TULSA, Okla. (September 2, 2014) - The last big yearly holiday weekend of racing has come and gone and with it, eight events within the ASCS Nation contested of the originally scheduled 10. Overall, the weekend saw an average of 30 cars per event with 127 drivers drawing in from 99 municipalities representing 21 states across the United States including drivers from Canada, and Australia.
To date, 129 events have been contested, accounting for 149 sanctioned events.
Regional action across the Nation over the 2014 Labor Day Weekend included ASCS Frontier, Midwest, Southwest, and Warrior Regions.
Topping the Field:
Friday, August 29, 2014
• Bill Boyce (Frontier Region) - Making the drive from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to compete with the ASCS Frontier Region, veteran driver Bill Boyce made the trip to Victory Lane with the Region on Friday night at the Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, Mont. to kick off the 20th annual Montana Round-up.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
• Matt Covington (National / Midwest) - After rain foiled the preliminary night of the 36th annual Jackson Nationals, the track was narrow and fast on Saturday as Matt Covington took advantage of his front row starting position to lead non-stop for his first Jackson Nationals title.
• Dennis MacEachern (Frontier) - Score another one for the great north as Edson, Alberta's Dennis MacEachern took the win on the second night of the Montana Round-up at the Electric City Speedway.
• Danny Lasoski (Warrior) - After rains shortened the Jackson Nationals to one day, Danny Lasoski and the Mark Burch Motorsports No. 1m made the trip south to the Randolph County Raceway and shot from sixth to win the night's $2,000 top prize.
• Rick Ziehl (Southwest) - A late race restart was all it took for the Las Cruces, N.M. driver to steal away the win from Logan Forler Saturday night at the Tucson International Raceway. Ziehl, who drew the eighth starting spot for Saturday's A-Feature, made the race winning pass exiting turn two on Lap 20.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
• Brian Brown (Warrior) - For the second year in a row, the FVP No. 21 took home the big money at the Randolph County Raceway with the Speedway Motors Warrior Region, this time putting on a clinic from thirteenth to earn the night's $4,000 bounty.
• J.J. Hickle (Frontier) - To regions, two victories for Washington's J.J. Hickle who found victory lane with the ASCS Frontier Region on Sunday night. Taking the controls of the Peterson Motorsports No. 23n for the Montana Round-up, Hickle led non-stop for his first Montana score.
• Logan Forler (Southwest) - After leading 20 laps and having to settle for second on Saturday night, Logan Forler made sure a trip to Victory Lane was the only option on Sunday at the Tucson International Raceway. Starting fourth, Forler wasted no time getting the point to lead flag-to-flag at the three-eighths mile oval.
A few notes on the weekend:
• First Timers - The 20th annual Montana Round-up saw something rarely seen in multi day racing, and that is a first time winner in every A-Feature contested. While Bill Boyce is far from a first time winner around Montana, his win on Friday night was his first with the ASCS Frontier Region. The same is true for Dennis MacEachern who topped competition Saturday night. Already a winning with the ASCS Northwest Region in 2014, J.J. Hickle collected his first Frontier Region win on Sunday night.
• Matt Covington - An open red in the late stages of the Jackson National may have been the saving grace for Matt Covington who reported a problem with the Right Rear Tire going down. On a track that demanded plenty of air on the right side, Covington was down to five pounds of pressure. Getting things right, Matt scored his fist Jackson Nationals win in his first visit of the famed half-mile.
• The Weather - It played havoc with the Jackson Nationals for sure but also forced a change in the ASCS Gulf South schedule as well as Saturday's events at the Leesville 171 Speedway were moved to Saturday, September 6.
• In the Family - First Lasoski, then Brown at the Randolph County Raceway over the weekend. In a release from Brown's publicist, Bill Wright, the Missouri driver talked about the race, saying he was hoping to get in the top three or four. Finding rubber on the track sooner than most, traffic and a late race restart was enough to give Brown a shot at leader, Jonathan Cornell.
• Opening Things Up - Going into the weekend with the ASCS Frontier Region, Joe Ramaker held a slim 11 point advantage over Kelly Miller. After Friday night, Miller closed the gap to six but when the dust settled in the 20th annual Montana Round-up, Ramaker opened the gap to 58 going into the Region's final three events, finishing fifth, sixth, and second in the three day event. While Miller had a fourth and sixth place showing, Saturday's twentieth place DNF was enough to give Joe some breathing room.
• Very Close - While we are on the subject of points, Brad Loyet opened his advantage back to 94 points over Jeff Swindell with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour, after the Heartland Catfish No. 94 suffered an engine failure on Saturday night. In doing so, the race for second through fourth is now a three point game between Swindell, Johnson, and Herrera.
• New Leader - Trailing by 33 markers going into the weekend, Jonathan Cornell now leads by 26 with the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region. Suffering an engine failure on Saturday night, Jay Russell was unable to compete on Sunday, sending the Kansas driver plummeting to fourth in driver standings as Kyle Bellm and Randy Hibbs made their way by.
Coming Up:
A big weekend awaits the Speedway Motors ASCS Midwest Region with the Nebraska Cup. Racing kicks off on Saturday, September 6 at the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb. Sunday, September 7 sees action head to the Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb.
Rescheduled from this past Saturday, the Griffith Truck and Equipment Gulf South Region will try again at the Leesville 171 Speedway in Leesville, La. on Saturday, September 6.
The American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region competes on Sunday, September 7 at the West Silaom Speedway.
West Texas 305 is in action at the El Paso Speedway Park on Friday, September 5 and Southern New Mexico Speedway on Saturday, September 6.
For a complete listing of ASCS events in 2014, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
The 2014 season marks the twenty-third year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation. Anchored by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
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 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 MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, iON Camera, Smokey Mountain Moonshine, C&R Radiator, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, KSE Racing Products, SpeedMart, Competition Suspension, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Saldana Racing Products, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, The Joie of Seating, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com as well as Twitter (@LucasOilASCS) and Facebook. News and information can also be sent to you with the ASCS E-News by texting ASCS to 22828 with any mobile device.
- Bryan Hulbert on Sep 02, 2014
- Article Date: 9/2/2014