The American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour starts the month of May with a trip to the Bluegrass State of Kentucky for back-to-back races Friday–Saturday night, May 9–10.
Windy Hollow Speedway will host its first-ever touring Winged Sprint Car series event with the arrival of ASCS on Friday, racing alongside the local Bomber, Mini Stock, Crown Vic and Crate Racin’ USA Street Stock divisions. The semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval, located in Owensboro, KY, recently completed renovations that reshaped the entire backstretch through Turns 3 and 4, installed infield drainage and a new retaining wall and catchfence outside the third and fourth turns.
Paducah International Raceway hosts the national 360 Sprint Car stars for a second consecutive season on Saturday, also featuring the local DIRTcar UMP Modified, Crate Racin’ USA Late Model Sportsman and Factory Stocks. The high-banked, 3/8-mile oval, located in Paducah, KY, has host the National Tour twice before — Matt Covington won the debut in 2018, and 2024 Rookie of the Year Hank Davis won the Tour’s return last October.
Tickets for both events are on sale now at the link below and will also be available for purchase on race day. If you can’t be at the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
WINDY HOLLOW TICKETS
PADUCAH TICKETS
Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow:
MAKING HISTORY — On the heels of a milestone victory, Sam Hafertepe Jr. begins his quest for win No. 80 with the ASCS National Tour this weekend.
The five-time Tour champion from Sunnyvale, TX, scored his 79th career Tour victory in April at Salina Highbanks Speedway, tying the late Jason Johnson for second-most all-time. An 80th win would put him in sole control of No. 2 on the all-time list, trailing only four-time Tour champion Gary Wright, who amassed 128 Feature wins with the National Tour in his 20-plus-year career competing in ASCS-sanctioned events.
Historically, Hafertepe has posted only one top-five finish in his six career starts at Paducah. That lone top-five came last October, when he finished second to Hank Davis. This past weekend, Hafertepe was in 410 Sprint Car competition at The Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway, where he finished third and fourth in the two-day event.
SOLID START — Three races, three podium finishes for Seth Bergman thus far.
The 37-year-old defending champion of the National Tour started his season in late March, posting back-to-back runner-up finishes in ASCS Sooner Region events at Creek County Speedway and Enid Speedway. He followed that with a third-straight second-place finish at the National Tour event at Salina Highbanks Speedway in April behind only Hafertepe — his closest competition on the Tour throughout 2024 and another threat for the season points championship again this year.
Bergman has made only two starts at Paducah in his career, both with ASCS. He contested the National Tour’s first appearance in 2018 — driving from 13th on the starting grid to finish fourth — and finished third in the Tour’s return last October.
PADUCAH PRO — Only four drivers have won an ASCS National Tour race in Kentucky. Matt Covington is one of them, and he nearly became the only repeat winner last fall.
Covington, 34, of Glenpool, OK, won the inaugural Tour appearance in 2018, starting third on the grid and leading all but six laps en route to the win over NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Tony Stewart, Pennsylvania 360 Sprint Car standout Mark Smith, eventual champion Bergman and 2000 Tour champion Wayne Johnson.
In the Tour’s most recent visit in October 2024, Covington started on the front row and led the opening 11 laps of the main event before blowing a tire and making contact with Sterling Cling. Despite the damage from the incident, Covington’s crew was able to make repairs in the work area and returned to the track to salvage a ninth-place finish.
TOTAL RECALL — Blake Hahn is another of the few drivers in the National Tour field with experience at Paducah, making his return this Saturday.
The two-time Tour champion from Sapulpa, OK, contested the Tour debut at the 3/8-mile oval in 2018, driving from 16th on the starting grid to a sixth-place finish.
This weekend, the 30-year-old returns to the seat of his signature yellow No. 52 for the first time since finishing runner-up in POWRi 410 Sprint Car action at his home track — Creek County Speedway — on April 25.
THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
WHEN AND WHERE
Friday, May 9 at Windy Hollow Speedway in Owensboro, KY
Saturday, May 10 at Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY
TRACK FACTS
- Windy Hollow — semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval
- Paducah — high-banked, 3/8-mile oval
- Windy Hollow Track Record — none established
- Paducah Track Record — 13.665 seconds, set by Sam Hafertepe Jr. on October 12, 2024
ON THE INTERNET
X — @ASCSRacing
Instagram — @ascs_racing
Facebook — @AmericanSprintCarSeries
YouTube — @AmericanSprintCarSeries
DIRTVision — DIRTVision.com (Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month)
CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (4/41 Races)
- Sam Hafertepe Jr. (150pts)
- Justin Peck (150pts)
- Brian Brown 142pts (–8)
- Seth Bergman 142pts (–8)
- Cole Macedo 135pts (–15)
- Sean McClelland 135pts (–15)
- Blake Hahn 130pts (–20)
- Emerson Axsom 130pts (–20)
- Matt Covington 125pts (–25)
- Austin McCarl 125pts (–25)
FEATURE WINNERS (2 Drivers):
- Justin Peck (3 wins)
- Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1 win)
FEATURE LAPS LED (3 Drivers)
- Justin Peck (65 laps)
- Sam Hafertepe Jr. (25 laps)
- Brian Brown (15 laps)
QUICK TIME AWARDS (3 Drivers)
- Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Kyler Johnson (1 award)
HEAT RACE WINNERS (13 Drivers)
- Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4 wins)
- Justin Peck (3 wins)
- Scotty Thiel (2 wins)
- Matt Covington, Hank Davis, Blake Hahn, Chris Martin, Cole Macedo, Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Seth Bergman, Sean McClelland, Caleb Saiz (1 win)
DASH APPEARANCES (21 Drivers)
- Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4 appearances)
- Justin Peck (3 appearances)
- Blake Hahn, Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom, Scotty Thiel, Danny Dietrich, Cole Macedo, Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley (2 appearances)
- Hank Davis, Jordan Thomas, Matt Covington, Scotty Thiel, Chris Martin, Brian Brown, Seth Bergman, Whit Gastineau, Sean McClelland, Caleb Saiz, Chance Morton (1 appearance)
SMITH TITANIUM LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (4 Drivers)
- Blake Hahn, Emerson Axsom, Tyler Clem, Kyle Clark (1 win)
HARD CHARGER AWARDS (4 Drivers)
- Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom, Blake Hahn, Landon Britt (1 award)
PODIUM FINISHES (8 Drivers)
- Justin Peck (3 podiums)
- Brian Brown, Sam Hafertepe Jr (2 podiums)
- Emerson Axsom, Cole Macedo, Austin McCarl, Seth Bergman, Sean McClelland (1 podium)
2025 SCHEDULE + WINNERS
Race Number. Day, Date / Track / City, State / Winner (Total Wins)
- Thu, Jan. 30 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (1)
- Fri, Jan. 31 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (2)
- Sat, Feb. 1 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (3)
- Sat, April 12 / Salina Highbanks Speedway / Salina, OK / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1)
