7/21/2012
ASCS
Victory Belongs to Wayne Johnson in Washington
Bryan Hulbert - Elma, Washington (July 21, 2012) Round two of a double feature Saturday night at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington would be an emotional one as Wayne Johnson held off the late race charge of Shane Stewart to re-capture the points lead with his seventh win of the 2012 season.
Almost seeing his racing career coming to an end just two years ago in a crash that saw Johnson nearly losing half his leg, crossing the line first laid to rest a very tumultuous chapter in Wayne’s life.
With a humble tone and great appreciation, Johnson spoke with emotion in victory lane, “You know I was a little choked up with the TV broadcast down there. I know my wife and daughter are listening back home and you know to get a win here. This racetrack tried to end my career, you know I actually thought it was done but we worked hard and you know to race Shane Stewart for the win like that couldn’t have been any better.”
Drawing the number two pill, Johnson would have to try and outrun Sam Hafertepe Jr. three times as the first start was a no go after Trey Starks and Logan Forler came to a stop in turns three and four before a lap could be completed. The next start would find Jason Johnson suffering a broken rear axle that caused the MVT No. 41 to flip in turn three, resulting in a 24th place finish.
With the third time being the charm, it would be Hafertepe jumping to the race lead for the first two circuits before Johnson raced by on lap three before a caution for the No. F1 of Rick Fauver. Pulling to a ten car length advantage on the restart, lapped traffic was only three laps away from becoming a factor.
Struggling to clear slower traffic at times, Hafertepe would close in with Shane Stewart in tow. Racing past the half-way point, Johnson would continue to lead as the battle for second continued between Hafertepe and Stewart with Brady Bacon closing in.
Racing to the final ten laps, third running Shane Stewart would begin working the bottom of the racing surface while the majority of the line-up continued to circle the high line. One of the few drivers to make the inside line work, Stewart would use a caution on lap twenty-seven to take away second from Hafertepe; quickly setting his sights on the Oil Medics No. 77x.
Crossing the stripe with two laps to go, Stewart was ready to challenge of the lead. With Johnson continuing his run on the high side, Stewart kept to the bottom groove, especially in turns three and four, pulling to Johnson’s back bumper as the white flag fell.
Setting up for the pass in the final two turns of racing, the leaders would race out of four with Johnson able to hold the advantage but instead of the checkered flag the caution would fly as Brady Bacon shredded a right rear tire, causing the Fatheadz Eyewear No. 99 to roll to a stop in turn two while running fifth.
Setting up for single lap dash to the finish, a red would be displayed for an emergency in the stands, allowing for an open red. Knowing now of Stewart’s line, the green and white flag would fly with Johnson ready to crowd the bottom lane.
Racing into turns three and four, the former Lucas Oil ASCS Champions would go side by side but it was Wayne Johnson using the bottom groove to claim the win. Shane Stewart would cross the line second with Sam Hafertepe Jr. taking third. Roger Crockett would take fourth with Brad Loyet coming from tenth to round out the top five.
Sixth would go to Tony Bruce Jr. with J.J. Hickle seventh. Racing out of the B-Feature, Steven Tiner would climb from seventeenth to eighth with twenty first starting Henry VanDam ninth and eighteenth starting Mitch Olson filling out the top ten.
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV
Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Washington
Bully Dog ASCS Northwest Speedway presented by Contingency Connection - Finale
July 21, 2012
Car Count: 33
Event Car Count: 35
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman[1]; 2. 11-Roger Crockett[6]; 3. 12-Cody Ridge[7]; 4. 98m-Mitch Olson[4]; 5. 0j-Randy VanAagten[2]; 6. 9-Gary Wright[3]; 7. 8x-Jonathan Jorgenson[5]; DNF 33v-Henry VanDam[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 05-Brad Loyet[1]; 2. 3-J.J. Hickle[3]; 3. 2-Dustin Morgan[4]; 4. 55-Trey Starks[6]; 5. 88-Jesse Whitney[2]; 6. 56-Justin Youngquist[7]; DNS 17w-Cole Wood
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson[2]; 2. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[4]; 3. 9R-Reece Goetz[3]; 4. 94-Steven Tiner[6]; 5. 7k-Jason Solwold[5]; 6. 9a-Luke Didiuk[1]; 7. 11ak-Justin Martin[7]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 5h-Logan Forler[1]; 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera[3]; 3. F1-Rick Fauver[5]; 4. 17-Cam Smith[6]; 5. 26-Sammy Wright[4]; DNF 18j-Travis Jacobson[2]; DNS 26F-Shane Forte
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 94-Steven Tiner[1]; 2. 98m-Mitch Olson[4]; 3. 17-Cam Smith[2]; 4. 0j-Randy VanAagten[7]; 5. 33v-Henry VanDam[15]; 6. 7k-Jason Solwold[5]; 7. 88-Jesse Whitney[8]; 8. 26-Sammy Wright[6]; 9. 8x-Jonathan Jorgenson[14]; 10. 56-Justin Youngquist[9]; 11. 9a-Luke Didiuk[13]; DNF 9R-Reece Goetz[3]; DNF 11ak-Justin Martin[12]; DNF 26F-Shane Forte[17]; DNS 9-Gary Wright; DNS 18j-Travis Jacobson; DNS 17w-Cole Wood
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 77x-Wayne Johnson[2]; 2. 77f-Shane Stewart[4]; 3. 26r-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett[6]; 5. 05-Brad Loyet[10]; 6. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[8]; 7. 3-J.J. Hickle[12]; 8. 94-Steven Tiner[17]; 9. 33v-Henry VanDam[21]; 10. 98m-Mitch Olson[18]; 11. 45x-Johnny Herrera[13]; 12. 2-Dustin Morgan[15]; 13. 0j-Randy VanAagten[20]; 14. 17-Cam Smith[19]; 15. 9R-Reece Goetz[24]; DNF 99-Brady Bacon[5]; DNF 23-Seth Bergman[9]; DNF 7k-Jason Solwold[22]; DNF 5h-Logan Forler[11]; DNF 12-Cody Ridge[3]; DNF 55-Trey Starks[16]; DNF F1-Rick Fauver[14]; DNF 9-Gary Wright[23]; DNF 41-Jason Johnson[7]
Lap Leader(s): Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1-2), Wayne Johnson (3-30)
Pitstopusa.com Hard Charger of the Night: Henry VanDam+12
FSR Radiator High Point Driver: Roger Crockett
Provisional(s): Gary Wright (1-B), Reece Goetz (Promoter)
2012 Feature Winners: Jason Johnson-8, Wayne Johnson-7, Brady Bacon-4, Tony Bruce Jr.-3, Brian Brown-1, Seth Bergman-1, Danny Lasoski-1, Jason Martin-1, Dustin Morgan-1, Danny Wood-1, Cody Baker-1, Jordan Boston-1, Brock Lemley-1, Shane Stewart-1
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV Points (top 10): 1. Wayne Johnson 4,298; 2. Jason Johnson 4,244; 3. Brady Bacon 4,085; 4. Johnny Herrera 3,921; 5. Brad Loyet 3,834; 6. Tony Bruce Jr. 3,804; 7. Seth Bergman 3,511; 8. Dustin Morgan 3,409; 9. Logan Forler 3,375; 10. Gary Wright 3,307
The 2012 season marks the 21st year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
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 is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. For information regarding availability and listings in your area log onto www.mavtv.com.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MavTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire, Brodix, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, General Tire, K&N Filters, PitstopUSA.com, FSR Radiator and Racing Proucts, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
Photo Credit: Tim Aylwin
Submitted By: Bryan Hulbert
