from ninth to finish sixth with Blake Hahn seventh after falling back to 11th at the start of the A-Feature. Matt Covington was eighth with Seth Bergman ninth. Logan Forler completed the top-ten.
With 41 drivers making the call at the Creek County Speedway, the series’ secondary format of Heats and Qualifiers was implemented. Five Heat Races wen to Alex Sewell, Aaron Reutzel, Jason McDougal, Bryan Clauson, and Matt Covington. Dropping the Top 30 in Passing Points into three Qualifiers, wins went to Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Kyle Bellm, and Johnny Herrera.
Twin B-Mains were topped by Joe Wood, Jr. and Steven Russell. Out of the B-Mains, Brad Loyet and Josh Baughman utilized Provisionals.
The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network teams up with the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region presented by Impact Signs, Awnings, and Wraps for the next two rounds of the ASCS Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek with the fourth round at the “Historic Half-Mile” Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. on Friday, June 17.
Races at the Missouri State Fair Speedway are scheduled to begin at 8:00 P.M. (CDT) and is presented by Champion Racing Oil.
For continued updates on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
ASCS National
Creek County Speedway - Sapulpa, Okla.
Speedweek Round 3
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Car Count: 41
ButlerBuilt Heat Races (8 Laps, Top 30 in Passing Points to three Qualifiers)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Alex Sewell[2]; 2. 42-Andy McElhannon[1]; 3. 2L-Logan Forler[4]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn[8]; 5. 8M-Kade Morton[6]; 6. 2-Mickey Walker[5]; 7. 3-Raven Culp[7]; 8. (DNF) 84-Brandon Hanks[9]; 9. (DNF) 22-David Stephenson[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[1]; 2. 66-Ray Allen Kulhanek[4]; 3. 17-Josh Baughman[2]; 4. 17W-Harli White[5]; 5. 26M-Fred Mattox[7]; 6. 24-Layne Himebaugh[3]; 7. (DNF) 05-Brad Loyet[6]; 8. (DNF) 31B-Channin Tankersley[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17G-Jason McDougal[1]; 2. 85-Forrest Sutherland[2]; 3. 2C-Wayne Johnson[5]; 4. 23-Seth Bergman[7]; 5. 9$-Kyle Clark[4]; 6. 171-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[3]; 7. 03-Joe Wood Jr[8]; 8. 53-Brett Wilson[6]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 117-Bryan Clauson[6]; 2. 14K-Kyle Bellm[3]; 3. 20G-Jake Greider[2]; 4. 87B-Jason Barney[7]; 5. 45X-Johnny Herrera[8]; 6. 44-Jared Sewell[1]; 7. (DNF) 57-Kyle Chady[4]; 8. (DNF) 4J-John Carney II[5]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington[3]; 2. 31-Casey Wills[1]; 3. 40-Howard Moore[5]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 5. 28-Tommy Bryant[2]; 6. 91-Steven Russell[4]; 7. 7M-Chance Morton[6]; 8. 54-Will Scribner[8]
Hoosier Tire Qualifiers (8 laps, Top 16 in combined Passing Points to the A-Feature)
Qualifier 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]; 2. 117-Bryan Clauson[6]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn[4]; 4. 31-Casey Wills[1]; 5. 40-Howard Moore[3]; 6. 91-Steven Russell[10]; 7. 66-Ray Allen Kulhanek[5]; 8. 28-Tommy Bryant[9]; 9. 17-Josh Baughman[7]; 10. (DNF) 26M-Fred Mattox[8]
Qualifier 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14K-Kyle Bellm[4]; 2. 2L-Logan Forler[1]; 3. 95-Matt Covington[6]; 4. 23-Seth Bergman[3]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel[5]; 6. 8M-Kade Morton[8]; 7. 24-Layne Himebaugh[10]; 8. 20G-Jake Greider[7]; 9. 2-Mickey Walker[9]; 10. (DNF) 85-Forrest Sutherland[2]
Qualifier 3 (8 Laps): 1. 45X-Johnny Herrera[1]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson[4]; 3. 42-Andy McElhannon[2]; 4. 87B-Jason Barney[3]; 5. 171-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[10]; 6. 03-Joe Wood Jr[9]; 7. 17W-Harli White[7]; 8. 9$-Kyle Clark[8]; 9. (DNF) 17G-Jason McDougal[5]; 10. (DNF) 8-Alex Sewell[6]
BMRS B-Features (12 laps, Top 3 advance into A-Feature.)
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 03-Joe Wood Jr[4]; 2. 17W-Harli White[1]; 3. 8-Alex Sewell[3]; 4. 05-Brad Loyet[9]; 5. 8M-Kade Morton[2]; 6. 17-Josh Baughman[5]; 7. 28-Tommy Bryant[6]; 8. 31B-Channin Tankersley[11]; 9. 53-Brett Wilson[12]; 10. 26M-Fred Mattox[7]; 11. 22-David Stephenson[13]; 12. (DNF) 3-Raven Culp[8]; 13. (DNF) 84-Brandon Hanks[10]
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 91-Steven Russell[1]; 2. 24-Layne Himebaugh[5]; 3. 9$-Kyle Clark[6]; 4. 7M-Chance Morton[9]; 5. 44-Jared Sewell[8]; 6. 54-Will Scribner[11]; 7. 57-Kyle Chady[10]; 8. (DNF) 20G-Jake Greider[3]; (DNS) 4J-John Carney II; (DNS) 85-Forrest Sutherland; (DNS) 17G-Jason McDougal; (DQ) 2-Mickey Walker[7]
Protect the Harvest A-Feature (30 Laps)
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 117-Bryan Clauson[1]; 2. 14K-Kyle Bellm[2]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[4]; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson[5]; 5. 45X-Johnny Herrera[7]; 6. 87B-Jason Barney[9]; 7. 52-Blake Hahn[6]; 8. 95-Matt Covington[3]; 9. 23-Seth Bergman[11]; 10. 2L-Logan Forler[8]; 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel[10]; 12. 8-Alex Sewell[21]; 13. 24-Layne Himebaugh[20]; 14. 66-Ray Allen Kulhanek[15]; 15. 171-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[16]; 16. 42-Andy McElhannon[12]; 17. 91-Steven Russell[18]; 18. 40-Howard Moore[14]; 19. 9$-Kyle Clark[22]; 20. (DNF) 31-Casey Wills[13]; 21. (DNF) 17W-Harli White[19]; 22. (DNF) 03-Joe Wood Jr[17]; 23. (DNF) 17-Josh Baughman[24]; 24. (DNF) 05-Brad Loyet[23]
Lap Leader(s): Bryan Clauson 1-30
FSR High Point Driver: Bryan Clauson
Hard Charger: Alex Sewell +9
Provisional(s): Josh Baughman / Brad Loyet
2016 ASCS National Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,444; 2. Johnny Herrera 1,427; 3. Logan Forler 1,306; 4. Matt Covington 1,298; 5. Aaron Reutzel 1,287; 6. Blake Hahn 1,286; 7. Wayne Johnson 1,262; 8. Seth Bergman 1,226; 9. Brad Loyet 1,206; 10. Josh Baughman 1,162;
2016 Speedweek Standings (Top 10): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 427; 2. Aaron Reutzel 372; 3. Johnny Herrera 368; 4. Blake Hahn 360; 5. Logan Forler 348; 6. Brad Loyet 337; 7. Seth Bergman 333; 8. Kyle Bellm 332; 9. Wayne Johnson 325; 10. Matt Covington 318;
2016 ASCS National Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2 (5/13 – Texas Motor Speedway; 6/12 – Rt. 66 Motor Speedway); Johnny Herrera 2 (3/17-Heart O’ Texas Speedway; 6/3-Hartford Speedway); Aaron Reutzel 1 (5/14 – Texas Motor Speedway); Wayne Johnson 1 (3/19-Devil’s Bowl Speedway); Brandon Hanks 1 (3/25-Cotton Bowl Speedway); Josh Baughman 1 (3/26 – Bronco Raceway Park); Brian Brown 1(5/5-Lakeside Speedway); Brad Loyet 1 (6/15 – Lawton Speedway); Bryan Clauson 1 (6/16 – Creek County Speedway);
ASCS National Drivers Online:
Josh Baughman: http://www.joshbaughman.com
Kyle Bellm: http://www.kylebellm.com
Seth Bergman: http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Matt Covington: http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Sam Hafertepe, Jr.: http://www.sam15.com
Blake Hahn: http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Johnny Herrera: http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com
Wayne Johnson: https://www.facebook.com/WayneJohnsonRacing?fref=ts
Logan Forler: https://twitter.com/ForlerRacing
Brad Loyet: http://www.loyetmotorsports.com
Aaron Reutzel: http://www.aaronreutzelracing.com
Steven Russell: https://www.facebook.com/steven.russell.71066?fref=ts
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs (@lucasoilascs)
Instagram: ASCSRACING
Audio Broadcast: http://www.racinboys.com
Live Scoring (Where Applicable): http://www.ascsracing.com/live and the Race Monitor App
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. MAVTV Motorsports Network is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto www.mavtv.com for information regarding availability and listings in your area.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network include: Hoosier Racing Tire 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, E3 Spark Plugs, LucasOilRacing.tv, Carlyle Tools, 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, KSE Racing Products, Fuel Safe, DMI Rear Ends, BMRS, SpeedMart, Competition Suspension, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection.