Bryan Hulbert – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 19, 2020) Despite some misfortune, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. showed plenty of speed through his two-week run at Knoxville Raceway and Southern Iowa Speedway.
Starting with the My Place Hotels Knoxville 360, Sam's Qualifying night on August 6 stated with a solid Qualifying run that placed the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h fifth quick. Taking the green in his Heat Race, Hafertepe raced into a transfer spot for the A-Feature but ended up getting pushed into the turn-three wall, resulting in substantial damage.
"Not what we wanted for sure. We got to the work area and got it half-assed put back together to just keep going. The frame was bent, so we really couldn't do a whole lot with it," stated Sam of the incident.
Having to try and race out of the B-Feature, Sam ended up slipping to seventh, trying to wrangle the car and deal with the nose wing that laid down. Bringing down the spare car for Saturday, the night's run began from the 17th starting spot in the B-Feature. Rolling to third, Hafertepe made up 11 most spots to finish 12th in the A-Feature.
"Overall, we were happy with the speed we had, but obviously not with the position we were in having to race through the field like that," stated Sam "Coming into the weekend, I felt like we had a legitimate shot to win the whole thing, only to end up mired back in the B-Feature, and I feel like we would have made it further on Saturday had we not hurt the engine halfway through the feature."
Rolling into the Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenge presented by STC on Sunday, August 9, the result was a seventh-place finish. Not completely satisfied with the result, Sam spent most of the A-Feature trying to get the car to turn.
"We tightened up the car for the Feature, and really, we should have just left it alone. We were really good in the Qualifier, and the track started to widen out where we almost took the lead there and going into the Feature, I felt like the track was going to slick off more than it did but the Non-Wing cars kind of chopped it up, but all in all we weren't slow, it was just tough to get speed once everyone got strung out."
Remaining in Knoxville for the One and Only, Hafertepe swapped 360cid for 410cid power. A slow start through Qualifying on Thursday, August 23, as the team fought an issue with the engine, Sam ended up 17th quick. Sixth in his Heat Race, problems continued through the B-Feature as the No. 15h slipped to 13th.
"We had just got the engine back, so we were trying to work those demons out and dealt with brake issues all night long," explained Hafertepe. "That hurt us in Qualifying, but we ended up in a Heat Race that I felt like we could have transferred out of, but with the brakes, it just made getting that consistent run impossible. I was doing everything I could to keep from hitting the guys in front of me, and the B-Feature, we just weren't very good."
Regrouping for Friday with a much better start of third quick in Qualifying, the team's seventh-place performance in the Heat Race netted enough points to advance straight in the A-Feature. With a slick track and still working on the setup, Sam ended the night 21st.
"We felt really good after Qualifying, and felt like we made the right changes, especially to our engine, and that let us focus on the car. Had a couple good runs through the Heat Race and transferred, and the A-Feature was kind of unchartered territory for us. We hadn't really raced on a track that slick at Knoxville, so it was new, but I felt like with the field of cars, we were alright."
Running through the Qualifier on Saturday, August 22, Sam's night ended with a 10th place finish in the B-Feature.
"I felt like we were going to have a good go of it on Saturday. We were challenging for fourth in the Heat Race, which would have locked us in, but had another guy take us three wide on the bottom, and fell back to sixth. I got caught up in dirty air through that and just couldn't get that momentum back, so that put us in the B-Feature, so overall, we spent all weekend trying to get a hold of the car and get things dialed in when the track gets slick. It's something we've struggled with, but we're getting better. Just have to keep working at it."
Taking the weekend off to regroup and perform maintenance on the team's truck and trailer, the No. 15h will be back at Knoxville Raceway on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29.
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).
2020 Season to Date:
Events: 46; Wins -6; Top 5 – 10; Top 10 – 20; Top 20 – 26;
Coming Up:
August 28 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa) w/410cid Sprint Cars
August 29 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa) w/410cid Sprint Cars
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 Aug 21, 2020
- Article Date: 8/19/2020