Hafertepe Leads The Way Into Three Night Lucas Oil ASCS Cocopah Nationals
Story By: Bryan Hulbert/ASCS
Photos By: Dayton Sutterby/ASCS
SOMERTON, Ariz. (November 8, 2017) The end of the 2017 season is in sight for Sam Hafertepe, Jr. who leads the way with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network as the series rolls into the Cocopah Speedway on November 9, 10, and 11 for the series 2017 season finale.
The final stop of the series one year ago, Hafertepe rode off into the sunset with $60,000 and his first career National Tour Championship. For his 2017 visit, the Sunnyvale, Texas native will again look to pocket the five-figure payday and second consecutive title.
“We set out to win last year the championship and achieved that, and this year, we wanted to make sure we proved that our win wasn’t by chance, and I think we did that,” commented Hafertepe. “We have a comfortable lead, but we’re still going down there to win. To achieve what we’ve achieved this season is fantastic, but even after wins, we still strive and work hard to get better.”
Driving for Keith Dobbs Motorsports out of Dallas, Texas, the back-to-back championships is a real feather in his cap considering the team runs on a very narrow budget; making Sam’s performance the driving force on keeping the team on the road.
“If we weren’t winning like we were, we’d definitely be working a lot hard to keep this program rolling. It helps us stay prepared and with that, it allows us to have liberties that maybe other teams don’t have, but what’s made it even harder this year is having a full-time crew guy on the road.”
Having had to cycle through a couple of crew members during the season, namely because of their commitments to school, Sam has had to take on more of the role of mechanic at times, but even then, it hasn’t slowed him down with 15 National Tour wins on the season, which ties Hafertepe with follow Texan, Gary Wright, for the most wins in a single season on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
“It really means a lot to even be mentioned in the same breath as Gary Wright, but even with that chance to break that record, we’re not focusing on anything but ending this season with a win, and if we can, a sweep. We’re going to do what we’ve done all year and focus on the race.”
Events at the Cocopah Speedway on November 9, 10, and 11 will get underway each night at 7:30 P.M. Leading up to the three-race swing, a Fan Fest will take place on November 8 at the Wild River Family Entertainment Center, located directly across from the Cocopah Speedway, from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. with teams practicing at 7:30 P.M. (MT).
Cocopah Speedway is located at 3450 W County 15th St. in Somerton, Ariz. Tickets are sold the day of the race at the track with each day opening at 5:30 P.M. More information can be found at http://www.cocopahspeedway.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 in 2017, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com. Make sure to like the American Sprint Car Series on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LucasOilASCS, follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/LucasOilASCS, and check out our Instagram @LucasOilASCS.
