(Image Credit: David Campbell)
Bryan Hulbert - MESQUITE, Texas (October 21, 2019) A emotional weekend for Sam Hafertepe, Jr. who said goodbye to his Grandfather while competing at the 46th Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals, the driver of the Hills Racing Team No. 15h brought pride to his Grandfather's memory with a trio of podiums, along with two wins in IMCA RaceSaver and Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network competition.
"It was one of those deals where we knew what was at stake, and I knew what I wanted to accomplish. I don't think a lot of people knew all the implications of why I wanted to get the win, but it was important to me," stated Hafertepe,
Racing to the green from the second starting spot, Sam nearly got tangled up with John Carney II on the start, allowing Harli White to race by. Getting the point in slower traffic on Lap 9, Sam saw little to no challenge throughout the rest of Friday's A-Feature. Running double-duty, Sam bowed out of Friday's lineup with the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars after his Heat Race in order to focus on getting the Friday victory.
Returning Saturday with both classes on his plate, Sam took the Paul Cook No. 10x to Victory Lane with ease. Jumping from the RaceSaver Sprint Car to his Hills Racing Team No. 15h, Hafertepe gridded the A-Feature sixth. Wasting little time getting to second, Sam pursued Roger Crockett.Getting next to the No. 11 on two occasions, including a run down the backstretch with two laps to go that, was cut short by slower traffic, Hafertepe would end up crossing runner-up.
"I felt like I could close in on Roger anytime I wanted too. We had a really good car when we were on an open track. I started pressing it when we got to traffic. I'd just wait until we caught the back of the field, so that first caution hurt us because I figured we were going to be in traffic for a long time, and when we did restart it took us a long time to catch traffic again. Once we got there, we only had like two and a half, maybe three laps of traffic, and we caught one lapped car and that didn't work out for me. By the time we caught another one, the race was over, but that's just how it happens sometimes. Roger did a good job and didn't make any mistakes."
Upping his advantage to 86 points in the hunt for the 2019 Championship with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the season's final showdown will be Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1 at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. Taking the coming weekend off to prepare, Hafertepe is confident going into the 2019 Season Finale.
"We feel like, the last four nights we've run this car, we've had the fastest car on the track. I don't think anyone's really been in our zip code as far as speed so going into TMS, we've had a lot of success there. We feel like anything short of two wins isn't going to be acceptable for us, and that's what we're going for."
For continued updates on Sam Hafertepe, Jr. log onto http://www.sam15.com and make sure to find him on Twitter (@samhafertepejr). For news on Hill's Racing Team, log onto https://www.facebook.com/hillsracing/ and on Twitter (@HillsRacingTeam).
2019 Season to Date:
Events: 52; Wins -13; Top 5 – 27; Top 10 – 35; Top 20 – 40;
Coming Up:
October 31 at Texas Motor Speedway (Ft. Worth, Texas) w/ Lucas Oil ASCS
November 1 at Texas Motor Speedway (Ft. Worth, Texas) w/ Lucas Oil ASCS
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011628097506
Website: http://www.sam15.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/samhafertepejr
The Sponsors:
Hill’s Racing Team, Townline Variety, Heidbreder Foundation Service, Kiebler & Sons Lawn and Landscaping, Fisher Racing Engines, Super Shox, J&J Chassis, Smiley’s Racing Products, Hoosier Tire, Huggins Cams, Champion Oil, The Sparks Family, Lonestar Speedway, Keizer Wheels, XYZ Machining, Simpson Racing Products, CP-Carrillo, KSE Power Steering, FK Rod Ends, BMRS, Allstar Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Vortex Wings, DMI, Wilwood Brakes, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Hwy. 79 Collision.
- Bryan Hulbert on Oct 22, 2019
- Article Date: 10/22/2019