WHEATLAND, Missouri – Sam Hafertepe said his flag-to-flag victory at Saturday night’s 8th annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway might have looked flawless.
“I wouldn’t say it was perfect,” Hafertepe said in victory lane. “But when you have a car that good, you can do whatever you want.”
Hafertepe led all 30 laps to earn the $30,000 victory and pad his Lucas Oil ASCS Winged Sprint championship lead, winning by a comfortable margin over runner-up Scott Bogucki and third-place Seth Bergman in front of a big crowd.
It was a repeat win at the crown-jewel event for Hafertepe, of Sunnyvalle, Texas and his sixth win on the national tour series this season.
The co-headliner also saw a wire-to-wire winner as Kyle Cummings captured the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint win, named for two well-known standouts in the sprint-car world. Jesse Hockett, a driving star, died in a shop accident in 2010 and Daniel McMillin, his cousin and crew chief, died in an auto accident in 2006.
Hafertepe called the second straight Hockett-McMillin triumph “unbelievable” and “a huge win for us.”
“It just gets me more focused on going into next year,” Hafertepe said. “Grabbing a little bigger points lead with four races left, that makes us feel good, too.”
Hafertepe said he was disappointed with a fifth-place run in Friday’s feature and really with his results overall of late, despite leading the ASCS points chase.
“I just said, ‘Man, we’re thinking too hard. Let’s go back to what we know.’ “
It worked, as Hafertepe got the jump on outside front-row starter Wayne Johnson as the race got going after three aborted attempts.
Before lap one was complete, Brian Bell took a wild ride as his car flipped into the wall between turns three and four. The Tennessee driver emerged uninjured.
There were two more attempts to get the race going that failed, as Jonathan Cornell spun in turn two to bring out a yellow. Then, Mike Goodman flipped in turn four to bring out the second red flag before a lap was complete. Goodman walked away without injury.
“It’s unfortunate we had that many restarts, but we came out on top and that’s what matters,” Hafertepe said. “There’s nothing like winning this race and the names that are on it. It means a lot to us.”
Bogucki worked his way into second with 10 laps to go, but couldn’t muster a run at the winner.
“Sam, by the time we got into second, he was long gone,” Bogucki said. “All I could see was a bunch of lapped cars. I just rode around there the best I could, trying to stay out of trouble. We had a great car.”
Cummings wire POWRi WAR field: Kyle Cummins of Princeton, Indiana, scored a dominating victory in the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints feature, leading all 30 laps to earn $3,077.
Cummins withstood a challenge on a restart following a lap-17 red flag to earn the win. He remains in contention for the $20,000 Bell Helmet Challenge, having won two of the first three legs of the series of races. A win at Fairbury on Oct. 6 would mean $20,000.
Cummins said the lengthy drive from Indiana – after watching the first night of the Hockett-McMillin Memorial on LucasOilRacing.TV – was worth it. The victory was his third on the POWRi War Series.
“The facility, Lucas Oil, it’s unbelievable,” Cummins said. “The first night, I watched for home and we came here and I was hoping it wouldn’t get super slick like that. The top is where I wanted to run, but the bottom was so good.
“We spent a lot of time working on this thing and it was a pretty good drive to get out there.”
Wyatt Burks finished second with Colton Cottle third and Landon Simon fourth.
“We were just too tight,” said Burks, who moved into second with five laps to go. “The front ankle got bent a little earlier in the race.”
The race got off to a rough start as Mitchell Davis and Danny Smith, starting deep in the field, tangled in turn one after the green to bring out a caution and force a complete restart.
Cummins quickly asserted himself when the race got going, opening a straightaway-margin lead five laps in.
Matt Moore took a wild ride, tumbling end over end down the front straightaway on lap six to bring out the red flag. Moore, who was running seventh at the time, climbed from the car under his own power.
As Cummins drew away, Simon and Kreisel battled it out for second with Cottle close behind at the midway point.
Kreisel, the 18-year-old series points leader, fell out of contention on lap 17 when he got out of shape in turn two, got up on his right-side wheels and hit the wall.
Simon pressured Cummins after the race returned to green, but was unable to get past. Cottle soon moved into second, but not before Cummings again opened up a two-second lead and set sail as the remainder of the race went green.
Next up at Lucas Oil Speedway: The 5th annual Street Stock Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy Hunt – with the ULMA Late Models also in action – is set for Oct. 3-5. Opening night will see the Big O Tires Street Stocks with an open practice session from 6-9 p.m. followed by Street Stock qualifying to set Friday’s heat race lineups as drivers work their way toward the $10,000 to win main event to be held on Saturday.
For ticket information on all events at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2018, contact Admission Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com. Fans also can go online to purchase tickets for any event on the 2018 schedule.
Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and 2018 schedule can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.
Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is also available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience at the Diamond of Dirt Tracks.
Click LucasOilSpeedway.com for more information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” lives up to its title.
Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 8th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, “Lake Lucas.” Two nationally televised Drag Boat Races featuring the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series are held annually. New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series as well as a host of other regional events.
Lucas Oil Speedway’s dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro-Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.
In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series features the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds, Big O Tires Street Stocks and the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods.
