Tony Stewart Finishes Fourth, Sam Hafertepe Jr. Wins Fourth ASCS Race
Tony Stewart Finishes Fourth, Sam Hafertepe Jr. Wins Fourth ASCS Race
Sam Hafertepe Jr. remains perfect in four American Sprint Car Series races while Tony Stewart finished fourth in the Texas Sprint Car Nationals.
Sam Hafertepe Jr. remained perfect in four American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) races, while Tony Stewart finished fourth in the Texas Sprint Car Nationals at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track on Saturday night.
Hafertepe has now swept both nights of a pair of two-day shows. All four races have been won in his native Texas.
With Friday night's win in the Tony Stewart's Texas Sprint Car Nationals, Hafertepe set a record for the most wins to start a season in ASCS history, and he was able to add to that in the weekend's finale.
Patience is not a word that one associates with a driver on a four-race winning streak, but it was the key to victory Saturday night.
"We weren't going to make any dumb moves and try to force anything," Hafertepe said. "We've been in that situation several times, but I knew we had a good enough car and we didn't have to flex our muscles early. At some point, we could take care of it."
"It was predominantly a top groove track, so it made it tough to get around lapped cars."
Wayne Johnson grabbed the lead from the outside of the front row, but Hafertepe settled in alongside him. The duo challenged one another with several slide jobs over the course of the opening laps until Hafertepe's 15H finally gained the advantage on lap four.
Hafertepe kept his advantage, but the battle for second was a nail-biter. Aaron Reutzel, Josh Baughman, and Christopher Bell slugged it out for that position--literally at one point. When Bell slowed for lapped traffic in turn four, Reutzel made contact and sent both flipping into the catch fence. Neither driver was injured.
Baughman took second overall, while Johnson finished third.
From Victory Lane, Hafertepe thanked Tony Stewart for adding his name to the title sponsorship. Stewart thanked him right back. He earned a fourth-place finish that comes on the heels of a victory last week at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL, in the United Sprint Car Series.
Stewart initially struggled to regain his sprint car rhythm after leaving a long and prosperous career in NASCAR. Those hard times seem to be well behind him. Stewart qualified for Saturday night's Sprint Car Nationals by winning his eight-lap heat.
Johnny Herrera rounded out the top five.
Results
Hafertepe has now swept both nights of a pair of two-day shows. All four races have been won in his native Texas.
With Friday night's win in the Tony Stewart's Texas Sprint Car Nationals, Hafertepe set a record for the most wins to start a season in ASCS history, and he was able to add to that in the weekend's finale.
Patience is not a word that one associates with a driver on a four-race winning streak, but it was the key to victory Saturday night.
"We weren't going to make any dumb moves and try to force anything," Hafertepe said. "We've been in that situation several times, but I knew we had a good enough car and we didn't have to flex our muscles early. At some point, we could take care of it."
"It was predominantly a top groove track, so it made it tough to get around lapped cars."
Wayne Johnson grabbed the lead from the outside of the front row, but Hafertepe settled in alongside him. The duo challenged one another with several slide jobs over the course of the opening laps until Hafertepe's 15H finally gained the advantage on lap four.
Hafertepe kept his advantage, but the battle for second was a nail-biter. Aaron Reutzel, Josh Baughman, and Christopher Bell slugged it out for that position--literally at one point. When Bell slowed for lapped traffic in turn four, Reutzel made contact and sent both flipping into the catch fence. Neither driver was injured.
Baughman took second overall, while Johnson finished third.
From Victory Lane, Hafertepe thanked Tony Stewart for adding his name to the title sponsorship. Stewart thanked him right back. He earned a fourth-place finish that comes on the heels of a victory last week at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL, in the United Sprint Car Series.
Stewart initially struggled to regain his sprint car rhythm after leaving a long and prosperous career in NASCAR. Those hard times seem to be well behind him. Stewart qualified for Saturday night's Sprint Car Nationals by winning his eight-lap heat.
Johnny Herrera rounded out the top five.
Results