Aaron Reutzel picked up his first ASCS Speedweek title with a victory at Lucas Oil Speedway
Story By: BRYAN HULBERT / ASCS MEDIA
Photo By: KENNY SHAW / ASCS PHOTO
WHEATLAND, MO- June 18, 2017- The track was top to bottom in the closing laps at Lucas Oil Speedway on Saturday night, and Aaron Reutzel was all over it en-route to his season’s third victory, and the 2017 ASCS Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek title with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
Holding off Blake Hahn in the early stages of Saturday’s 30 lap feature event, the closing laps presented another challenger as Sam Hafertepe, Jr. roared into contention.
“Blake’s the one that really worried me because I knew he could roll the bottom pretty good, and it was going away for us so I figured I had to abort it, and I think I did at just the right time,” said Aaron of the early race challenges.
Picking through the back markers, Sam closed from over a second disadvantage in the Hwy. 79 Collision No. 15h to pull alongside Reutzel with less than five to go. Able to keep the ASCS National Tour point’s leader at bay, the Dissolvalloy No. 87 ran to the final lap with a mere two car length advantage. Able to use slower cars as picks through the final turns, Reutzel held on to win by 0.423 seconds.
Asked about Sam pressuring him in the closing laps, Aaron replied, “We were getting through lapped cars pretty good so I figured I had a decent gap. I was just cruising until Sam showed me a nose, then I took back off on that last lap. We we’re plenty good, just taking my time in traffic.”
Marking Aaron’s first Speedweek title, the final tally put the 2015 ASCS National Champion 36 points ahead of Saturday’s runner-up finisher, Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
“The top was just really good and he didn’t make any mistakes. Aaron’s a pretty good driver, so he shouldn’t but we had a good car. One of the fastest all night, just needed the track to get a little drier, but no matter the circumstances, we always try to put on a good show for these fans because without their support, we can’t do what we do,” said Hafertepe who now turns towards Skagit Speedway an another shot at $15,000 this coming weekend.
Running second until Lap 15, Hahn rescued his car from nearly spinning off the second turn to hold on to the show position. Throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the MVT No. 45x, Johnny Herrera rolled from eighth to fourth with Justin Henderson crossing fifth in the BDS Motorsports No. 1.
Scott Bogucki was sixth with Matt Covington seventh. Earning another CP-Carrillo Hard Charger of the Night award, Wayne Johnson advanced seven spots to finish eighth with Skylar Gee moving forward to ninth. Oklahoma’s Dustin Morgan made up the night’s top-ten.
Coming up next for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the series hits the road for the 46th Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup presented by the Skagit Resort and Casino on June 22, 23, and 24. The Saturday finale offers up a $15,000 winner’s check and pays $1,000 just to start the A-Main. Full details can be found online at http://www.skagitspeedway.com.
For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven regional tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour and ASCS Warrior Region
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, Mo.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Speedweek Round 7
Car Count: 21
Pizza Express of Oklahoma Heat Races: (Top 16 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [1]; 2. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [4]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [5]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn, [7]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [3]; 6. 76-Jay Russell, [6]; 7. (DNF) 7M-Chance Morton, [2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Justin Henderson, [1]; 2. 95-Matt Covington, [2]; 3. 84-Scott Bogucki, [4]; 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, [5]; 5. 17W-Harli White, [3]; 6. 28-Jonathan Cornell, [7]; 7. 86-Tony Bruce Jr, [6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Skylar Gee, [1]; 2. 14K-Kyle Bellm, [2]; 3. 23-Seth Bergman, [5]; 4. 21-Miles Paulus, [6]; 5. 8M-Kade Morton, [3]; 6. 41A-Andee Beierle, [7]; 7. (DNF) 93X-Taylor Walton, [4]
Protect the Harvest A-Feature:
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [4]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, [3]; 4. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [8]; 5. 1-Justin Henderson, [2]; 6. 84-Scott Bogucki, [10]; 7. 95-Matt Covington, [5]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [15]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee, [6]; 10. 93-Dustin Morgan, [12]; 11. 23-Seth Bergman, [7]; 12. 86-Tony Bruce Jr, [19]; 13. 17W-Harli White, [16]; 14. 28-Jonathan Cornell, [13]; 15. 8M-Kade Morton, [17]; 16. 76-Jay Russell, [18]; 17. 93X-Taylor Walton, [20]; 18. 41A-Andee Beierle, [14]; 19. 14K-Kyle Bellm, [9]; 20. 21-Miles Paulus, [11]; 21. 7M-Chance Morton, [21]
Lap Leader(s): Aaron Reutzel 1-30
CP-Carrillo Hard Charger: Wayne Johnson +7
FSR High Point Driver: Johnny Herrera
Provisional(s): N/A
2017 Lucas Oil ASCS A-Main Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 7 (3/17 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 3/18 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 4/7 – Texas Motor Speedway; 4/8 – Texas Motor Speedway; 4/15 – Missouri State Fair Speedway; 6/13 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 6/14 – Lawton Speedway); Aaron Reutzel – 3 (5/11 – Lakeside Speedway; 6/15 – Creek County Speedway; 6/17 – Lucas Oil Speedway;); Jake Bubak – 1 (6/9 – West Texas Raceway); Kyle Bellm – 1(6/10 – Route 66 Motor Speedway); Brian Brown – 1 (6/16 – Randolph County Raceway);
2017 Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,762; 2. Aaron Reutzel 1,597; 3. Johnny Herrera 1,590; 4. Wayne Johnson 1,544; 5. Matt Covington 1,536; 6. Seth Bergman 1,506; 7. Justin Henderson 1,434; 8. Dustin Morgan 1,414; 9. Blake Hahn 1,397; 10. Josh Baughman 1,309; 11. Skylar Gee 1,294; 12. Kyle Bellm 1,235; 13. Harli White 1,154; 14. John Carney II 983; 15. Jake Greider 890;
2017 ASCS Speedweek Standings (Top 10, Final): 1. Aaron Reutzel 906; 2. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 870; 3. Johnny Herrera 839; 4. Matt Covington 832; 5. Wayne Johnson 827; 6. Seth Bergman 825; 7. Dustin Morgan 805; 8. Skylar Gee 773l 9. Justin Henderson 759; 10. Blake Hahn 753;
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
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Kyle Bellm (Nixa, Mo.): http://www.kylebellm.com
Seth Bergman (Snohomish, Wash.): http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Matt Covington (Glenpool, Okla.): http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Skylar Gee (Leduc, Ont. Can.): https://twitter.com/SkylarGee99
Jake Greider (Haysville, Kan.): https://twitter.com/JakeGreider2013
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, Texas): http://www.sam15.com
Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, S.D.): http://www.bdsmotorsportsllc.com
Alex Hill (Six Nations, Ont. Can.): https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, Okla.): http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, N.M.): http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com
Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, Okla.): https://www.facebook.com/WayneJohnsonRacing?fref=ts
Dustin Morgan (Owasso, Okla.): https://www.facebook.com/dustin.p.morgan?hc_ref=SEARCH
Aaron Reutzel (Clute, Texas): http://www.aaronreutzelracing.com
Harli White (Lindsay, Okla.): http://www.harliwhiteracing.net
ASCS Sponsors:
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, CP Carrillo Pistons, EMI, 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, Zotto Mattress, Spray Nine, 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, BMRS, SpeedMart, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, MyRacePass.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection.
