WHAT TO WATCH FOR: ASCS Takes on Arkansas’ Texarkana 67 Speedway

On the heels of a highly attended race weekend in Kansas for the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) comes a first visit of the season to Texarkana 67 Speedway in Arkansas this Saturday, June 7.

A $4,000 check is in store for the winner of the 13th Series event in history to be contested at the 1/4-mile oval. The Sprint Cars will be supported by the Mod Lites of Arkansas and the local Sportster division. Pit gates will open at 3 p.m., grandstand gates at 5 p.m. and Hot Laps are set for 7 p.m.

Series appearances at the track began with the debut of the national 360 Sprint Car stars in 1998, when three-time champion Tim Crawley took the checkered flag in the event over Mike Ward and Pete Butler. Crawley went on to win twice more there in Series competition (2005, 2009), tying him with Gary Wright — who three-peated in 2000, 2001 and 2002 — for most wins at the track.

Tickets for the event are on sale in advance at the link below and will also be available for purchase at the track on race day. If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

BUY TICKETS

Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this weekend:

CHASING 128 — One week past recording his 80th career American Sprint Car Series Feature win last Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park, Sam Hafertepe Jr. begins the march toward the top of the all-time wins this weekend.

Hafertepe, the five-time Series champion from Sunnyvale, TX, took sole ownership of the No. 2 rank on the Series’ all-time wins list, breaking the tie between himself and the late Jason Johnson. He now sits 48 wins behind four-time champion Gary Wright, who tops the list with 128 wins.

Historically, Hafertepe has produced mostly top-10 results at Texarkana, with four top-10s in six recorded starts with the National Series and in regional competition as well. He’s also the defending National Series winner, topping the field in June of last year.

HOME SWEET HOME — Arkansas native Jordon Mallett will be back in action with the Series this week, now officially a part of the full-time roster.

Mallett, 32, of Greenbrier, AR, has attended each Series event (post-Volusia) thus far and has decided to return to the roster for his fourth chase at a first career national points championship. In four starts on tour so far, he’s recorded three top-10 finishes with a best result of seventh — twice — at Salina Highbanks Speedway and Dodge City.

Despite the track’s location in his home state, Mallett has recorded only two touring event starts at Texarkana with a best result of sixth in the Series’ return last June.

FAMILIAR FACE — Matt Covington has seen success at Texarkana before and will need more this weekend as he continues to hunt Hafertepe for the lead in the points standings.

Covington, 34, of Glenpool, OK, has made nine career starts in ASCS competition, winning once with the former ASCS Lone Star Region in 2012. Last June, Covington drove from ninth on the starting grid to finish third in the national Series event.

He currently trails Hafertepe in the national standings by 61 points and will need a strong finish this weekend after results of seventh and sixth in last weekend’s events.

LOOKING UP — Austyn Gossel recorded his best career finish with the Series on Saturday at Dodge City, crossing the finish line second to Hafertepe to collect his first career national 360 Sprint Car podium.

The 25-year-old from Fort Collins, CO, advanced to ninth in the Series points standings with the finish and now turns his focus to Texarkana, where he recorded his previous best finish in a 17th-to-eighth drive last June.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE 

WHEN AND WHERE
• Friday, June 7 at Texarkana 67 Speedway in Texarkana, AR

TRACK FACTS

• Semi-banked, 1/4-mile oval
• Track Record — 13.226 seconds set by Josh McCord on June 11, 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 (5/41 Races)

1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (577pts)
2. Matt Covington 516pts (–61
3. Blake Hahn 505pts (–72)
4. Kyler Johnson 479pts (–98)
5. Seth Bergman 478pts (–99)
6. Jordon Mallett 460pts (–117)
7. Zach Blurton 458pts (–119)
8. Jason Martin 454pts (–123)
9. Austyn Gossel 450pts (–127)
10. Harli White 426pts (–151) 

FEATURE WINNERS (4 Drivers):

1. Justin Peck (3 wins)
2. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2 wins)
3. Matt Covington, Zach Blurton (1 win)

FEATURE LAPS LED (5 Drivers)

1. Justin Peck (65 laps)
2. Matt Covington (30 laps)
3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (50 laps)
4. Zach Blurton (25 laps)
5. Brian Brown (15 laps)

QUICK TIME AWARDS (5 Drivers)

1. Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Kyler Johnson, Seth Bergman, Matt Covington, Roger Crockett (1 award)

HEAT RACE WINNERS (17 Drivers)

1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (6 wins)
2. Justin Peck, Matt Covington (3 wins)
3. Scotty Thiel, Blake Hahn, Whit Gastineau (2 wins)
4. Hank Davis, Chris Martin, Cole Macedo, Emerson Axsom, Austin McCarl, Seth Bergman, Sean McClelland, Caleb Saiz, Bradley Fezard, Garrett Benson, Bryan Gossel, Jake Bubak (1 win)

DASH APPEARANCES (30 Drivers)

1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (7 appearances)
2. Blake Hahn, Matt Covington (4 appearances)
3. Justin Peck, Kyler Johnson, Whit Gastineau (3 appearances)
4. Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom, Scotty Thiel, Danny Dietrich, Cole Macedo, Brady Bacon, Daison Pursley, Seth Bergman (2 appearances)
5. Hank Davis, Jordan Thomas, Scotty Thiel, Chris Martin, Brian Brown, Sean McClelland, Caleb Saiz, Chance Morton, Bradley Fezard, Zach Blurton, Bryan Gossel, Garrett Benson, Austyn Gossel, Jake Bubak, Jordon Mallett, Roger Crockett (1 appearance)

SMITH TITANIUM LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (5 Drivers)

1. Blake Hahn, Emerson Axsom, Tyler Clem, Kyle Clark, Bryant Wiedeman, Jason Martin (1 win)

HARD CHARGER AWARDS (6 Drivers)

1. Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom, Blake Hahn, Landon Britt, Jordon Mallett, Brady Baker, Jason Martin (1 award) 

PODIUM FINISHES (14 Drivers)

1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5 podiums)
2. Justin Peck, (3 podiums)
3. Brian Brown (2 podiums)
4. Emerson Axsom, Cole Macedo, Austin McCarl, Seth Bergman, Sean McClelland, Matt Covington, Jason Martin, Zach Blurton, Blake Hahn, Austyn Gossel, Kyler Johnson (1 podium)

2025 SCHEDULE + WINNERS

Race Number. Day, Date / Track / City, State / Winner (Total Wins)

1. Thu, Jan. 30 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (1)
2. Fri, Jan. 31 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (2)
3. Sat, Feb. 1 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Justin Peck (3)
4. Sat, April 12 / Salina Highbanks Speedway / Salina, OK / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1)
5. Sat, May 10 / Paducah International Raceway / Paducah, KY / Matt Covington (1)
6. Fri, May 30 / Salt City Speedway / Hutchinson, KS / Zach Blurton (1)
7. Sat, May 31 / Dodge City Raceway Park / Dodge City, KS / Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2)