(Image Credit: Phillip Clement)
RAPID CITY, S.D. (July 15, 2017) Runner-up on Friday night turned to Victory on Saturday night as Aaron Reutzel picked up his fifth win of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network on Night 2 of the 2017 Rushmore Rumble at Black Hills Speedway.
The win also closed the point’s gap between Aaron Reutzel and leader, Sam Hafertepe, Jr to only 38 markers.
“Tonight was a great race track. Hat’s off to the track crew. We had multiple grooves all night and it was a great race,” said Aaron.
Two attempts at the green following a red for Robert DeHaan, both shots at the start would see Reutzel giving chase to pole sitter, Matt Covington, who had to pedal hard on the cushion to hold off the charge of the Nattress Construction No. 87.
Into traffic, the race for the top spot heated up with the front two trading several slide jobs. Able to turn and burn after every attempt by Aaron for the lead, the point finally went to Reutzel through the first and second turns of Lap 12.
On the pass for the lead, Reutzel stated, “You know, Matt [Covington] took off with the lead but I knew if I could just stay with him until we hit lapped traffic I could get him and he just made that one mistake that allowed me to get by. After that, I feel like I sailed through traffic pretty good. I knew it was going to take someone with a hell of a racecar to outdo me on that one.”
Picking through slower traffic with Covington and Sam Hafertepe, Jr. in tow, all three leaders were nearly sent pit side on Lap 15 as a trio of lapped cars tangled in turn two. With all three headed skyward, the red lights blinked on just as Aaron found a way to thread through the chaos. Somehow, all drivers involved ended up staying upright.
A pair of attempts at the restart as Robbie Price spun in turn one, Aaron pulled away as the race for third moved Johnny Herrera to the show position with Wayne Johnson in tow. On the heels of Matt Covington for second, the race slowed again on Lap 19 for Damon McCune.
Advancing to second on the restart, Herrera was again trailed by Wayne Johnson for third but there was no catching Aaron Reutzel.
Running to second with an engine on its 28th night, Herrera was able to hold off Wayne Johnson with Matt Covington fourth for the second time in as many nights with Blake Hahn rounding out the top-five. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. sixth was followed by Seth Bergman. Moving up from 12th, Harli White was eighth with David Hoiness ninth from 16th. Despite the late race spin, Robbie Price came back to finish 10th.
With 25 drivers on hand, three Heat Races were topped by D.J. Brink, Wayne Johnson, and Blake Hahn. All teams were sent to the A-Feature so no provisional starts were needed.
With a week off for teams to regroup, the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network returns to action at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, July 29. For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven regional tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation in 2017, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
ASCS Frontier Region
Black Hills Speedway – Rapid City, S.D.
2nd annual Rushmore Rumble
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Car Count: 25
Event Count: 28
Heat Races (All drivers advance to the A-Feature)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 75-D.J. Brink, [1]; 2. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [6]; 3. 1-Robbie Price, [3]; 4. 27DD-David Hoiness, [4]; 5. 9A-Clint Anderson, [7]; 6. 7-Mike Sires, [2]; 7. (DNF) 41A-Andee Beierle, [5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]; 2. 99-Skylar Gee, [3]; 3. 24M-Rich Martin, [1]; 4. 17W-Harli White, [6]; 5. 77-Damon McCune, [4]; 6. 8-Randy Dolberg, [2]; 7. 66-Lany Reber, [7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn, [1]; 2. 11-Mindy McCord, [3]; 3. 33-Robert DeHaan, [4]; 4. 14-Ben Holmberg, [2]; 5. 88-Travis Reber, [6]; 6. 3-Mike Pennel, [7]; 7. (DNF) 4-Adam Speckman, [5]
Protect the Harvest A-Feature:
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [2]; 2. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [5]; 3. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [6]; 4. 95-Matt Covington, [1]; 5. 52-Blake Hahn, [7]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [3]; 7. 23-Seth Bergman, [4]; 8. 17W-Harli White, [12]; 9. 27DD-David Hoiness, [16]; 10. 1-Robbie Price, [13]; 11. 99-Skylar Gee, [9]; 12. 9A-Clint Anderson, [15]; 13. 24M-Rich Martin, [14]; 14. 11-Mindy McCord, [10]; 15. 3-Mike Pennel, [20]; 16. 4-Adam Speckman, [25]; 17. 7-Mike Sires, [21]; 18. (DNF) 77-Damon McCune, [18]; 19. (DNF) 88-Travis Reber, [19]; 20. (DNF) 14-Ben Holmberg, [17]; 21. (DNF) 41A-Andee Beierle, [24]; 22. (DNF) 8-Randy Dolberg, [22]; 23. (DNF) 75-D.J. Brink, [8]; 24. (DNF) 33-Robert DeHaan, [11]; 25. (DNF) 66-Lany Reber, [23]
Lap Leader(s): Matt Covington 1-11; Aaron Reutzel 12-25
CP-Carrillo Hard Charger: Adam Speckman +9
FSR High Point Driver: Wayne Johnson
Provisional(s): N/A
2017 Lucas Oil ASCS A-Main Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 10 (3/17 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 3/18 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 4/7 – Texas Motor Speedway; 4/8 – Texas Motor Speedway; 4/15 – Missouri State Fair Speedway; 6/13 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 6/14 – Lawton Speedway; 6/23 – Skagit Speedway; 6/24 – Skagit Speedway; 7/14 – Black Hills Speedway); Aaron Reutzel – 5 (5/11 – Lakeside Speedway; 6/15 – Creek County Speedway; 6/17 – Lucas Oil Speedway; 6/22 – Skagit Speedway; 7/15 – Black Hills Speedway); Wayne Johnson – 2 (7/7 – Gallatin Speedway; 7/8 – Gallatin Speedway); Jake Bubak – 1 (6/9 – West Texas Raceway); Kyle Bellm – 1(6/10 – Route 66 Motor Speedway); Brian Brown – 1 (6/16 – Randolph County Raceway); Matt Covington – 1 (6/30 – Grays Harbor Raceway); Roger Crockett – 1 (7/1 – Grays Harbor Raceway);
2017 Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2,856; 2. Aaron Reutzel 2,826; 3. Matt Covington 2,669; 4. Johnny Herrera 2,641; 5. Wayne Johnson 2,614; 6. Seth Bergman 2,577; 7. Blake Hahn 2,461; 8. Skylar Gee 2,298; 9. Harli White 2,026, 10. Justin Henderson 1,434;
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs (@lucasoilascs)
Instagram: ASCSRACING
Audio Broadcast: http://www.racinboys.com
Live Scoring (Where Applicable): http://www.ascsracing.com/live and the Race Monitor App
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Kyle Bellm (Nixa, Mo.): http://www.kylebellm.com
Seth Bergman (Snohomish, Wash.): http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Matt Covington (Glenpool, Okla.): http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Skylar Gee (Leduc, Ont. Can.): https://twitter.com/SkylarGee99
Jake Greider (Haysville, Kan.): https://twitter.com/JakeGreider2013
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, Texas): http://www.sam15.com
Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, S.D.): http://www.bdsmotorsportsllc.com
Alex Hill (Six Nations, Ont. Can.): https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, Okla.): http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, N.M.): http://www.johnnyherreraracing.com
Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, Okla.): https://www.facebook.com/WayneJohnsonRacing?fref=ts
Dustin Morgan (Owasso, Okla.): https://www.facebook.com/dustin.p.morgan?hc_ref=SEARCH
Aaron Reutzel (Clute, Texas): http://www.aaronreutzelracing.com
Harli White (Lindsay, Okla.): http://www.harliwhiteracing.net
ASCS Sponsors:
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 Motorsports Network 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 the MAVTV Motorsports Network include: Hoosier Racing Tire, CP Carrillo Pistons, EMI, and Brodix. All Heat Races are brought to you by ButlerBuilt Professional Seating Systems. All B-Features are presented by BMRS.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, Geico, Zotto Mattress, Spray Nine, LucasOilRacing.tv, Carlyle Tools, and General Tire.
Communications for the American Sprint Car Series is provided by Racing Electronics. All events are broadcast online at http://www.racinboys.com.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, KSE Racing Products, BMRS, SpeedMart, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, MyRacePass.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection.
