For the first time since 2022, Speedweek returns to the American Sprint Car Series National Tour schedule.
The longest week in 360 Sprint Car racing begins in Arkansas on Tuesday, June 11 at Texarkana 67 Speedway. After a day off on Wednesday, the week concludes with three consecutive nights of racing in Oklahoma at Creek County Speedway (Thursday, June 13), Arrowhead Speedway (Friday, June 14) and Tri-State Speedway (Saturday, June 15).
All four nights will see a $4,000 to win/$400 to start prize pool. The Sprint Cars will be joined by USRA Limited Modifieds in Texarkana; USRA Modifieds and NOW600 Dwarf Cars in Creek County; USRA Modifieds, Stock Cars, B-Mods and Tuners at Arrowhead; and the USRA American Racer Modified Series, Factory Stocks, Stock Cars and B-Mods in the Tri-State.
Tickets will be available at the gate at all four tracks, but tickets for the Arrowhead Speedway event can also be purchased online. If you can’t make it to the track, all ASCS National Tour events can be streamed live on DIRTVision.
Here are the top stories coming into the weekend:
DIFFERENT CAR, SAME BERGMAN: After spending the first two races of the 2024 National Tour racing with TwoC Racing, Seth Bergman decided to return to the seat of his familiar No. 23 machine for the remainder of the season. While it may take a few nights for some drivers to find their footing after a team change, Bergman assured everyone at Rush County Speedway that such a transition period would not be necessary and found Victory Lane on his first night back at the circuit.
A sixth-place finish the following night at Dodge City Raceway Park gives Bergman a 57-point lead entering Speedweek.
The list of tracks on Speedweek’s docket has been a mixed bag for Bergman over the years. In ASCS regional competition, he has won 12 times at Creek County and has two wins in three starts at Arrowhead. On the other hand, Bergman has never competed at Tri-State under the ASCS banner and hasn’t raced at Texarkana in over a decade.
“HOME”: Midway through the show in Dodge City, it looked like Matt Covington was on his way to capturing his first win of the season and establishing himself as Bergman’s top threat at the top of the standings. Instead, a collision with a slower car shortened Covington’s night and gave him a 20th-place finish.
Covington took the Dash win both nights at Kansas, highlighting the speed of the No. 95. Taking that success from a five-lap Dash to a 30-lap Feature will be key for Covington if he wants to return to Victory Lane on the National Tour for the first time since Lakeside Speedway last August.
Now fifth in the standings (97 points behind Bergman), Covington will have four opportunities during the week to change his fortunes and get closer to the leaders. Three of those opportunities will come at the tracks in Covington’s native Oklahoma, and he is a former winner at all four tracks on the schedule.
HAFERTEPE TIME: When you’re the third-winningest driver in National Tour history, finishing seventh and 18th isn’t exactly an ideal start to a season. Things were back on track for the No. 15H team in Kansas, however, as they earned their first top five of 2024 at Rush County and backed it up with their first Series win of the year at Dodge City, moving them to fourth place. in the classification.
Hafertepe will be looking to extend his good run at Speedweek and, as a former miniseries champion in 2016 and 2019, he knows how to do exactly that.
The Texan won the checkers on his most recent visit to Creek County for a local show on May 11, defeating a field that included several full-time National Tour players. Hafertepe has also had recent success at Tri-State, finishing first and second in a doubleheader with the Bandit Outlaw Sprint Series last November.
THE CHAMPION IS BACK: Reigning champion Jason Martin is quietly having another season that could put him in contention once again down the stretch. While he has yet to win a race in 2024, he came close, leading several laps at Dodge City before ultimately falling short to Sam Hafertepe Jr. in a very close battle.
While matching his nine-win total in 2023 is unlikely given the level of competition with the Series this season, Martin is keeping pace in other metrics. His four-race finish average in 2024 of 5.2 is better than the 2023 average of 5.5 that earned Martin a championship.
Martin will have experience on his side throughout Speedweek, as he will be one of the only drivers in the field who has participated in the National Tour at all four tracks. With a win at Creek County in 2022 and a second-place finish at Arrowhead last September, there’s no reason to believe Martin won’t stay out front next week.
SOON CONFRONT: The final three nights of Speedweek at Creek County, Arrowhead and Tri-State will be co-sanctioned races with the ASCS Sooner Region, bringing a host of challengers for the National Tour regulars to face.
Sean McClelland leads the Sooner standings through two races with finishes of fourth at Creek County and sixth at Red Dirt Raceway. The Tulsa native is a two-time winner on the National Tour, with his most recent win coming in the Series’ last visit to Creek County on June 15, 2023.
Behind McClelland in points are Kyle Clark, who just finished a career-best 10th place with the National Tour at Red Dirt, and Alex Sewell, who won with the Series last season at Caney Valley Speedway.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Tuesday, June 11 at Texarkana 67 Speedway in Texarkana, AR
Thursday, June 13 at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, OK
Friday, June 14 at Arrowhead Speedway in Colcord, OK
Saturday, June 15 at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, OK
AROUND THE COURSE:
The American Sprint Car Series National Tour will visit Batesville Motor Speedway for the first time in two years for a one-night show on Saturday, June 22.
CURRENT POINTS RATING (TOP 10):
FEATURE WINNERS (3):
Seth Bergman – Snohomish, Washington – 2
Terry Easum – Broken Arrow, OK – 1
Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX – 1
FAST TIME AWARDS (2):
Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX – 3
Brady Baker – Alejandro, AR – 1
WIN THE HEAT RACE (12):
Matt Covington – Glenpool, OK – 3
Lane Whittington – Denham Springs, Louisiana – 1
Andrew Deal – Caney, KS – 1
Koty Adams – Haughton, LA – 1
Terry Easum – Broken Arrow, OK – 1
Sean McClelland – Tulsa, OK – 1
Bradley Fezard – Bonnerdale, AR – 1
Seth Bergman – Snohomish, Washington – 1
Hank Davis – Sand Springs, OK – 1
Brekton Crouch – Lubbock, TX – 1
Brady Baker – Alejandro, AR – 1
Jeremy Campbell – Wichita, KS – 1
BOARD KeynoteUSAPEARANCES (18):
Matt Covington – Glenpool, OK – 3
Seth Bergman – Snohomish, Washington – 3
Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX – 3
Terry Easum – Broken Arrow, OK – 2
Jordan Mallett – Greenbrier, AR – 2
Brady Baker – Alejandro, AR – 2
Andrew Deal – Caney, KS – 1
Lane Whittington – Denham Springs, Louisiana – 1
Koty Adams – Haughton, LA – 1
Ryder Laplante – Calera, OK – 1
Whit Gastineau – Moore, OK – 1
Bradley Fezard – Bonnerdale, AR – 1
Sean McClelland – Tulsa, OK – 1
Alex Sewell – Broken Arrow, OK – 1
Brekton Crouch – Lubbock, TX – 1
Hank Davis – Sand Springs, OK – 1
Jason Martin – Liberal, KS – 1
Jeremy Campbell – Wichita, KS – 1
LAST CHANCE SHOWUP WINNERS (2):
Landon Britt – Memphis, Tennessee – 1
Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX – 1
PODIUM FINISHERS (10):
Seth Bergman – Snohomish, Washington – 3
Andrew Deal – Caney, KS – 1
Brady Baker – Alejandro, AR – 1
Terry Easum – Broken Arrow, OK – 1
Tanner Conn – Oklahoma City, OK – 1
Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX – 1
Jason Martin – Liberal, KS – 1
Hank Davis – Sand Springs, OK – 1
Matt Covington – Glenpool, OK – 1
Ryder Laplante – Calera, OK – 1
10 BEST FINISHERS (22):
Seth Bergman – Snohomish, Washington – 4
Jason Martin – Liberal, KS – 4
Andrew Deal – Caney, KS – 4
Matt Covington – Glenpool, OK – 3
Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX – 3
Landon Britt – Memphis, Tennessee – 3
Kyler Johnson – Quinter, KS – 2
Hank Davis – Sand Springs, OK – 2
Jordan Mallett – Greenbrier, AR – 2
Brady Baker – Alejandro, AR – 1
Brandon Anderson – Glenpool, OK – 1
Channin Tankersley – Arlington, TX – 1
Kyle Clark – Sapulpa, OK – 1
Sean McClelland – Tulsa, OK – 1
Tanner Conn – Oklahoma City, OK – 1
Terry Easum – Broken Arrow, OK – 1
Whit Gastineau – Moore, OK – 1
Brekton Crouch – Lubbock, TX – 1
Jeremy Huish – Jetmore, KS – 1
Zach Blurton – Quinter, KS – 1
Ryder Laplante – Calera, OK – 1
Jeremy Campbell – Wichita, KS – 1
2024 AMERICAN SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE AND WINNERS:
Friday, April 19 / Super Bee Speedway / Chatham, LA / Seth Bergman (1)
Friday, May 10 / Red Dirt Raceway / Meeker, OK / Terry Easum (1)
Friday, May 31 / Rush County Speedway / La Crosse, KS / Seth Bergman (2)
Saturday, June 1 / Dodge City Raceway Park / Dodge City, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1)
Tuesday, June 11 / Texarkana 67 Speedway / Texarkana, AR
Thursday, June 13 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK
Friday, June 14 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Saturday, June 15 / Tri-State Speedway / Pocola, OK
Saturday, June 22 / Batesville Motor Speedway / Locust Grove, AR
Friday, June 28 / Tulsa Speedway / Tulsa, OK
Saturday, June 29 / Tulsa Speedway / Tulsa, OK
Friday, July 19 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS
Saturday, July 20 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS
Thursday, August 1 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
Friday, August 2 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
Saturday, August 3 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
Friday, August 16 / Dodge City Raceway Park / Dodge City, KS
Saturday, August 17 / Lincoln County Raceway / North Platte, NE
Friday, August 23 / Big Sky Speedway / Shepherd, MT
Saturday, August 24 / Big Sky Speedway / Shepherd, MT
Friday, August 30 / Electric City Speedway / Black Eagle, MT
Saturday, August 31 / Electric City Speedway / Black Eagle, MT
Friday, September 6 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Saturday, September 7 / Winneshiek Raceway / Decorah, IA
Tuesday, September 10 / Clay County Fair Speedway / Spencer, IA
Friday, September 13 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Saturday, September 14 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Friday, September 27 / Riverside International Speedway / West Memphis, AR
Saturday, September 28 / Riverside International Speedway / West Memphis, AR
Friday, October 11 / Benton Speedway / Benton, MO
Saturday, October 12 / Paducah International Raceway / Paducah, KY
Friday, October 18 / RPM Speedway / Crandall, TX
Saturday, October 19 / RPM Speedway / Crandall, TX
Friday, November 15 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK
Saturday, November 16 / Creek County Speedway / Sapulpa, OK
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