Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (July 20, 2009) – The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters resumes its inaugural tour of the Northwest by invading Oregon's Cottage Grove Speedway this weekend.
Rapidly establishing itself as the nation's premier touring Sprint Car series, the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series takes to the racy ¼-mile clay oval for two full nights of action on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday's victor collecting the $6,000 winner's share.
And, with the fifth of five consecutive weekends of series competition, Texas' Gary Wright and Louisiana's Jason Johnson are deadlocked atop the series point charts as the chase for the $60,000 championship continues.
The series made its Northwest debut this past weekend with Oregon's Roger Crockett besting the touring aces with a Friday night win and then appearing to have completed the weekend sweep on Saturday night only to fall light at the scales. Travis Rilat then picked up the Saturday night win.
While Wright and Johnson are tied atop the point charts, Oklahoma's Shane Stewart is still within striking distance just 26 points out of the lead with Texas shoe Travis Rilat and Arkansas ace Tim Crawley rounding out the top five.
Kansas' Tony Bruce, Jr., enters the weekend ranked sixth, with the balance of the top ten including California native Paul McMahan, Oklahoma's Danny Wood, 19-year-old Cornhusker rep Jack Dover and Missouri's Jesse Hockett, who knocked off the Northwest forces for the ASCS Northwest Speedweek title.
Just outside the top ten is Oklahoma's Sean McClelland, whose journey to the Northwest has been a one-man operation, with other top touring contenders including Washington natives Gary Taylor and Seth Bergman, Ohio's Darren Long, Colorado's Chad Corken and Oklahoma's Kenneth Walker and Gavin Punch.
The ASCS Northwest points race is also being hotly contested right now, with Jared Ridge just eight points ahead of Steven Tiner, with Crockett just another six points back. Other top-ten ASCS Northwest contenders include Mitch Olson, Henry Van Dam, Chad Groves, Randy Pierce, Justyn Cox, Jay Cole and Colin Baker.
Among the ASCS Northwest reps, Crockett gets another shot at the National aces in his backyard this weekend after finishing fourth in last week's ASCS Northwest stop at Cottage Grove. "We were junk that night too, we just missed the setup," Crockett explained of the track he has mastered on many occasions. "As bad as we were, we were still just as fast as Shane (Stewart) and Jesse (Hockett). If we hit it right, we'll put it on 'em at Cottage Grove."
Averaging 52.7 cars per event thus far in 2009, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters moves on to the 19th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals on August 6-8 after this weekend's Cottage Grove Speedway double.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Friday night, July 24 at 6:45 p.m. – Cottage Grove Speedway
Saturday night, July 25 at 6:45 p.m. – Cottage Grove Speedway
Track Information:
Cottage Grove Speedway (Cottage Grove, OR) – ¼-mile, semi-banked clay oval located off I-5 Exit 174, one block south on Gateway, then one block south on North 19th Street, then right for 0.3 miles on Ostrander Lane, then 0.4 miles north on Douglas (next to the fairgrounds). For more information, contact the track at 541-942-7561 or 541-510-0757.
Lucas Oil ASCS Cottage Grove Speedway:
A staple on the ASCS Northwest Regional Tour, this weekend marks the first Lucas Oil ASCS National venture into the State of Oregon.
Grays Harbor Raceway ASCS National winners include: None; first event.
Current Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points:
Top Twenty: 1. (tie) Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) and Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,420, 3. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,394, 4. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,339, 5. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 1,311, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,279, 7. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 1,278, 8. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 1,238, 9. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,205, 10. Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 1,163, 11. Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 1,058, 12. Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) 1,024, 13. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 943, 14. Kenneth Walker (Collinsville, OK) 912, 15. Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 892, 16. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 870, 17. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 842, 18. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 832, 19. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 752, 20. Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) 639.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points (Top Five): 1. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 1,278, 2. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,205, 3. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 943, 4. Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 892, 5. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 842.
2009 Lucas Oil ASCS Feature Winners:
Tim Crawley 2, Jason Johnson 2, Travis Rilat 2, Roger Crockett 1, Jack Dover 1, Shane Stewart 1, Gary Wright 1. Non-point feature winners (Speedweek); Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Zach Chappell 1, Tim Crawley 1, Nick Smith 1, Gary Wright 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
August 6-8 – ASCS Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville, IA)
Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:
Those unable to catch all the action in person can listen to every Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters live at www.racinboys.com.
Also, the Lucas Oil ASCS Show airs on www.racinboys.com each Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET, recapping the previous week's events while also previewing upcoming action.
Official results, championship point updates, photos and race notes will be available at www.ascsracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS on TV:
The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters will be featured in ten one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network
Events to be aired on VERSUS include the following:
The schedule of Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters events to be aired on VERSUS is as follows:
Event Date – Track (Location) – Air Date & Re-Air Date (All Times Eastern)
Mar. 20 – Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 5/2/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 5/7/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Mar. 21 – Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 5/23/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 5/27/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
May 23 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS) – 8/1/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 8/5/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
May 24 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS) – 8/1/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 8/6/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
July 3 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 8/8/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 8/13/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
July 4 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 9/20/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 9/24/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 10/1/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 10/10/09 @ 3:00 p.m.
Aug. 7 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 10/18/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 10/22/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Aug. 8 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 11/15/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 11/19/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Sept. 26 – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) – 11/29/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 12/3/09 @ 4:00 p.m.
The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for approximately 33 nights of racing action at 17 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country's top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.
The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
- Lonnie Wheatley on Jul 21, 2009
- Article Date: 7/21/2009