(Image Credit: Serena Dalhamer)
Bryan Hulbert – MESQUITE, Texas (October 13, 2023) Capitalizing on traffic in the late stages of the preliminary A-Feature at the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. returned to Victory Lane with the American Sprint Car Series presented by RacinDirt.com.
Win No. 8 in National Tour competition for Hafertepe at the famed half-mile, the victory was No. 64 with the American Sprint Car Series presented by RacinDirt.com, and marks ten consecutive years that the Sunnyvale, Texas native has won at least one National Tour event.
Chasing Blake Hahn from the drop of the green, traffic began entering the mix on Lap 16. Leading by 1.611-seconds as he began working around the back markers, Hahn’s advantage dissipated rapidly. On the back bumper of the Smiley’s Racing Products No. 52 on Lap 18, the pair raced wheel-to-wheel the following lap, with Hahn holding by 0.015—seconds. Not able to fend off the Hills Racing No. 15h any longer, Hafertepe took over with six laps to go.
Caution on the white flag: the attempt at a green, white, checkered ended with Kyler Johnson bringing out the red with a wild series of flips off the top of turns three and four. Bringing things to a one-lap shootout, Hafertepe darted to a 0.765-second advantage at the checkered flag.
“When we took the green, I ran the bottom, and obviously he [Blake Hahn] has really good speed around the top, but I knew once we got to traffic, he’d be skittish to go low, so I felt it out at the start of the race to see if the holes would upset my car, and it timed out where he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that’s part of being a veteran in the sport. Sometimes you capitalize on people’s mistakes,” said Hafertepe of the race for the win.
Blake Hahn held on for second with Chase Randall, who slipped to eight on the opening lap from fifth, making the last lap pass for the final podium step on Howard Moore.
Surviving contact early in the race that saw Jason Marting going over Wayne Johnson’s left front exiting the second turn, the No. 36 crossed fifth. Jace Park picked up six positions to finish sixth, followed by Chance Morton, Brandon Anderson, and Harli White, who all advanced seven spots over the course of the 25-lap affair. Jordon Mallett completed the top ten.
The final running of the Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals is Saturday, October 14, with races going green at 8:00 P.M. (CDT). Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for seniors, youth (13-15), and military. Kids 12 and under get in the stands for free. Pits are $35 each night. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located at 1711 Lawson Rd. in Mesquite, Texas. For tickets and directions, log onto http://www.devilsbowl.com or call (972) 222-2421.
The 2023 season will mark the 32nd year of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the American Sprint Car Series National Tour, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours that encompass both wing and non-wing competition.
Live coverage of the American Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.racindirt.com. Fans can choose to subscribe for $32.99 a month or $199.99 a year. RacinDirt.com broadcasts can be viewed on your Smart TV, Mobile Devices, and your Laptop or Computer. New subscribers can receive 25% off when they use promo code ASCS2023 at checkout.
For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ascsracing).
American Sprint Car Series
