When Seth Bergman got the call from former ASCS National champion Wayne Johnson to come and drive the TwoC Racing ride, he knew he had to make an impact right away.<\/p>\n
Consider the impact made. The Snohomish, WA-racer scored the win in the 2024 ASCS National Tour opener at Super Bee Speedway Friday night, leading all but one lap en route to his 19th career National Tour victory in his first start with the Oklahoma-based team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I was able to gel as quick as I did just because I\u2019ve been friends with Wayne for a long time,\u201d Bergman said. \u201cI was able to come into a team being familiar with the guy in charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just felt instantly a level of comfort and ease; I didn\u2019t feel like they were down my back to do anything. I felt like they had a great team here with a lot of pieces in place to perform well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson, the 2000 ASCS National champion from Oklahoma City, OK, was injured in a crash during an event in Texas last weekend, rendering him unable to race while he navigates his recovery process. He soon phoned Bergman \u2013 a longtime friend and fellow competitor \u2013 and asked him to fill the seat in his absence. Bergman accepted the offer and wasted no time in representing of the nation\u2019s most accomplished Winged 360 Sprint Car drivers, winning in his first night out.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting an opportunity like this \u2013 it feels great to put the hard work in and be noticed and have the phone ring for an opportunity like this,\u201d Bergman said. \u201cThe phone rang too because I\u2019ve known Wayne for a really long time. We\u2019re friends. Part of this sport is about networking and who you know.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very unfortunate to see what happened to Wayne. I honestly get a little emotional thinking about it. He\u2019s a friend, and seeing him in the condition he\u2019s in and not knowing when he\u2019s gonna return, if he is, is a lot to wrap your head around.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he led most of the race, Bergman\u2019s second lap was most notable. He charged into Turn 1 with a full head of steam and got underneath Andrew Deal to take second, then powered around the outside of polesitter Brady Baker for the lead out of Turn 4.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew from the warmup lap, I was gonna be sporty early,\u201d Bergman said. \u201cJust experience. Andrew\u2019s very experienced too, but he kinda got snookered on the start \u2013 Baker looked like he came up and got into [Deal], so he was maybe feeling his car out for a lap or two after that. I was able to pounce on opportunities quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
From there on out, it was smooth sailing for Bergman and the No. 2C. He fended off all challenges from Deal and Baker on restarts and cruised to the $4,000 payday.<\/p>\n
After chasing Bergman nearly the entire race, Deal crossed the stripe second \u2013 a new career-best finish on the National Tour. The Rookie of the Year contender from Caney, KS, challenged for the lead around the halfway point but was unable to get close enough to make a move in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was kinda sketchy first lap \u2013 polesitter got a little wide on the get-go and put us in the fence, so it took me 3-to-4 laps to recover from that just to make sure nothing was torn up,\u201d Deal said. \u201cAfter a big hit like that, you don\u2019t really go into the next turn too terribly hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
After battling back-and-forth with Deal for the runner-up spot in the first half of the event, Baker crossed the stripe third. Deal wrestled the spot away for good on Lap 8, and then came a hard-charging Koty Adams who raced from eighth on the grid and passed Baker for third on Lap 22. Adams later blew a tire on Lap 27, ruining his podium run and handing the spot back to Baker, who drove it home with his first Tour podium finish of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe car was just really loose the whole race,\u201d Baker said. \u201cRan the wing about as far back as it would go and was still way free. But all-in-all, I think we had a good night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reigning ASCS National champion Jason Martin finished fourth and captured the night\u2019s Hard Charger honors in his drive up from 22nd on the starting grid. Oklahoma racer Brandon Anderson completed the top five from 11th on the grid.<\/p>\n
UP NEXT<\/p>\n
ASCS National Tour racing continues Saturday, April 20, at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, LA. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming available on DIRTVision.<\/p>\n
ABBREVIATED RESULTS<\/p>\n
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 2C-Seth Bergman[4]; 2. 15D-Andrew Deal[2]; 3. 71-Brady Baker[1]; 4. 36-Jason Martin[22]; 5. 55B-Brandon Anderson[11]; 6. 95-Matt Covington[5]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 8. 71T-Channin Tankersley[23]; 9. 10-Landon Britt[17]; 10. 45X-Kyler Johnson[19]; 11. 88-Terry Easum[3]; 12. 2J-Zach Blurton[18]; 13. 91-Michael Day[12]; 14. 88K-Jordan Knight[16]; 15. 2-Brekton Crouch[13]; 16. 6G-Bryan Gossel[20]; 17. 88B-Brandon Blenden[24]; 18. 26-Jacob Harris[10]; 19. 6-Koty Adams[8]; 20. 14-Jordon Mallett[21]; 21. 24-Tyler Harris[9]; 22. 9-Josh McCord[15]; 23. 9L-Lane Whittington[6]; 24. 121-Jan Howard[14]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"