Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 6, 2010) \u2013 Yet another Tuesday means yet another edition of Tuesday Top Ten, detailing ten random items of varying degrees of relevance and\/or interest from recent ASCS happenings.<\/p>\n
Straggle on in\u2026<\/p>\n
Herrera\u2019s Southwest triumph at Tucson\u2019s USA Raceway aboard the familiar family-owned No. 45x entry marked his 18th in as many winged stand-alone ASCS Regional starts throughout Arizona and New Mexico dating back to 2005.<\/p>\n
It was a less familiar situation for Johnson, who was in just the second night out aboard the Jason Johnson Racing entry after putting his own team together for 2010. How much of a project is putting together a new team? \u201cWe didn\u2019t have anything,\u201d Johnson relayed. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a screwdriver. I didn\u2019t have duct tape. It\u2019s all those things you don\u2019t ever think about.\u201d The Don Ott-powered no. 41 Maxim proved to be the class of the Gulf South field at Houston Raceway Park on Saturday night with Johnson getting his first win as a car owner. \u201cNow if we can just get that first National win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson and Herrera will both try to ride that momentum into this weekend\u2019s Lucas Oil National action.<\/p>\n
Defending ASCS Gulf South champ Aaron Reutzel, still weighing National options, was the best in Gulf South class under the watchful eye of Shorty by finishing fourth behind Jason Johnson, Gary Wright and Brian Brown as the fog began rolling in on Baytown in the final laps of the feature.<\/p>\n
Should Reutzel go National, the top Gulf South rep of the night would then be Tommy Bryant, who crossed the line eighth.<\/p>\n
Leaving Reutzel in the mix for the moment, the current top ten in ASCS Gulf South points should probably look something like this minus the invaders that have been on hand for all three events thus far: 1. (tie) Aaron Reutzel and Tommy Bryant 336, 3. Brandon Berryman 324, 4. Wes Miller 321, 5. Scottie McDonald 302, 6. Travis Knighton 287, 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek 272, 8. Chris Sweeney 265, 9. Klint Angelette 260, 10. Greg Rilat 259.<\/p>\n
Other Gulf South contenders that have taken in all three events so far include Jimmy Brooks, Logan Bledsoe, Beau Smith, James Cooper, Bruce Griffith, Jr., and Roger Oakes.<\/p>\n
Whether Reutzel opts to defend his Gulf South crown or chase Brodix Rookie of the Year honors with the Lucas Oil National Series should be determined on April 23-24 when the National forces invade Riverside Speedway in West Memphis for the Rock \u2018N Roll 50 at the same time that Gulf South action takes place at Battleground and then Lufkin\u2019s Speedarama.<\/p>\n
Wheatley and Young join a Rookie Class that now numbers ten, including New Mexico\u2019s Joshua Hodges (15 years old), California\u2019s Justyn Cox (celebrates 16th birthday on May 31), Texans Channin Tankersley (19) and Aaron Reutzel (19), Okies Matt Covington (20) and Dustin Morgan (21), California\u2019s Kyle Hirst (22) and Idaho\u2019s Joe Ramaker.<\/p>\n
After the Gulf South weekend was cut in half due to Friday rain, Gardner\u2019s HRP effort ended just a couple of laps into his heat race with mechanical gremlins. He got off easy compared to Pringle.<\/p>\n
If Pringle made some slightly wobbly looking heat race laps, it was for good reason as he\u2019d been clobbered by an errant piece of debris that chipped off pieces of his helmet and left a grisly cut just over his right eye. \u201cIt happened just a couple of laps in, I really was having trouble seeing after that,\u201d Pringle explained.<\/p>\n
Still, a front row outside \u201cB\u201d Feature starting position offered a ray of hope. But, when pole starter Chris Sweeney\u2019s right rear tire climbed Pringle\u2019s left front as the leaders approached the green flag, it was bad news not only for Pringle but several others as well.<\/p>\n
Handicapped by a broken front end, Pringle limped off of turn four as the rest of the 17-car \u201cB\u201d Main field thundered by. At least most of them, until Gary Watson, Klint Angelette and Anthony Reaves piled into Pringle with fuel from Watson\u2019s punctured fuel cell covering the low side of turn four. Only Angelette would return from that melee.<\/p>\n
It was a memorable debut to say the least, as the younger Van Horn went for a wild ride at the start of the \u201cB\u201d Main, flipping, \u201c\u2026from turn four all the way through turn one,\u201d according to ASCS Southwest ring leader Kevin Montgomery.<\/p>\n
Van Horn was okay, although not quite the same could be said for the car.<\/p>\n
Father to twin girls in January, Smith plans on taking in the full American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Regional slate beginning with the April 24 season opener at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa.<\/p>\n
The task of repeating as ASCS Sooner Region champ just got a little more difficult for Oklahoma City\u2019s Joe Wood, Jr., who was hindered by minor mechanical issues at the Lucas Oil ASCS National opener at Devil\u2019s Bowl.<\/p>\n
With a pair of fourths (East Bay finale and Battleground) his best finishes, Bruce would have to be considered among the odds-on favorites this Saturday night at Little Rock\u2019s I-30 Speedway, where he has topped the last two editions of the Short Track Nationals in addition to picking off a Speedweek win last year.<\/p>\n
Travis Rilat popped an engine while trying to chase down leader Jason Johnson, finishing outside the top ten for the first time in seven starts as a result. Runner-up Gary Wright finished among the top-ten for the fourth time in his seven starts.<\/p>\n
Scrapping the homemade chassis for Eagle, Louisiana\u2019s Michael Dupuy cracked the top ten for the first time in his seven starts by racing from 14th to fifth at HRP.<\/p>\n
The string was broken at eight with Jason Johnson returning to victory lane this time around.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old raced from ninth to win the \u201cB\u201d Main via a late move around Chris Sweeney and then rallied from 19th to sixth in the feature event, his fourth top-ten in as many 2010 ASCS feature starts. Second in current Gulf South points to Brian Brown, Bacon enters this weekend\u2019s Lucas Oil ASCS National double ranked third in National points behind Sammy Swindell (winner of three National features in a row) and Wayne Johnson.<\/p>\n
But a couple of laps shy of the checkered flag, Hirst\u2019s powerplant began to sour. With smoke billowing heavier and heavier, Hirst limped to the checkered flag, hanging on to the win as flames and Shark guts scattered on the track.<\/p>\n
Hirst sacrificed his ninth starting position in the main event after an engine change and started nine rows deep, coasting to a stop nine laps in after some on-track contact and called it a night.<\/p>\n
The Head Linesman already has his hand reaching into that hip pocket, but we\u2019ll simply have to take the flag for piling on with the initial Facebook Post of the Week. Posted by Casey Shuman at approximately 9:00 p.m. CDT on Friday night was the following: \u201cWhat an awesome night in Indy, finally\u2026 70 degrees and a little breeze, but there seems to be a dust storm rolling in from the east.\u201d That pretty much sums it up. Shuman finished second to fellow Sprint Bandits TNT title hopeful and Lucas Oil ASCS contender Jesse Hockett the next night in North Vernon, IN, where \u201cThe Rocket\u201d pocketed $4,000.<\/p>\n
The Facebook Post of the Weeks brings about a shameless plug or two. You can become a fan of the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series on Facebook, if you haven\u2019t already done so, by clicking on http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Lucas-Oil-ASCS-Sprint-Car-Series\/339198447466. If you\u2019re into Tweeting, you can also stay up to speed by following at http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/lucasoilascs.<\/p>\n
Until next time, find what you need in terms of ASCS info at www.ascsracing.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"