Bryan Hulbert – GLENPOOL, Okla. (March 8, 2022) Coming off a year that saw Matt Covington in the hunt for a championship nearly the entire season, there is a lot to build on and a wave of momentum for the Missile Motorsports/A-Rock Materials No. 95 going into the 2022 National Tour hunt with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series.
The ninth consecutive season that Matt Covington has taken on the National Tour, the off-season was spent fine-tuning. With Matthew Howard continuing his work on the No. 95, the team’s 2022 preparation began while he and Matt Covington each took a turn in the No. 95 at the close of last year.
“As soon as we got back from the race at Milton where Matthew won, we started prepping for this year. It’s kind of routine for me, but it was his first time in the shop going through the rebuild process, but we were able to get through everything, and I feel like we’re ready to go,” stated Covington.
Ending up third in tour standings last year, Covington, Hickle, and Hahn were in a whirlwind battle for the championship nearly the entire season before a couple of rough nights took Covington out of contention. Nevertheless, his season ended with four wins, 23 top five, and 30 top-ten finishes. One of the best, and most consistent seasons in Covington’s career.
“Trying to win the championship is always the toughest challenge, and last year we were right there. For me, I’m going to prepare for this year a lot how I did last year. Thankfully, we do have some new helps this year with Missile Motorsports coming on, plus being able to keep everyone who supported us last year so we’re able to do more and keep ourselves where we need to be.”
Still dealing with issues in his wrist, the original problem has more or less been fixed, but so many surgeries, the issue now is carpal tunnel in his left hand.
“There is a procedure they can do, but with the timing and everything during the off-season, I couldn’t get it done, so that is something I hope to do as soon as we get done this year. For now, I’m able to get a shot, and that pretty much gets me back to normal for a while.”
The Covington Motorsports No. 95 enters the season 11th in all-time A-Feature starts with 319. In those, he’s won 14 times, been on the podium 48 times, in the top five 97 times, and in the top tens 186 times. Looking forward to the 2022 season opener, things kick off at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19. Of all Matt Covington’s podium appearances, 10 have come at the half-mile, with a win in 2014 during the Winter Nationals.
Fans can keep up with Matt Covington online at http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mattcovingtonracing, and at https://twitter.com/mattcovington95.
The 2022 season will mark the 31st year of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours that encompass both wing and non-wing competition.
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 (@LucasOilASCS).
- Bryan Hulbert on Mar 08, 2022
- Article Date: 3/8/2022