5/5/2015
ASCS
Weekend Rewind: American Sprint Car Series
(Image Credit: Rob Kocak)
TULSA, Okla. (May 5, 2015) With Mother Nature giving the racing world a little bit of a break this past weekend, the American Sprint Car Series was in action in Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas with regional and national tour events.
The Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real took on the quarter-mile Riverside International Speedway with 36 drivers taking part in the seventh annual Eagle Motorsports Rock ‘N Roll 50 presented by MyRacePass.com.
The Southern Trailer Works ASCS Gulf South Region presented by Griffith Truck and Equipment saw 27 drivers take part in a weekend double header at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park and Battleground Speedway. Finally, the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region welcomed 23 drivers for the 2015 season opening event at Lucas Oil Speedway with the Impact4800.com Open Wheel Challenge.
The Winners:
Friday, May 1, 2015
• Scottie McDonald (ASCS Gulf South) – Fast, tricky, and awesome were some of the words used to describe events at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park on Friday night as Scottie McDonald charged from sixth to win over Channin Tankersley and Travis Rilat.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
• Seth Bergman (ASCS National) – The site of Seth Bergman’s first Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour triumph in 2012, the Washington shoe has an unmistakable knack for the tricky quarter-mile known as “The Ditch”. Fearing he would actually go a lap down in the early goings, it was elbows up and on the wall for Bergman who raced from 12th to win. Bergman was joined by Tim Crawley and Wayne Johnson in Victory Lane.
• John Carney II (ASCS Gulf South) – For the second time in John Carney’s career, he is a winner in ASCS 360cid regional competition with his first win against the ASCS Gulf South Region coming at the Battleground Speedway. Leading non-stop, Carney was joined by Michael McNeil and Travis Rilat on the podium.
• Jonathan Cornell (ASCS Warrior) Jonathan Cornell was the class of the field on Saturday night as the Kiowa Line Builders No. 28 went flag-to-flag in the ASCS Warrior Region’s 2015 opener. The win is Cornell’s 23rd with the Missouri based region.
News and Notes:
• Leaders – Riverside is never short on action and Saturday night had things cranked to 10 as slide jobs beget slide jobs. At one point, the lead was exchanged six times in three laps between Aaron Reutzel and Tim Crawley with countless more before and after, but it was the fact that five drivers led at least one lap of Saturday’s A-Feature event that was most impressive.
• Incredibly, Not Tacky – There is one t-shirt from The Ditch that has the words “Incredibly Tacky” on the back, but Saturday night was anything but. The track was smooth, it was slick, and it was far from tacky as dust filled the air at times. In no way blocking a fans view of the races, it was a far cry from the normal cowboy up, tacky surface that most fans and racers have come to know.
• Going For a Ride – A few drivers over the weekend ended up going over. With all able to walk away, Ray Allen Kulhanek was one of the drivers who unfortunately saw his night end upside down at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park. From one champion to another, Channin Tankersley ended up over the wall at Battleground Speedway on Saturday night. Caleb Martin was another one that took a spill at Battleground. Evan Martin’s night at the Lucas Oil Speedway ended on his lid in the infield after getting tangled in a four car incident. Going three-wide at Riverside, Zach Pringle got on his lid on Lap 40.
• Going Flat – A red flag with 40 laps complete saw Aaron Reutzel and Johnny Herrera end up in the work area at Riverside with flat right rear tires. Reutzel, who was leading tore through the field in the final 10 laps to sixth with Herrera, who was running sixth, ending up 14th.
• Trying To Be Mad – Appearing on the front stretch after the race, Aaron Reutzel mentioned at one point that he was trying to be mad about the tire going down, but just couldn’t, “I’m trying to be mad right now, but I just cant. I had so much fun out there. That was a hell of a race and I hope you fans enjoyed that. To run down and pass Tim Crawley like that at his home track, that’s like passing Brian Brown at Knoxville. It just doesn’t happen so I can’t be more proud of how the car was.”
• Hard Charging – Two Hard Chargers come to mind from this weekend. First, Tony Bruce, Jr. put on a show from 21st to seventh on Saturday at Riverside, saying afterwards that his short track game has been off, but the team figured a lot of things out. In Texas, Ray Allen Kulhanek was hard charging after flipping the night before. Add to that not having brakes, Ray’s run from 15th to sixth is pretty impressive.
Up Next:
The month of May is when the racing world really comes to life, and ASCS is no exception as this coming weekend shows events starting Thursday, May 7 with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Lakeside Speedway.
Friday, May 8 will have the ASCS Warrior Region at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, Mo. and ASCS Frontier kicking of their 2015 season at the Billing Motorsports Park.
Saturday, May 9 will have Lucas Oil ASCS action at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. The ASCS Southwest Region returns to the Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. and the ASCS Frontier Region finishes out their opening weekend with Night 2 at Billings.
For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
The 2015 season will mark the 24th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation in both National and Regional competition.
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 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 MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, iON Camera, Smokey Mountain Moonshine, C&R Radiator, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, 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, Print Place, Simpson, The Joie of Seating, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection
Submitted By: Bryan Hulbert
